Ex-NFL player Kevin Johnson's son speaks out on his father's killing and last days: "Why would somebody do this?"

After former NFL player Kevin Johnson was found dead at a Los Angeles County homeless encampment in January, his son is speaking out and hoping for swift justice as his killer remains at large. 

Johnson, 55, was found dead from blunt force trauma and stab wounds on Jan. 21 at an encampment in the 1300 block of E. 120th Street in the unincorporated community of Willowbrook, which is near Compton.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives said that his death was being investigated as a potential connection to three other homicides that have happened at the same group of encampments in Willowbrook over four months, dating back to last October. 

Kevin Johnson's last days

His son, Branden Johnson, is hoping to shed light on his father's situation and show the world that his father was more than just a football player. 

"His presence alone was that he loved you," Branden Johnson said while speaking with CBS LA. 

He says that his father became homeless in the last six months after living with his girlfriend in Pasadena last year. He said that he was never confined to the encampment in Willowbrook, and that he would sometimes stay at friends' or family members' houses. Above all, he wanted to make sure that people didn't know about his situation.

"Just things that he was dealing with within himself. He wouldn't really express too much, just those mental battles that he was having," Branden Johnson said. "The pain I know he was feeling, just trying to take care of everything, but not feeling like nothing was going how he wanted it to."

Branden Johnson said that the last time he saw his father was the weekend before he was found dead, when he stopped by to check on him. He says that they talked about his 2-year-old daughter, his career and stopped to get coffee at a cafe near the encampment. 

"It was just a regular day," he said. "Couldn't have imagined what would have taken place next."

Though they didn't have his death confirmed for a few days, Branden Johnson said that they could tell it was him, just from seeing his back at the crime scene. 

"I know my father. I felt that spirit pulling up to that scene and seeing that," he said. "It's replaying in my head, but I just keep staying strong. ... It hurts, especially when you found out he was murdered. ... To find out he was murdered, it just puts even more of a heartburn."

Branden Johnson said that his father never gave any indication of having enemies, and that the circumstances surrounding his death are "a question mark the whole world is waiting on."

"Especially with the following deaths that they have over there, whoever the person is, that's an evil person," he said. "Very malicious."

When asked why he believed his father was killed, Johnson said that the news was "shocking" since he would never hurt a fly. 

"Why would somebody do this? Why would they want to inflict this much pain and do my dad the way that he was, because he was vulnerable?" he said. "It's heartbreaking."

Call for justice

As the investigation into Johnson's death continues, his son is hopeful that local law enforcement will be able to quickly find the suspect and limit the suffering. 

"This needs to be resolved immediately," Branden Johnson said. "They need to get this man off the street, whoever is doing it, or it's multiple people, who knows. They need to be caught."

He says that four deaths in the same area within such a short time span is "devastating."

"That's other families hurting. It's not just me, it's other people out there that have family members maybe going through those things, and they need justice as well," Johnson said. 

He was unsure exactly what he would say to his father's killer if he had the chance. 

"Why? Why would you wanna do something like this?," Johnson said. "To be honest ... I would just let God give the words to me and just go from there. Whatever God has stored for this man, whoever did this, they'll get it."

Who was Kevin Johnson?

"Gentle giant. A loving father who cared about everyone else. He put everyone before himself and made sure that everybody around him knew that he loved them," Branden Johnson said. 

He says that he was beyond proud to grow up with an NFL father, and it was something he bragged about to friends. 

"Amazing feeling, especially as a kid," Johnson said. "I've always looked up to my dad as a hero. Just the fact that he made it to the highest of the highs was unbelievable."

Kevin Johnson, a Los Angeles native who played high school football at Westchester High School before attending Texas Southern for college, played in the NFL for several seasons. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1993, but he was released before the season and ended up playing with the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad. In 1995, he joined the Oakland Raiders practice squad before he was claimed by the Philadelphia Eagles. 

He would play in Philadelphia for two seasons before signing with the Raiders again in 1997, his final year in the NFL. Branden Johnson said that mental struggles led to his departure from the league before he went on to play in the Arena League, where he won the 1998 ArenaBowl championship with the Orlando Predators before ending his career with the Los Angeles Avengers in 2001.

Branden Johnson said that though he wasn't alive for much of his father's professional football career, it was a strong foundation of their relationship. 

"My best friend. ... We talked nonstop. I felt like I could talk to my father about anything," he said. "When I played football, we connected on so many levels."

On top of the physical issues he dealt with from a long athletic career, Johnson said that they believe his father had CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, but that they're waiting to receive his brain tissue so they can send it to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for testing. 

"He never showed much. My dad was a fighter," Johnson said. "That football spirit in him led til his death. He was going to battle everything and take everything head-on."

He says that no one was aware of any substance abuse, and that even in his situation, Kevin Johnson spoke with a pastor daily to "get that word of God in him and keep him positive."

Despite their attempts to help him find stable housing or live with them, Johnson said that neither he nor any of his family members was able to get his father to accept their help because he wouldn't want to burden anyone. 

"Nobody wants to see their father living like that. There's only so much that we can do, especially when a person has to do it himself," he said. 

As they continue to wade through the tragedy, Johnson said that they're remembering his father for the smiles he gave them and looking back on pictures to revisit all the happy memories they made. 

"My dad wasn't just a man that lived at a homeless encampment. He was more than just an NFL player," Johnson said. "He was a human being, a person who had battles that he was dealing with. ... I just wanted the world to see how much of a loving person my dad was and how much he instilled in me and just make his name live on."

When asked what he would say if his father were sitting in front of him one last time? 

"I love you," Johnson said. "Probably just give him a bug hug. I would love to see that man again."

He says that the family has a funeral planned next week and that they hope to give him a beautiful send off.