How do Sean and Sophia, siblings at odds since childhood, end up accusing each other of murder?
Sean Correia's credibility is called into question as his siblings, Sophia Johnson and Shane Correia, tell reporter Amory Sivertson about his role in their upbringing. Amory learns how these siblings ended up in Washington state after being raised in New York, and how Sophia became estranged from Shane and their mother, with whom she’d been incredibly close.
Sophia Johnson: And I never want my son to think that, ‘Mom, I love you anyway.’ That is not the right answer. That's not the right answer.Shane Correia is, once again, recording a voice memo for me. He’s the lawyer in New York City, remember… and like you’d hope a lawyer would be, Shane is or-ga-NIZED. He’s been a thorough record-keeper for pretty much his whole life. It’s kept him safe, he says.
That PINS petition… didn’t go anywhere, Shane says. Sean went to go live with his dad. But Shane, the youngest? He was staying with their mom. And she was there, talking to a psychologist for the state of New York, to make SURE of it. The gratitude Shane feels… is because, in Correia vs. Correia 1997, Mr. Correia wasn’t granted visitation rights. Shane credits Sophia and his mom for that. For protecting him from his dad… Because, as he himself told the psychologist,Who is the Sean that Sophia was afraid of Shane becoming? That Shane was afraid of becoming? So much so that the Correia family remains divided TODAY. Physically… emotionally… intentionally. I was starting to get an idea…Therese Lavallee: Thank you, your Honor.
Therese Lavallee: This is a story that was concocted by Correia to save himself from the charge of murder in the first degree. In some ways, Sophia and Sean have been through a lot together. They were both born in Guyana. It’s the only South American country where English is the official language — sandwiched between Venezuela and Suriname. The Correias have a rich ethnic background, as many Guyanese people do. There’s Chinese heritage, Indian, Portuguese. You’d never be able to visually pinpoint the Correia siblings to a particular nationality, but you’d connect ‘em to each other, alright.
The Correia parents worked long hours, so Sophia took on the role of guardian. Not legally, but literally. Mostly to Shane. As forIf Sophia was the protector, Shane says Sean was the instigator.And, as their mother claimed in the psychological evaluation, Sean could get physical, like his dad. Shane told me about a time that he went after Sophia.
Sophia Johnson: And so I made the decision. I made the decision to go to the Kingdom Hall with them three times a week, which is what their meetings are, and take Shane with me so that we would be safe while my mother was at work. It was peaceful. It was safe, and at times boring as hell. But, it taught me to be a little bit more confident.
Sophia Johnson: I know that if he just got away from his father and all of this stuff in New York, the influence that maybe he can have a shot at a life. her grandmother, her dad’s mom. She lived with them when they were all in the Bronx brownstone. It was for herthat Sophia says she got Sean enrolled in high school out in Washington and convinced her mother to take him in. Give him a second chance.
It took starry-eyed Cynthia a little while to see what her parents seemed to pick up on right away about Sean. There’s this one picture of Cynthia and Sean from around this time that may as well be captioned: Rebels in romance. They both have these satisfied, closed-mouth smiles. Sean has one arm around her, the other clasped in her hand. The epitome of teenage toughness… except for one little dimple that gives Cynthia away.
According to Sophia, Sean’s own mother has claimed that he would FAKE seizures, by the way. But real or not, Cynthia was starting to worry about safety. Sophia took her and her infant daughter in for a period of time. Cynthia says she feared for her life in that moment. She details another incident a couple months earlier when she says Sean punched her and threatened to kill her, saying he was going to take their daughter.
News Clip: Clark County Sheriff's deputies believe Sophia Johnson and her brother, Sean Correa, murdered a brush prairie woman. Sean has DENIED this allegation. And others of a similar nature. And you WILL get to hear from him in his own words down the line… Tom Duffy: It's an attempt by the defense to besmirch and portray Sean Correia as this bad character. Therese Lavallee: The evidence we can show directly contradicts that.
Ultimately, her Honor… sided with the prosecutor. Sean’s history? Irrelevant. He wasn’t on trial for murder. His sister was. Brad was an only child, which meant Sophia was like the daughter Marlyne never had. And Marlyne was… notmother she never had. One who didn’t work all day. Who let her do her make-up. Who watched movies with her and gossipped. Who let her feel just… like a DAUGHTER after so many years of being a motherlike figure to her kid brother.
January 10, 2002 was a pretty typical Thursday. Brad went to work, like usual, Sophia says. She stayed home, like usual. But unlike usual, Sean and his pregnant girlfriend were expected at her house at 8:30 in the morning to go over his divorce paperwork. So the siblings’ stories match, so far. Including the part about Sophia agreeing to give Sean the money to file his divorce papers, and realizing… she didn’t have it.
Sophia Johnson: And in fact, I called Marlyne And she informed me that she was going to do a yoga class and that she'd come home and shower, get ready, and she'd make a note to bring my coat. It’s now late morning, and Sean and his girlfriend have just left her Sophia’s house. Sophia says she’s blasting 80s love ballads on her living room stereo, and rockin’ out… while rockin’ out.The nursery for baby boy Johnson, who’s due in just a few months. She’d just recently finished setting it up with Marlyne, who’s due at her house for lunch pretty soon.
Sophia calls Brad. He hasn’t heard anything from his mom. Her father-in-law? Nothing. Someone needs to check on Marlyne. Sophia Johnson: I said, ‘Wait, let's call the police. Where are you going? Something's wrong. Something's wrong.’ He's like, ‘Oh no.’ I was afraid that there was someone in the house and that he could get hurt. I didn't know what we were walking into.Sophia Johnson: But the door is stuck and he pushes his weight against this door
If you’re thinking back to the version of events we heard Sean tell on the stand in the last episode and thinking… WHAT. THE. HELL. I’m right there with you. Sitting in the Johnsons’ house while Sophia looks for money, hearing a scream of some sort, nervously descending the steps to see his sister, standing over Marlyne with a stocking over her face, holding fireplace tongs.
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