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Scarlett Wachter is seeking justice for her son after “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wachter was killed in a brazen 3 a.m. shooting on a Los Angeles street in May.
“True Crime News” host Ana Garcia spoke with Scarlett on “Extra” ahead of the Sept. 9 premiere of the new syndicated crime show.
Ana asked, “When was the last time you spoke to your son?”
She said, “Maybe a few weeks before he got shot. He would call just to chat… He would always end the conversation saying he loved me, so at least I knew that. I think he knew that too. We always said that. And we’re a very close family… The last time I saw him was in January for my surprise 60th birthday party. He flew in. It was great. It was one of my last hugs. I miss it.”
She is channeling her pain and grief into action: Still reeling from the shock of the shooting, an emotional Scarlett tells Anna, “If they could just catch them, it would make this so much easier.”
Johnny’s mother travels from South Carolina to Los Angeles on a mission to find the killer of her beloved son.
She said of authorities: “They say, ‘We’re going to get them,’ and I have no choice but to believe them.”
“It must be very difficult for you to be in the city where your son was murdered,” Anna said.
Scarlett agreed. “Yes, I wanted to go and see where he took his last breath because he only had three minutes to live after being shot.”
Johnny was just 37 when he was killed after finishing a bartending shift downtown with a coworker.
She explained: “He and Anita Joy were walking to their car. They were laughing and talking.”
Scarlett continued, “He saw them and he thought he was being towed. So they were driving and he thought that’s what they were doing. And he asked them… ‘Are you towing my car?’ The guy looked up and he had his mask on, but he quickly got in front of Annita, put his hands down and took them out, and the guy shot him at point blank range through the heart.”
Ana asked, “Didn’t he have a chance to say anything?”
Scarlett said: “No. Anita heard a pop and then he collapsed onto her with all his might. She asked, ‘Are you OK?’ and he said, ‘No, I’ve been shot’ and those were his last words. He died in her arms.”
“It looks like your son was trying to stop a thief from stealing the catalytic converter,” Anna pointed out.
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Scarlett clarified, “He didn’t do anything like that. He didn’t do anything like that.”
The Los Angeles Police Department has released surveillance video of three suspects believed to be involved in Johnny’s murder.
Garcia asked, “Did police tell you in advance that they were going to release this information?”
Scarlett said, “Hmm, no. It was the media who first warned me and wanted to know what comments I’d made. I wish they’d let me know two minutes before and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to publish this’. I think they’re working on it but they won’t tell me anything. If something leaks it will ruin any leads they have. They keep repeating that and telling me that all the time.”
“This community needs safety. They should have safety,” Scarlett said of her and others trying to get the case in the media so everyone can see it.
Looking to the future, she said, “I want to change what’s happening in this city and hopefully it will spread to other cities.”
Ana asked, “What does justice mean to you in this case?”
Scarlett responded: “Life in prison, without the possibility of parole.”
As for how to solve the case, Scarlett said, “I think someone has to come forward or make some kind of discovery. Whether it’s an investigative reporter, a detective, a local resident. Someone knows something. They just have to do the right thing. Johnny would have done the right thing.”
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