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Author Topic: Mother of 'Precious Doe' testifies at murder trial  (Read 3318 times)
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MSE
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« on: October 08, 2008, 01:34:49 AM »

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- The mother of a 3-year-old girl whose headless body was unidentified for nearly four years testified Tuesday that she watched her then-boyfriend kick her daughter in the head and helped him dump her body.

Michelle Johnson was the mother of Erica Green, who was called "Precious Doe" while authorities struggled to identify her.

Johnson told a Jackson County jury that Harrell Johnson was on drugs when he kicked Erica, and that she watched helplessly as her child dropped to the floor of the Kansas City house where they were staying.

"He just picked up his feet and kicked her on the side of the face. I said, `What the (expletive) did you do?' It shook him out of his high," Johnson said.

Michelle Johnson, 33, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, took the stand on the second day of testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Harrell Johnson, 29, also of Muskogee.

Michelle Johnson, who married Harrell a year after her daughter's death, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in Erica's death and agreed to testify against her husband.

She said she tried to revive the girl by putting her in a bathtub of cold water and when the girl didn't respond, she took her out and put her on the bedroom floor. She said she and Harrell Johnson did not seek medical help for the girl for fear of being arrested on outstanding warrants.

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Prosecutors contend that after Erica died, Harrell Johnson decapitated her with a pair of hedge clippers and dumped her body in a wooded area of Kansas City, where a police officer found her in April 2001.

For four years, the case haunted residents who longed to know the identity of the girl they had nicknamed "Precious Doe" and who could have killed her in such horrific fashion.

Her identity remained unknown until 2005, after Harrell Johnson's grandfather in Muskogee tipped a Kansas City community activist who had kept the case in the spotlight.

Prosecutors contend that the Johnsons committed murder by failing to seek medical help as Erica lay dying for hours and possibly days. A pediatric neurosurgeon testified Monday that if the couple had quickly sought medical attention for Erica, doctors probably could have reversed the damage.

The defense admits that Harrell Johnson kicked the girl after she refused to go to bed, but contends that the act was not premeditated, as required for a first-degree murder conviction.

Besides first-degree murder, Harrell Johnson also is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, abuse of a child resulting in death and abuse of a child.

The trial is expected to last about a week. If convicted of first-degree murder, his only possible sentence would be life in prison without parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, partly because Johnson agreed to withdraw his request to have the case moved out of Kansas City.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/07/precious.doe.ap/index.html
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MSE
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« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2008, 01:37:27 AM »

Rest in Peace Baby Girl.  Justice for Erica.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2008, 01:52:00 PM by Nut44x4 » Logged
Nut44x4
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2008, 01:52:55 PM »

'Precious Doe' conviction brings relief
By Andale Gross
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
10/12/2008

KANSAS CITY — The seven-year journey to identify 3-year-old "Precious Doe" and punish her killers has ended, and residents, police and prosecutors expressed relief that justice has been done for the child they came to regard as family.

Hundreds of leads came in through the years about the little girl whose headless body was discovered in 2001, but the one that ultimately led to the child's identity and details about her death and gruesome aftermath didn't reach Kansas City detectives until 2005.

Now, after a three-day trial, little Erica Green's killer is headed to prison for life for first-degree murder. A jury took about three hours Wednesday to convict Harrell Johnson — who in 2001 was the boyfriend of Erica's mother — for kicking the child in the head, failing to get medical help and decapitating her body and dumping it to hide what happened.

"I've lived with this case for many years," Kansas City police Sgt. David Bernard said. "It was an emotional case for me and all the detectives who worked it. We took this little girl to heart."

Community activist Alonzo Washington said Erica's killing shook him and others because of its heinous nature and the fact it happened to a child.

"It feels good to know that Erica Green has finally received justice," said Washington, whose tip from Harrell Johnson's grandfather in Muskogee, Okla., helped break the case. "I think a life sentence is fitting. It's clear this man was a coward. He wanted to run from what he did.

"He may have taken Erica's life, but he did not get away with it."

Critical testimony against Harrell Johnson, 29, came from Erica's mother, Michelle Johnson, who married Harrell in 2002 and pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder.

During the years Erica's identity remained a mystery, she became known in Kansas City as "Precious Doe." Marcie Williams co-chaired a group called the Precious Doe Committee, which kept attention on the case through prayer vigils and community gatherings.

Williams was in the Jackson County courtroom Wednesday and said hearing the guilty verdict brought back the same overwhelming emotions she felt when she was told Erica's real name for the first time.

"We just kept hoping," Williams said. "It's been a long wait, a very long wait."

Jackson County prosecutor Jim Kanatzar called the case a disturbing one that "will be with us for years to come."

The only possible sentence on the murder charge was life in prison without parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, partly because Johnson agreed to withdraw his request to have the case moved out of Kansas City.

Defense attorney Chris Slusher said the defense's first responsibility was to avoid a death sentence for Johnson.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...0?OpenDocument

*NOTE....one of the photos above was posted twice, so I removed one.
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« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2008, 04:18:03 AM »

Oct 22, 11:11 PM EDT

Mother of 'Precious Doe' sentenced in Kansas City


By ANDALE GROSS
Associated Press Writer


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A mother being sent to prison Wednesday for doing nothing while her daughter was dying on a bedroom floor thanked Kansas City for loving the slain girl known for four years only as "Precious Doe."

Michelle Johnson, 33, also apologized in court for not being a better parent to Erica Green, then was sentenced to 25 years for the girl's murder. Prosecutors had recommended that sentence after Johnson testified at her husband's murder trial.

"Certainly, there is no further departure from the essence of humanity than this - a mother whose selfish indifference kills her small daughter," Judge John O'Malley said as he imposed the sentence.

In 2001, Harrell Johnson kicked 3-year-old Erica in the head when she wouldn't go to bed, and the adults didn't seek medical help for her because they feared going to jail on outstanding warrants.

Erica's beheaded body was found in woods in Kansas City, and she wasn't identified until 2005, when Harrell Johnson's grandfather in Oklahoma tipped an activist prominent in trying to identify "Precious Doe."

Michelle Johnson's statement in court acknowledged the activist, Alonzo Washington, community leader Alvin Brooks and others.

"I would like to thank the Precious Doe Foundation, Alonzo Washington, Al Brooks, the prosecutor and Kansas City for finding my daughter, for giving her a name, for burying her and loving her," she said.

Her sentence includes 15 years for second-degree murder, plus 10 years for endangering the welfare of a child, abandoning a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

Harrell Johnson, 29, is expected to receive life without parole when he is sentenced Nov. 20 for first-degree murder.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PRECIOUS_DOE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
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Sam
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« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2008, 02:22:52 PM »

So Sad and so many lives affected by 2 people and yes the Mother shares as much blame in my opinion.She should have gotten the same sentence. She even married the jerk after this. I can't fathom that. JMHO
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« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2008, 08:48:32 PM »

Quote
She even married the jerk after this. I can't fathom that. JMHO

I agree you Sam.  I can't fathom it either. 
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  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
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