Medford Man Convicted in Murder of Prostitute

A Medford man faces 25 years to life in prison after a Suffolk County jury convicted him Monday of murdering a prostitute in 2010, officials said. 

Chad Johnson, 23, was found guilty of second-degree murder, patronizing a prostitute and aggravated unlicensed driving.

According to prosecutors, Johnson strangled N. Patchogue resident Jennifer Papain, whom he hired through a Craiglist ad, after Papain, 26, refused to give him his $80 back after a sexual encounter in a car in Bay Shore on March 24, 2010.

Police said Johnson admitted to the murder in May 2010 and led officers to a wooded area near Expressway Drive North, west of Bellport Road in Medford, where Papain's body was buried.

According to the Long Island Press, Johnson told police he grabbed Papain’s neck after arguing over a refund.

“I started choking her with two hands and I forced her head against the passenger side of the front window,” Johnson said in a statement, according to the Press. “I kept choking her until she went limp and then I freaked out.”

Johnson’s attorney argued during the trial that Johnson's written statement to police was coerced and that Papain actually died of a drug overdose while she was with Johnson, the Press reported. 

Johnson will be sentenced on Jan. 5.