Buffalo man sentenced for fatally stabbing woman inside her apartment

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced 46-year-old Otis L. Johnson Jr. of Buffalo was sentenced this morning before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes to the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He was sentenced today as a second felony offender.

On Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, at approximately 10:20 p.m., the defendant stabbed the victim six times during an argument. The crime occurred inside of the victim’s apartment on the 300 block of Riley Street in the City of Buffalo. The victim, 56-year-old Katherine Crofton, died from her injuries.

A jury found Johnson guilty of one count of manslaughter in the first degree (class “B” violent felony). Jurors rendered their decision after less than two hours of deliberation following a five-day trial, convicting the defendant of the only count in the indictment against him in March 2024.

Acting DA Keane commends detectives Chris Sterlace, Terrence Supples, Jake Giarrano and Jose Lorenzo, as well as officers Sean Overdorf, Demetrius Reynolds, Ronald Ammerman and Brendan Overdorf, of the Buffalo Police Department for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Chief Gina M. Gramaglia of the special victims/domestic violence bureau and Assistant District Attorney Justin H. Caldwell of the homicide bureau.