OZARK, Mo. -- The rape and murder of 20-year-old Jackie Johns has been one of the Ozarks' most disturbing unsolved crimes.  Gerald Carnahan was an original suspect, but was never charged with Johns’ murder until Thursday.  Still, his name has always been associated with that case and with a succession of separate criminal cases that would follow.

  Carnahan is a 49-year-old businessman who spends eight months of the year in China.   When he came back to the Ozarks this week, a law officer got a sample of his DNA and then, after a match to evidence from Johns’ body, arrested him.

  Carnahan was 27 years old when Johns’ blood-spattered car was first discovered along U.S. 160 at Highway CC.  Four days of intense searching followed, with volunteers scouring Christian County.  Finally, the 20-year-old woman’s body was found in Lake Springfield.

    Soon afterwards, Carnahan was arrested in Los Angeles for tampering with evidence in the case.  Law officers said he was trying to flee the country.  Then he was arrested for lying to the grand jury that was investigating Johns’ murder.  But he was never formally charged in connection with the case. 

  Still, Carnahan's name kept surfacing.  In 1992, he was ordered to stay away from his wife after she said he threatened to kill her.  In 1993, he was arrested for attempting to kidnap an 18-year-old woman on Ingram Mill Road in Springfield.  He was arrested after that for using a gun while intoxicated. 

  Carnahan spent time in a psychiatric facility, where he assaulted a police officer by throwing urine at him.  He was arrested for trying to burn down a competitor's business in Aurora and he served time for burglary, stealing and arson.   He was also arrested for releasing the brake on his neighbor's car. 

  Now Carnahan faces rape and murder charges and, if convicted, could face a death penalty or a life prison sentence.  He’s  scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday morning in Greene County.