Paul Marshall Johnson Jr.

Warning: Some links and content may be offensive to some readers.

Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr. (1955 - June 18(?), 2004) was an American helicopter builder who lived in Saudi Arabia. He was a native of Stafford Township, New Jersey and Eagleswood Township, New Jersey.

Johnson, who worked for Lockheed Martin, was kidnapped and taken hostage by a group claiming to be part of Al Qaeda. The group, headed by Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin, posted a video of Johnson on an Islamist website on June 15, 2004. Johnson was blindfolded, and a man armed with an AK-47 could be seen next to him. Johnson made some statements similar to the ones made by Nick Berg before Berg was killed (not long before Johnson was taken hostage).

The video was released on the same day that Crown Prince Abdullah promised to step up security and investigations against militant Islamic groups in Saudi Arabia.

Johnson was described by his son, Paul Johnson III, as a lover of Saudi Arabian culture who often sent verses of the Quran to his daughter, which suggests that Johnson himself may have been a Muslim.

Immediately after the video was released, American and Saudi Arabian authorities began to deal with the hostage situation. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia asserted that they would not comply with the kidnappers demands.

At 17h30 UTC on June 18, Al-Arabiya and CNN reported that Paul Johnson had been beheaded. This report is based on three photographs of the murder posted on the Internet. Saudi officials discovered Johnson's body later that day, confirming his death. Al-Muqrin was killed while disposing his body.

External links

Johnson beheading pictures

Warning, these pictures may be offensive!

• http://www.drudgereport.com/jp.htm - The three pictures together
• http://www.ogrish.com/paul-johnson-beheaded.jpg - A copy of the letter and three snapshots.