Mother's grief after free-spirited pregnant daughter, 25, was mysteriously strangled in Hawaii before her boyfriend, 22, vanished

Brittany Royal was found strangled and dumped in the ocean off Big Island in Hawaii in May and her boyfriend, Bo Johnson, was reported missing
Police said they suspected Johnson in her murder
But mysterious notes sent to local media and posted around the town have since suggested he was also murdered amid racial tensions
Families said they do not know what to believe but cannot grieve until the police give them answers

PUBLISHED: 16:21 EST, 11 December 2013 | UPDATED: 19:22 EST, 11 December 2013

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A mother has shared her grief seven months after her pregnant daughter was mysteriously murdered in Hawaii and the baby's father vanished without a trace.

Brittany Jane Royal, 25, was newly pregnant when she was strangled with rope, dragged across rocks and thrown into the ocean off Kalpana, Hawaii.

Police initially suspected her missing boyfriend, Boza David Johnson, 22, but family members have insisted he had no money to escape or motive to kill her.

Months later, a local news site received a cryptic note suggesting Johnson, known to his friends and family as 'Bo', had also been killed amid racial tensions.

What happened? Brittany Royal, 25, was murdered in Hawaii in May and her boyfriend, Bo Johnson, 22, vanished and was suspected of killing her. But her family is not convinced he was responsible

Now the Royal and Johnson families have been left with little to go on and no further to finding out exactly what happened to their loved ones.

'Whoever killed her does not deserve to be walking around,' Royal's mother Julie told People magazine in a new interview.

'But I feel like I can't really grieve right now because of the not knowing. It's always there. It's always going to be there.'

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Julie was initially worried about how trusting her 'free spirited' daughter could be but knew it was right for Brittany when she decided to go traveling to the Big Island of Hawaii in January.

There, she met Johnson and just months later they returned to the family home in Tustin, California to break the news: they were expecting a baby.

They also announced their plans for the future; Brittany said she would work as a yoga instructor while Bo wanted give lava tours.

Missed: Brittany's mother Julie, pictured with her left and as a baby, said she cannot grieve until she knows what happened to her daughter, who was strangled, and who was responsible

Tragedy: Brittany was newly pregnant and looking forward to starting a yoga business when she was killed

'She seemed finally ready to settle down,' Royal said.

But less than three weeks later, Bo failed to turn up to a meeting with a real estate agent and Brittany didn't call her mother to wish her a happy birthday.

Days later, on May 28, a fisherman found her body in waters off the island.

Unanswered questions: Brittany's family became concerned when she failed to call her mother on her birthday, and her partner missed an appointment with a real estate agent

Police believe that Bo killed his girlfriend, Hawaii Police Department Lt. Gregory M. Esteban told People magazine, but added that his whereabouts since have not been known.

But Bo's sister Sarah told the magazine: 'He's not capable of this. He has a good heart. We were taught right from wrong.'

Then to further complicate the case, a news site received the anonymous letter claiming that Bo had also been killed following racial tensions. The note listed specifics about the alleged murder.

Bizzare: Signs have started appearing around the town saying that Bo was murdered on the lava fields

The writer explains that Bo had intended to buy land at Kalapana and conduct lava tours without paying locals a cut of $1,000 a week.

'Haole had to be killed befor (sic) he buy land... said this message 2 haole, stay out of Puna - Puna is for the pono,' the note said.

In Hawaii, 'haole' is a term used for caucasians and 'pono' is a Hawaiian word for righteousness.

Posters also began to emerge around the town, reading: 'You killed the baby! They killed Bo on the lava flow! Confess!'

Ahead of his disappearance, Bo was supposed to meet with a realtor and was going to sign a deal to purchase 10 acres of land - but he never showed up.

Scene: Her body was found off the coast of Kalpana, Hawaii near to where the couple had been camping

Now his family doesn't know what to think.

'If he isn't the murderer, that means he's dead,' his sister said. 'So what do we have to look forward to. I keep praying that the police get their job done and they find this killer.'

Both of the families have said that the police have failed to keep them updated with the case, and for now, all they can do is wonder what happened to their loved ones and who is responsible.

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juliachrise, new york, United States, 26 minutes ago

my co-worker's step-aunt makes $62 every hour on the internet. She has been fired for ten months but last month her payment was $16372 just working on the internet for a few hours. view it,,,, www.tec60.Com

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Art Vandelay, NYC, United States, 3 hours ago

Land on the the Big Island, especially where this very young man was looking, is not expensive. Loans from banks and/or parents go into escrow. His business plan probably broke her parents's heart, but she was an adult. In all honesty, there are a lot of " hippies", aka "free spirits", and this couple seems to have been too trusting of others and too full of enthusiasm to think that anything bad could happen to them in Paradise. WRONG. Meth is epidemic in those parts. Maybe a meth-head thought they were rich. Who knows?

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WHendricks, Los Angeles, United States, 4 hours ago

They should DNA test the baby¿ maybe there is another person involved in the crime?

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WHendricks, Los Angeles, United States, 4 hours ago

Until the boyfriend's body is found, he's the prime suspect.

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Julie Spahn Royal, Tustin, United States, 54 minutes ago

If he was killed too his body, unfortunately will never be recovered. My heart goes out to his family. -Julie Royal (Brittany;s mom)

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thetinks, Ontario, 5 hours ago

I am truly sorry to Julie about your daughter, your suffering is shared amongst all of us mothers reading this dreadful article which is your life. Theories will be amongst us all, but I hope Bo's mother is given some answers as well soon.

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Julie Spahn Royal, Tustin, United States, 54 minutes ago

Thank you and I send love to the Johnson family as well. I am sure this is heartbreaking for them as well.

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jackma, Anytown, 5 hours ago

Looks like the natives took out a couple howlies, just like they do on the mainland...

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pat, USA, 4 hours ago

I sincerely doubt it.

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JR, Disneyland, 5 hours ago

Haoles in "Paradise"? He's most surely dead also.

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Raul, Los Angeles, 5 hours ago

A single pregnant woman with a new boyfriend is NOT a "free spirit".

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Julie Spahn Royal, Tustin, United States, 53 minutes ago

Just because she was settling down doesn't make her NOT a free spirit!

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maya, Seattle, United States, 6 hours ago

As a Hawaiian, and a person who lived most of my life on Oahu ( not the Big Island), the gang statements that some people here have written are pretty ridiculous. Hawaii does not have gangs like you would see in the big cities of the US mainland. Also, land is cheap in the Big Island, so you don't need millions of dollars to buy land there. There are a lot of " haole" business owners on the Big island, so the locals are not on some sort of killing spree. The Big Island is a pretty safe place.

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Julie Spahn Royal, Tustin, United States, 51 minutes ago

I am certainly not saying that this is a local killing spree, but I have done a lot of research and many, many people go "missing" on the Big Island. We were blessed that the fishing boat hooked her body. That is a blessing!