The female co-worker who was with Johnny Wactor the night he was fatally shot is speaking out and calling his killer a “coward” as “The General Hospital” star lay dying in her arms.
In a lengthy message posted Wednesday to Instagram, Anita Joy opened by saying she needed a few days to collect herself before sharing Johnny’s story.
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Joy then described the murderer as a “coward who reacted without care of the gorgeous life he was taking.” She said she’s angry and sad, but most of all she wants justice for Johnny – her friend of 8 years.
Joy explained that the two finished their shift at a DTLA bar early Saturday morning and walked to their respective cars nearby. They came upon 3 people trying to steal a catalytic converter from Johnny’s ride – and that’s when tragedy struck.
Joy says they first questioned the alleged thieves, thinking the car was about to be towed.
She noted that Johnny was “cool” and non-threatening, simply informing the crooks that it was his car and requesting them to leave with “hands open to his sides in peace.”
She says Johnny was between Joy and the gunman when the shot rang out and struck him in the chest.
Johnny “forcefully tumbled back into my arms and as I grabbed him, I shouted “Hunny you Ok?!” And he only responded “Nope!’ Shot!,” according to Joy.
She added, “We toppled onto the street where I pushed my legs under him and tried to hold him and tried to hold his body up while screaming for help and screaming at him to stay with me.”
Moments later, a security guard from the bar ran across the street while calling 911 from his phone. Joy and the guard, named Bryan, wrapped a denim jacket around Johnny to stop the bleeding. Bryan also performed CPR on Johnny, but there was nothing that could be done to save him due to his deadly bullet wound.
Joy concludes her statement by demanding that the criminals be caught ASAP and the bar (Level 8) provide parking for late-night staff as they were once promised to prevent anything like this from happening again.