William Lanham

Candice Johnston's Story

UPDATE: Child killer William Lanham died in prison on May 19, 2021 and has now fulfilled his well deserved life sentence. We are confident after his death Lanham received his rightly deserved one way ticket straight to hell. Thank you to everyone who submitted a petition to oppose Lanham’s parole and ensured he served his full life sentence. Justice has been served. Please keep Lanham’s surviving victim in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to suffer from the injuries he inflicted upon her. Rest In Peace Candice Johnston. You will never be forgotten.

Uncontrollable Rage Results in Murder

On June 8th, 1981, Charlotte Lanham and her three-year-old daughter, Candice Johnston, were dropped off at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital by Candice’s stepfather, William Lanham Jr. Candice was unconscious and admitted to the hospital with multiple head and torso injuries. Doctors soon determined the injuries were the result of severe child abuse. William Lanham Jr. was arrested when he returned to the hospital later that day.

Little Candice would never regain consciousness. She died the following week due to what the coroner’s office said were “head injuries caused by a beating.”

Lanham, who was initially charged with attempted murder, was charged with aggravated murder for killing Candice.

According to homicide detective James Svekric, Lanham, who was a karate expert and loved to wear his karate pants around the house, had beaten Candice with his hands, feet and a stick at least four or five times in the past. Det. Svekric stated, “He [Lanham] was tired of listening to the baby whine.” When Mrs. Lanham was asked where she was during the beating, she claimed was upstairs at their home, and did not interfere out of fear for her own life.

A Child Killer Gets Life

In the opening statements of Lanham’s trial, County Prosecutor Edward M. Walsh stated that Lanham smashed his stepdaughter against a wall because she was unable to put on pants the way he had instructed her. After she collapsed, he picked her up by her hair, slammed her against the same wall, and kicked her until she lost consciousness.

During the trial, Mrs. Lanham stated that Lanham would punch and kick Candice on a regular basis.

Rev. Earl Craddock, pastor at Grace Freewill Baptist Church, testified against Lanham, said that he had refused to marry Charlotte and Lanham due to the fact he had severe misgivings about Lanham’s treatment of Candice. “I didn’t perform the ceremony,” he stated, “mostly because of his reactions about the baby. When we talked about his willingness to accept the baby in a family unit, he’d turn his head, he wouldn’t answer my questions at all. So I felt I shouldn’t complete the ceremony.” The Lanhams would eventually seek out another minister to marry them.

Rev. Craddock also stated Mrs. Lanham had summoned him to the hospital while Candice was in the emergency room, and he promptly asked to be taken home because he was so sickened by Candice’s injuries.

Lanham took the stand is his own defense. He admitted to beating Candice, as well as instructing Candice’s mother to lie and tell hospital officials that Candice had fallen down the stairs. He claimed he hit Candice on several occasions for wetting her bed, rolling her toy cars on the table and crying for no reason. Lanham also stated that he had struck his wife on multiple occasions.

A jury had no problem finding Lanham guilty of murder. The jury could not determine if Lanham’s crime was premeditated, so he escaped the greater charge of aggravated murder.

At sentencing, Judge Robert M. Lawther told Lanham, “Let us hope that the years of incarceration will not all be wasted – although we are not at all convinced that imprisonment does any good – and that you will gain the maturity to start a new life when you come out.”

Lanham was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

Judge Lawther’s hopes would be dashed soon after Lanham was released on parole after serving a mere 10 years of his life sentence.

What Is Past Is Prologue

After his release on parole in 1991, Lanham quickly moved in with another woman. She, too, had a small child, and that child soon fell victim to Lanham’s anger. Authorities stated that Lanham’s abuse began two months after his parole began and lasted for two years.

The abuse began in the summer of 1991 and the first confirmed report came on August 3rd, 1991, when Lanham’s girlfriend’s five-month-old daughter was brought to the hospital with multiple injuries including broken ribs, a skull fracture and broken leg bones.

Although her daughter was severely injured and in the hospital, the girl’s mother inexplicably married Lanham two weeks later.

The baby’s mother was eventually charged for the abuse, however she was not prosecuted immediately because the family moved to Pennsylvania, where Lanham had accepted a job in June of 1992. She was arrested the following October after returning to Ohio and spent 2 months in prison before admitting to authorities that Lanham was responsible for the injures.

Lanham was arrested once again and charged with felonious assault and child endangering.

Another Trial, Another Conviction

The baby’s mother stated in court, “I tried to stop him and argue with him, and that’s when he would start hitting me.” She further described beatings by Lanham, saying once he ripped her clothes off and choked her until she passed out, and that he would squeeze, shake or push the baby.

When questioned as to why she married Lanham two weeks after the baby was first admitted to the hospital, she said, “He wanted to get married instead of waiting.” The woman told the court she had refused to approach authorities and report Lanham for the abuse because she was too scared to admit the truth. She claimed she wrote letters to Lanham while they lived in Pennsylvania that said he was “a loving, devoted husband and father” because asked her to do so.

Unable to determine who caused the injuries to the little girl, Judge Judith Cross found Lanham guilty of child endangering and sentenced him to additional 5 to 15 years in prison. Lanham’s wife was found guilty of child endangering as well and was also sent to prison. The mother has been released and her whereabouts are unknown. Lanham remains in prison and is currently serving the remainder of his life sentence for killing Candice Johnston.

Questionable Prison History

Lanham’s parole records from his last hearing in 2015 indicate that his institutional conduct is positive; however, it also states that he “needs to have formalized programming relative to the management of his risk relevant behaviors.” The records state that Lanham has “strong community support.” We are not sure what constitutes community support, however we find it hard to believe any community would want a paroled child killer who also severely beat another young child in their midst. The report concludes by stating, “There is substantial reason to believe that due to the serious nature of the crime, the release of the inmate into society would create undue risk to public safety, or the release of the inmate would not further the interests of justice or consistent with the welfare and security of society.”

No Parole

William Lanham Jr. is a cold-blooded child killer who beat little Candice Johnston to death and then, after being paroled for that crime, severely abused an innocent baby girl causing her permanent brain damage. Lanham preys on single mothers, takes advantage of their poor judgment and, as a result, their innocent children suffer the awful consequences. Nothing in the parole board records indicate that Lanham has taken responsibility for his actions or shown remorse for his crimes.

Releasing William Lanham Jr. a second time would be a complete injustice to both child victims and would demean his cruelty to them. In addition, releasing him at any point would pose an extreme risk to the community especially young children. Lanham has already proven once that he will continue his abusive ways if put on parole and under no circumstances should he be given another opportunity to hurt another innocent child. To further the interests of justice and protect society, we urge the Ohio Parole Board to give Lanham the ten-year maximum continuance and require him to serve his maximum sentence of life in prison.