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Man charged with homicide in cold case of “Mississippi” Johnson

By Alyssa Choiniere achoiniere@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read
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A man who allegedly celebrated getting away with murder was charged Monday in a 34-year-old cold case.

David Eugene Lint, 61, of Uniontown, allegedly bragged about the murder of Charles “Mississippi” Johnson to several people over the years, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Johnson would have celebrated his 62nd birthday less than two weeks ago. In the summer of 1981, he was a 28-year-old carnival worker who had just arrived in Fayette County. He never left.

Johnson disappeared without a trace. He was a traveler without roots or strong family ties. An acquaintance reported him missing.

Leads trickled in over the years, and police began investigating the case as a suspected murder. They identified a person of interest. But they found no concrete evidence.

Lint lived next door to Johnson in a trailer in Dunbar Township in the village of Adelaide with his then-wife, Linda Lint. Johnson married Lint’s sister-in-law, Carol Basinger. The four worked together in the summer of 1981 at the Fayette County Fair.

Lint allegedly told witnesses he killed Johnson because he was “always beating up” Basinger and he was “tired of it,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Lint allegedly celebrated when Basinger died, jumping up and down and saying, “I just got away with murder. The last witness died.”

He allegedly shot Johnson in the head with a .30/-30 rifle, burned his body and buried it near the trailer.

In 1982, state police received a tip that Lint was telling family members he killed “Mississippi,” then burned his body.

Later that year, police found a .30/-30 rifle at the residence of Dale Basinger in Connellsville. They recovered a slug from a pole outside the step of Carol Basinger’s trailer.

Police matched the slug to the rifle.

Richard Basinger told police he used the rifle for hunting, but had left it at Carol Basinger’s residence.

Police conducted periodic searches for Johnson. There was no activity using his social security card number since August 1981, according to the affidavit.

Lint’s former wife, Linda Basinger Lint, told police that during an argument he referred to Johnson, saying “I’m gonna kill you just like I killed him,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.

James Scott Howard told police he was friends with Lint around 2002, and heard him talk about the murder multiple times, according to the affidavit. He reported Lint celebrated after Carol Basinger’s death.

Vicki Lint, another former wife, told police she asked Lint if it was true that he killed Johnson. He allegedly responded, “Yes I did. And if you ever ask me again, I’ll bust your (expletive) teeth out.”

The cold case received its first big lead in 2012. Cold case investigator Trooper John F. Marshall wrote in the complaint that he was walking Lint to an unmarked police car when Lint offered to tell him the whole story in exchange for two packs of Camel cigarettes. Marshall said he would have to tell him the story, and Lint allegedly responded, “Marshall, you already know the whole story.”

Marshall said Lint would have to show him where he buried the body, and Lint allegedly answered, “If he is still there.”

The area where the body was allegedly buried, next door to Lint’s former trailer, is now a park. During the earlier stages of the investigation, police attempted to find the body with a backhoe and tip to its location. Nothing was found.

Lint is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to court documents.

He is lodged at the State Correctional Institute in Greene County.

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