ABC7 has learned the murder of former NFL player Kevin Johnson may be connected to three separate murders of homeless people in the Willowbrook area.

WILLOWBROOK, Calif. (KABC) — Eyewitness News has learned the murder of former NFL player Kevin Johnson may be connected to three separate murders of homeless people living in encampments along the L.A. River near Willowbrook, sometimes called Compton Creek.

All four homicides occurred in the same general location in the 1300 block of East 120th Street between October 2025 and January 2026. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department noted that all four victims were unhoused individuals who were living in encampments in the area.

ABC7 has learned the murder of former NFL player Kevin Johnson may be connected to three separate murders of homeless people in the Willowbrook area.

Johnson’s body was found at a homeless encampment next to Compton Creek on Jan. 21. His cause of death was listed as “blunt head trauma” and “stab wounds,” and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, according to L.A. County Medical Examiner records.

Johnson was 55 years old.

Former NFL player Kevin Johnson was found dead at a homeless encampment in the Los Angeles area. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

According to sources close to the investigation, the string of murders in the Compton Creek area began on Oct. 5, 2025, when a woman, identified as 52-year-old Michelle Steele, was shot in the head. She died in the hospital on Nov. 12, 2025.

Three weeks later, on Dec. 4, a homeless man identified as 52-year-old Octavio Arias was murdered in the same area. According to L.A. County Medical Examiner records, Arias died from head and neck trauma.

The fourth victim, following the murder of Kevin Johnson, was identified as Mauro Alfaro, also in his 50s. According to sources, Alfaro was killed on Jan. 26, and the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau says investigators are now looking into the possibility that all four murders were done by the same killer. A suspect has not been identified.

Detectives are still trying to determine motives in the killings and trying to figure out if the suspect is someone who is upset with homeless people being in that area, or if drugs or gangs may be involved. Sources say there is no concrete evidence linking the cases together.

Eight detectives are working the case, and say they are having a hard time getting information from the homeless population in the area. County workers have been conducting outreach in the area, trying to get the homeless population to move out into other housing.

Anyone with information should call homicide detectives at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).

Kevin Johnson, while on the Philadelphia Eagles, looks on from the sideline during a game against Washington at Veterans Stadium on October 8, 1995 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Johnson, a native of L.A., played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders from 1995 to 1997.

After his career in the NFL ended, he played in the Arena Football League with the Orlando Predators and L.A. Avengers.