A former Wisconsin retailer proprietor and native tv gardening professional was attacked in Antigua simply earlier than the vacations.
On December 19, 2025, round 11 a.m., Karen Johannsen, 66, was allegedly hit on the pinnacle by an unnamed male suspect whereas on a horseback driving tour on the island — an harm which ultimately resulted in her demise, in keeping with stories.
“The sufferer was transported by Emergency Medical Companies to the Sir Lester Hen Medical Centre, the place she was handled for severe head accidents,” the Royal Police Pressure of Antigua and Barbuda stated in a press launch revealed on December 27. “She was subsequently airlifted to the USA to obtain additional medical care.”
Regardless of receiving medical consideration for days after the preliminary assault, Johannsen was pronounced lifeless at 10:17 p.m. native time on December 26, 2025. In response to the Royal Police Pressure, a suspect in reference to the incident has been taken into police custody and is at the moment “aiding” authorities with their ongoing “investigations.” No additional info was launched concerning the outline or the id of the male suspect.
“The Police Administration expresses condolences to the household and family members of Karen Johannsen on her tragic passing,” the assertion concluded.
It’s unclear if Johannsen was residing on the Caribbean island or just visiting on the time of her demise however primarily based on her social media posts, she appeared to a minimum of journey to the island every so often.
Again in October, the gardening professional shared a photograph of herself through Fb lounging on a chair on the seaside with a tropical drink in hand. Within the image, she wore a pink and purple, floral-patterned gown and sun shades as she smiled for the digital camera.
“Toughing out one other stunning day in Paradise,” she captioned the snapshot. “Mama all the time stated there could be days like these…Thanks Mother.”
Within the wake of her demise, Johannsen is being remembered by Wisconsin locals for her many appearances on Information 3 Now’s “Inexperienced Gardener” phase, throughout which she shared assorted information about crops and ideas and tips of gardening. She additionally labored at her household backyard middle, Johannsen’s Greenhouse, in Madison, Wisconsin, alongside her siblings, Lyn and Gary — a enterprise that was based by her father within the late Fifties. Nevertheless, the shop ultimately closed its doorways for good in 2013.
“My dad by no means actually had the imaginative and prescient,” Karen advised Information 3 Now on the time. “You recognize, it was a cute little enterprise and he liked it, however he by no means realized what was going to occur. What my mother, [my] brother and sister and I did, we actually had 20 kilos of stuff in a 5-pound bag, and we made it work.”
Anybody with info which will assist the investigation is requested to contact the Felony Investigations Division at 268-462-3913 or name the Crime Stoppers nameless hotline at 1-800-TIPS (8477.)
For those who or somebody you realize is struggling or in disaster, assist is offered. Name or textual content 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
