The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-safe (7233)

My Story

My Thoughts

by | Aug 11, 2019

My name is Stephanie Johnson. My daughter was brutally murdered by her ex-husband, who reportedly cried and confessed at the crime scene on Dec. 30, several weeks after she was killed. Police found her body surrounded by scented candles in the house in which she was probably murdered. The case received international attention.

My job now is to share my story and those of countless others to speak up for those muted by their abusers, to remove the shame and stigma they face every day, and the reticence that keeps them silent. I am not an expert on domestic violence. I’m simply telling you my story in the hope it never becomes yours.

 


I Was Wrong

I Was Wrong

My daughter was brutally stabbed to death and gurgled her last breaths with a Kroger's bag over her head because her ex-husband, Shaun Hardy, didn't like the way she looked. According to a police report, she was bleeding from her nose and ears....

You Died at 30 — How Can You Be 32?

You Died at 30 — How Can You Be 32?

This time 32 years ago I was at a crawfish boil in Destrehan, Louisiana, and my friends were amusing themselves by watching a nine-months-pregnant woman peel mudbugs with two hands. Of course, they were drinking beer, which added to their mirth. I was so appropriately...

The Grandparent Effect

The Grandparent Effect

Has it really been three months since I last posted? Perhaps in your time, but not in mine. Grief stretches the long hours into endless days that swing like a pendulum between occasional work productivity, to hours of Internet obsession about Anne-Christine's murder...

Dia de los Graveside Selfies

Dia de los Graveside Selfies

Julian took a selfie at Anne-Christine's grave yesterday. The etching on her monument is just to the right of the image while the sun actually creates a halo effect behind his head. It's visually very stunning, but I can't share it here for sadly obvious reasons....

Mother Nature’s Sense of Irony

Mother Nature’s Sense of Irony

Hello, Cindy. June 2015: In Canyon Lake with Julian and can't return immediately to Houston after Shaun P. Hardy almost succeeds in killing Anne-Christine. Tropical storm Bill is expected to make landfall between Houston and San Antonio. In the meantime, ACJ takes the...

Hello From the Other Side

Hello From the Other Side

On May 12, I was asked to speak at the annual breakfast meeting of Bay Area Turning Point, which provides recovery services for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault, and facilitates violence-prevention strategies for societal change in partnership with the...

We Installed Her Monument Yesterday

We Installed Her Monument Yesterday

We're headed out in an hour to see Anne-Christine's newly installed monument and have a picnic at Cook Cemetery. I feel a strange sense of peace and closure about this most dreaded aspect of death -- putting someone in the ground. Liberty is approximately an hour's...

Support Texas EquuSearch

Support Texas EquuSearch

We would never have found Anne-Christine without Tim Miller and Texas EquuSearch. I spent over a week at EquuSearch in December 2016, during the terrible period that my daughter lay rotting at 617 Chesterfield Lane in League City, killed by self-confessed murderer...

Happy Birthday, Anne-Christine

Happy Birthday, Anne-Christine

Elegy for a forever 30-year-old, on the occasion of her 31st birthday, March 2, 2016. I'm very touched by your presence tonight, and emotional because my daughter is dead, there is nothing I can do to bring her back, and this is her birthday. She would have been 31....

Interregnum

JAN. 11, 2017: On Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, Anne-Christine failed to show up for a Christmas dinner with her father. I didn't learn of this until Monday, Dec. 12, as my crazy black lab Samantha yanked me through the gates of her favorite dog park and my cellphone glowed...

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence and emotional abuse.

--National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

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2 weeks ago

Why Did She Stay?
Anne-Christine Johnsnon was killed by her ex-husband on Dec. 8, 2016. She would have turned 38 on March 2. Why did she stay? You know the statistics, it takes on an average of seven times for many women to leave their abusers. She was at 6.5 when Shaun P. Hardy told her he had cancer and their son needed her. It was a trap. In the aftermath of her brutal murder she became the face of femicide around the country. It's hard to separate who she was from who she became after years of horrific abuse, but one friend on Facebook wrote of the Anne-Christine I prefer to remember: "Happy Tuesday Grief and loss can be overwhelming to our nervous system and can trigger all sorts of emotions. It can also teach us to slow down and appreciate the memories. Anne - Christine Johnson was taken from this world to soon on 12/8/2016. She was an absolutely beautiful soul who shined bright with confidence when she walked into any room. I idolized her in so many ways. She was kind, compassionate, generous and allowed me into her life for a brief moment months before she passed. She taught me so many valuable lessons that I will not forget. She taught me to dive into my insecurities and embrace love and hold space for possibilities. She gave me the confidence I never knew I had. She is the reason I changed my perspective on love , friendships, and started therapy. She loved red lipstick, heels and had a free spirit. She is not really gone and is always around us in spirit. When I see someone wearing red lipstick, it makes me smile and think of her. I know she is there in spirit if I see butterflies around me. She is passing by to say hello and forever in my heart. I appreciated her kindness and I’ll never forget it." ... See MoreSee Less
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3 months ago

Why Did She Stay?
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We created this site to honor Anne-Christine's memory by promoting safe and healthy relationships to facilitate freedom from family violence.