Investigators say separate acts of concealment, transportation and misdirection helped murder suspect Isabelle Johnson stay ahead of law enforcement.
FREEPORT, Fla. — The search for a Florida woman accused of murder has developed into a broader criminal case centered on five other people who authorities say helped conceal a man’s death or assisted the suspect while she was on the run.
Isabelle Rose Johnson, 38, remained wanted Wednesday in the death of Jason Christopher Coulthart, 43, whose remains were recovered June 25 from a shallow grave on a Freeport property. Johnson faces an open count of murder, while Bobbie Gean Wagstaff, Martin Leaverton, Sandra Leaverton, Michael White and Kathleen Morris have been arrested on allegations connected to events after the killing. Investigators portray the group not as participants with one identical role, but as a chain of people whose alleged actions allowed evidence to be hidden and Johnson to avoid arrest.
The distinction matters because Florida law treats the alleged killer and an accessory after the fact differently. Prosecutors do not need to claim that every person accused of helping Johnson was present when Coulthart died. Instead, an accessory case generally turns on whether someone knew or had reason to know that a serious crime had occurred and then provided help intended to prevent the suspect’s arrest, trial or punishment. Each defendant’s knowledge, intent and conduct must be proved separately.
Wagstaff, 31, has been described in public reports as Johnson’s roommate and is accused of playing the earliest role in the alleged concealment. Arrest-report accounts say she helped dig a grave on property off Sunset Lane and assisted with placing Coulthart’s body in it. Investigators allege the burial site was later covered with concrete and hidden beneath a black Cadillac. Wagstaff is presumed innocent, and the allegations in an arrest affidavit are not findings of guilt.
The reports attribute key information about the alleged killing and burial to a witness. According to accounts of the documents, the witness told investigators that Johnson had complained about Coulthart, discussed getting rid of him and later killed him with a large plastic tie. The same accounts describe steps allegedly taken to prevent the remains from being found. Those claims may become important evidence, but the witness’s credibility, opportunity to observe and possible motives have not been tested in open court.
Martin and Sandra Leaverton, both 63, are accused of helping Johnson after investigators began closing in. Public reports say the married couple provided rides or other assistance that allowed her to move between locations. Investigators contend that at least some transportation occurred after the couple knew police were searching for her. Defense lawyers may challenge when the Leavertons learned of the warrant, what Johnson told them and whether they intended to obstruct law enforcement.
The cases involving White and Morris add another layer to the alleged network. Investigators have cited communications and movements that they say reflect an effort to hide Johnson or arrange assistance. Reports describing the affidavits refer to urgent messages about transportation and law enforcement activity. The precise wording and context of those communications will be important because ordinary contact with a wanted person is not necessarily enough to prove someone knowingly became an accessory.
Authorities have repeatedly characterized Johnson as skilled at persuading people to help her. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office has called her cunning and a master manipulator, saying she may use stories about hardship, danger or family problems to gain sympathy. That language is a law enforcement assessment rather than a court finding. It has nevertheless shaped the investigation by encouraging anyone approached for money, lodging or a ride to consider whether the request may be part of an effort to evade capture.
The alleged support structure also helps explain why Johnson has remained at large despite the release of her name, photographs and physical description. Investigators say she has used multiple identities, including Harley, Jessica Elaine Bowman, Jessica Elaine Thrush or Thrash and Jessica Dowdy. With a different name, changed hairstyle and help from acquaintances, she could stay in homes or travel in vehicles that are not registered to her and therefore less likely to trigger a routine police lead.
Law enforcement has tried to counter those tactics by releasing images from different periods and highlighting tattoos that cannot be changed as easily as clothing or hair. Johnson is believed to have a flower or rose tattoo on her left hand, a tattoo on her right ankle, a large scorpion tattoo along her left thigh and a large design across her back. She is listed as about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 120 pounds, with hazel eyes. Authorities say her brown hair may have been cut or dyed.
The accessory investigation began after a missing-person case led detectives to the Sunset Lane property. Coulthart had last been seen May 24 leaving the College Condominiums complex in Niceville. Information gathered during the search suggested that he had been buried in neighboring Walton County. Deputies obtained a search warrant, recovered remains from the property June 25 and later used DNA testing to identify Coulthart.
The sheriff’s office obtained a murder warrant for Johnson after the remains were found. Officials have not publicly released the complete evidentiary basis for the warrant, the medical examiner’s full conclusions or a final motive. Arrest-report accounts include allegations about tensions between Johnson and Coulthart, but investigators have not established those claims as fact in court. Johnson has not been arrested, and no lawyer has publicly presented her response to the accusation.
The five arrests are significant to the manhunt because they may reduce the number of people willing or able to help Johnson. An accessory arrest can also give investigators access to phones, vehicles, financial records and communications that could reveal recent travel or contact. Any such evidence would require appropriate legal authority and would still need to be authenticated if used in court. Officials have not disclosed which searches have produced useful information about Johnson’s current location.
At the same time, the arrests may complicate the prosecution. Each defendant could have different interests, and statements provided by one person may shift responsibility toward another. Some may seek reduced charges or favorable treatment in exchange for cooperation, though no such agreement has been publicly announced. Prosecutors must evaluate whether accounts are consistent with physical evidence and independent records rather than relying only on witnesses who may face their own criminal exposure.
The investigation has moved across state lines because Johnson has ties to Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Authorities have identified Habersham County, Georgia, as an area she has frequented. A U.S. Marshals task force is participating in the search, and combined rewards of up to $16,000 have been announced. The interstate element does not change the Walton County murder accusation but allows agencies in other jurisdictions to assist with locating and arresting her.
Investigators have warned that further arrests are possible. That warning is aimed not only at people who may already have provided assistance, but also at anyone considering helping Johnson now. To establish a new accessory case, authorities would still need evidence that the person knew about the accusation or warrant and intentionally acted to obstruct her capture. Giving help without knowledge of the crime would present a different legal question.
None of the existing arrests determines what happened to Coulthart. The state must separately prove that Johnson caused his death and that each alleged accessory knowingly acted afterward. The available public record leaves unresolved who was present, when Coulthart died, how long his remains were at the property and whether every participant has been identified. Those gaps will be addressed, if at all, through continuing investigation and later court proceedings.
Johnson remains outside police custody, and the sheriff’s office continued to seek information about her aliases, associates and travel. The five defendants already arrested will face their own cases while investigators work to determine whether the alleged chain of assistance has been fully broken.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 5, 2026.