Stephanie Johnson described days of conflict but told detectives she was not in fear for her life when the gun fired, authorities say.
STARKE, Fla. — A Florida woman charged with second-degree murder told detectives that her four-year relationship had recently deteriorated and that days of arguments preceded the moment she took a gun from a nightstand and shot her boyfriend in bed, according to an arrest affidavit described in published reports.
The account attributed to 42-year-old Stephanie Michelle Johnson gives investigators a narrative of the Aug. 31 death of David James Wroblewski, 41, but it does not settle the case. Authorities said Johnson had difficulty providing a clear chronology of the arguments she described, and her statements remain allegations and evidence to be evaluated through the court process. Bradford County deputies found Wroblewski wounded in the couple’s Meadows Drive home after one of Johnson’s children alerted an older sibling, leading to a call to law enforcement at about 5:30 a.m.
According to the probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Johnson told detectives that she and Wroblewski had been together for roughly four years. She said the relationship initially went well but had deteriorated. She described Wroblewski screaming at her during the night on Friday and said there was another argument on Saturday. Investigators wrote, however, that Johnson could not give a clear chronological sequence for all of the events she discussed. That uncertainty leaves the precise progression of the couple’s final days dependent on additional evidence gathered by detectives rather than Johnson’s interview alone.
Johnson’s description of the fatal encounter was more direct. She told investigators that she and Wroblewski were in bed and arguing when she obtained a firearm from a nightstand. According to the affidavit, Wroblewski responded with words challenging her to shoot him. Detectives allege that Johnson then fired. The affidavit further says Johnson told investigators she did not believe her life was in danger during the confrontation and said Wroblewski had never been physically violent toward her. Authorities have not publicly described evidence showing that the shooting was an act of self-defense, and Johnson faces a homicide charge.
Investigators also documented what Johnson said she did immediately after the gunfire. She recalled the sound of the shot and said she noticed a burning smell, according to the affidavit. She told detectives that her anxiety increased, that she took a diazepam pill and that she smoked part of a marijuana joint belonging to Wroblewski. She also said the two had been naked because they had been intimate earlier. Johnson told detectives she later put underwear on Wroblewski. Police included those details in their account of her post-shooting behavior, but the affidavit excerpts reported publicly do not establish why she took each action beyond the explanation she gave.
The investigation had already begun through a separate path. The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call around 5:30 a.m. from one of Johnson’s older children after a younger sibling reported that their mother had said she killed Wroblewski. Deputies went to the Starke residence and encountered Johnson outside. The sheriff’s office said she was cooperative. One of her first reported statements to a deputy referred to the couple having fought over the preceding days. She was detained while officers entered the home.
Wroblewski was found on a bed with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Deputies attempted lifesaving measures until medical personnel took over, according to local reports. He died from his injuries. Sheriff Gordon Smith said investigators believed the relevant crime scene was limited to the master bedroom. Authorities recovered a firearm but did not initially provide detailed public information about where it was found. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement assisted with processing the scene while Bradford County investigators interviewed witnesses and worked to establish what had happened before deputies arrived.
That physical evidence matters because much of the initial narrative came from statements attributed to Johnson. Smith said investigators planned to review surveillance footage associated with the property and await information from the medical examiner. Such evidence could help establish timing and corroborate or contradict parts of the account given to detectives. Officials did not release a full autopsy report in the news reports reviewed for this story, and the publicly available accounts do not describe forensic conclusions beyond the reported gunshot wound.
The household itself offered investigators another source of information. Local reports said children were inside the residence during the episode, although authorities did not publicly identify them or provide a detailed account of what each child witnessed or heard. Smith said protecting them was an immediate concern. A victim advocate helped obtain clothing for children who had been taken outside as the home became an active crime scene, and authorities worked to arrange care with relatives or others who could provide a safe placement.
Neighbors told television reporters that the violence was unexpected. Smith said people familiar with the family described them as good neighbors and said they had not regularly heard loud disputes. Action News Jax reported that law enforcement had no known prior record of being called to the home for domestic incidents. Those accounts provide context for how the neighborhood perceived the family, but they do not resolve what occurred between Johnson and Wroblewski privately or during the arguments Johnson described to detectives.
Johnson was initially detained at the scene while the investigation developed. Later that day, jail records showed she had been booked on a second-degree murder charge. WCJB reported that no bond had been set at the time of its Aug. 31 report. A second-degree murder charge alleges an unlawful killing under circumstances defined by Florida law, but the filing of the charge does not establish guilt. Prosecutors must prove the case in court, and the defense may challenge the state’s evidence, the interpretation of Johnson’s statements and other aspects of the investigation.
Smith said publicly that Johnson acknowledged being the person who fired the shot and was cooperating with investigators. Another statement attributed to her after she was placed in a patrol vehicle expressed regret and said she should have talked to her son instead. Investigators nevertheless continued processing the home, interviewing witnesses and developing a timeline rather than treating an admission alone as a complete account of the case.
As of Oct. 19, publicly available reports reviewed for this story did not identify a subsequent court date, plea or final disposition. The affidavit’s description of days of conflict and Johnson’s account of the shooting remain part of an unresolved criminal case in which the state’s allegations have not yet been proven in court.
Author note: Last updated October 19, 2026.