CO Teen Complained About Walgreens Co-Worker's Advances; Police Say He Killed Her

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — A slain 16-year-old Walgreens worker in Colorado Springs complained that a colleague now charged with murdering her in the break room made unwanted advances toward her, according to an arrest report obtained by KKTV.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, Colorado Springs police officers found the body of Riley Whitelaw, 17, inside a Walgreens store on Centennial Boulevard. Police later identified Joshua Johnson, 28, as the suspect in the homicide.

Colorado state troopers found him along Interstate 25 near Walsenburg. He was arrested without incident on a first-degree murder charge.

An arrest affidavit sheds new light on what police said led up to the slaying and what happened after.

Police said Whitelaw complained about a year ago that Johnson, her co-worker at Walgreens, made unwanted advances toward the teen. A manager told police that Riley felt uncomfortable about Johnson's advances and that Johnson was warned to "keep things professional." Johnson, the manager told police, seemed receptive.

But several weeks ago, Riley asked to work a different schedule because Johnson continued to make her feel uncomfortable, according to the affidavit.

"When she made another request for additional hours, she was told it would require working with Joshua," the police affidavit said.

A second manager told police Johnson appeared to become jealous when Riley's boyfriend started working at the store about three months ago.

On Saturday, police said her body was found in the store's break room by the first manager. Police officers found the floor, cabinets and counter covered in blood. Riley suffered significant neck injuries. Her identification badge was on the floor, along with a radio earpiece near her feet.

During questioning, the manager who found her body said he had been told by the second manager that Riley never returned from her break. He returned to the store, reviewed surveillance video and said he saw Johnson stacking bins in front of a surveillance camera near the break room, the affidavit said. Paper was taped over the room's windows, and the "restroom closed" sign was placed in the area to keep people out.

The manager opened the door to the break room and found Riley dead on the floor.

A customer told police she was at the store around 5:45 p.m. when she heard a female scream.

"She thought she heard the sound of stalls slamming," police wrote in the affidavit.

The customer thought she misheard and left the store with her items. She told patrol officers what she heard after passing them on the road.

When officers found Johnson, he had scratches on his hands and face, police said. During questioning, officers said, Johnson told police he previously had a crush on Riley but that it was over because he was intimate with a manager. Johnson also told police he was in the break room and fell in the blood, and that he talked to the manager whom he claimed to be intimate with near a trash bin as he was trying to leave. Bleach was found near the trash bin.

Johnson denied stacking boxes in front of the surveillance camera, even when police told him it was recorded on camera, officers said.

He remains held without bond at the El Paso County Jail.