Fired Dispatcher Appears As Murder Trial Witness

A fired Plant City (Fla.) police dispatcher took the witness stand on Wednesday to testify about a 911 call she answered from the victim, who had been allegedly kidnapped by her boyfriend, stuffed in the trunk of a car, and later found suffocated. Amanda Hill was unemotional on the stand, reporters noted, as she recalled answering the call. She told the prosecutor she used an earpiece in one ear, and could not clearly hear Jennifer Johnson’s voice, but mostly loud rap music from the car radio. At one point during the one minute, 25-second call Hill asked, “Where did he pick you up at?” but did not ask about the car’s description, location or direction of travel. The call ended, and Hill did not call Johnson’s cellular phone back, even though the ANI/ALI reportedly displayed a telephone number and receiving cellular tower location. Johnson was discovered dead in an abandoned house three days later. It was not mentioned during Hill’s testimony that she had been fired in 2009 because of her handling of the call. A comm center supervisor and police patrol sergeant involved in the incident left the agency voluntarily. A police captain who gave the media incorrect information about the incident resigned. Read more about the trial and listen to part of the 911 call logging tape here, and listen to the tape of the call here.