Terril Johnson, a 77-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran, drove six hours from Los Angeles this spring to see his gymnast granddaughter graduate from San Jose State College, however a lawsuit by his household claims he died in a San Jose lodge, “effectively boiled alive” in a sizzling bathe.
“He died the night before the graduation,” stated his son Terril Johnson II, of Riverside. Johnson had been “ecstatic” on the prospect of seeing his granddaughter Trinity Johnson obtain her administration diploma, his son stated.
The elder Johnson’s grandson, Deshun Johnson, discovered him mendacity partially submerged and unresponsive within the bathtub of the bathe on the Fairfield Inn & Suites beside Mineta San Jose Worldwide Airport on Could 22, with superheated water nonetheless working, in line with the lawsuit filed final week in Santa Clara County Superior Court docket. Additionally current have been Johnson’s son, daughter-in-law and three granddaughters, together with Trinity, who was to graduate the following day from San Jose State, the place she had spent 4 years on the college’s NCAA Division 1 gymnastics workforce.
“When family members rushed to assist, the water was so dangerously hot they could not initially lift him from the tub,” the wrongful-death lawsuit stated. “As they struggled desperately to save him, they were forced to watch in horror as his skin peeled away from his body.”
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, accuses Marriott Worldwide, the lodge proprietor, of working a water-heating system that “posed a lethal hazard.”
Marriott didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The lawsuit stated the bathe doused Johnson with water heated to round 135 levels, far above the authorized most of 120 levels underneath California’s Plumbing Code. “Exposure to water at such temperatures is known to cause third-degree burns within seconds,” stated the lawsuit stated, with out citing a supply for that assertion. The U.S. Shopper Product Security Fee reviews that folks can undergo third-degree burns from a six-second publicity to 140-degree water or a 30-second publicity to 130-degree water. 5 minutes at 120 levels may trigger third-degree burns, the fee stated.
The Santa Clara County coroner’s workplace decided Johnson’s dying was brought on by “severe scalding burns” to his neck, torso and extremities, mixed with a well being situation of hypertension. It was unclear why Johnson, 72, was unable to flee the bathe, or whether or not his well being situation performed a job in his lack of ability to get away from the recent water, or precisely how lengthy he was within the bathe earlier than his grandson found him. Deshun discovered his grandfather “within minutes” of Johnson’s entry into the bathe, the lawsuit stated.
Johnson had retired in August 2024 after greater than twenty years with the Los Angeles Metro transportation company, the place he had turn into “one of the top guys real quick,” and as a senior lead technician oversaw a big facility in downtown Los Angeles, his son stated.
“He was just a fun-loving person,” he stated. “He enjoyed life.”
Johnson’s encouragement and assist performed a significant position within the successes of Trinity, and her older sister Heaven Johnson who’s in her second 12 months of legislation college, he stated.
“He talked to the girls on the phone every day,” he stated. “They were his joy in the world.”
In accordance with San Jose State, Trinity Johnson graduated this previous spring, with a administration diploma. She is now in her first 12 months of legislation college at Thomas Jefferson Faculty of Legislation in San Diego, the place her sister Heaven is in her second 12 months, Johnson stated.
The elder Johnson and his widow Linda, highschool sweethearts, have been married for 54 years.
The incident, the lawsuit stated, left Johnson’s members of the family with post-traumatic stress dysfunction and recurring nightmares.
“I have dreams that my dad really didn’t die, that he was just burned really bad,” his son stated. “I visit him in the hospital and he’s all covered in gauze.”
Initially Revealed: October 27, 2025 at 4:30 AM PDT
