Local TV Gardening Expert Murdered While Horseback Riding on Caribbean Beach: Police By KC Baker

A beloved former greenhouse and gardening center owner from Wisconsin was killed after being attacked during a horseback riding tour on a pristine beach in Antigua just days before Christmas, police said.

At 11 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2025, officers responded to a “wounding” in Dickenson Bay, on the northwest coast of the balmy Caribbean Island, according to a statement from the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda.

The victim was identified as Karen Johannsen, 66, of Paradise View in Antigua and also Fitchburg, Wisc., where she ran a well-known gardening and greenhouse center with her family until it closed in 2013.

Johannsen was allegedly struck on the back of the head with a blunt object by an unknown male during a horseback riding tour in the area, police said in the statement.

She was rushed to the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, where she was treated for serious head injuries.

She was then airlifted to the United States for further medical care.

On Friday, Dec. 26, Johannsen was pronounced dead at 10:17 p.m. local time by a doctor at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.

Authorities said they have a male suspect in custody, but did not identify him.

The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information.

As police continue to investigate, Johannsen’s family, friends and the Madison community are mourning her loss.

For years, Johannsen worked at Johannsen’s Greenhouse in Madison with her sister, Lyn, and brother, Gary, according to Channel 3000/News 3 Now.

She had often appeared in segments on News 3 Now as the “Green Gardener,” where she gave viewers tips on planting and gardening. She told the station in 2013 that the business was started by her father in 1959, and expanded by her, her mother and siblings.

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“My dad never really had the vision,” she told the outlet. “You know, it was a cute little business and he loved it, but he never realized what was going to happen. What my mom, by brother and sister and I did, we literally had 20 pounds of stuff in a 5-pound bag and we made it work.

It is unclear whether she had moved permanently to Antigua, but she seemed to enjoy her time there.

In October, in a Facebook post she couched as “feeling grateful,” she wrote, “Toughing out another beautiful day in Paradise. Mama always said there would be days like these…Thanks Mom!”

Anyone with information that may help the investigation is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 268-462-3913 or call the Crime Stoppers anonymous hotline at 1-800-TIPS (8477.)