Gabriel Johnson #4 2/16/10 - 2/20/11

[Northern Rose]

Mother of Baby Gabriel found not competent to stand trial

The mother of missing baby Gabriel Johnson is not competent to stand trial, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Steven Holding ruled today. But with treatment and therapy, she could be tried at a later date.

Holding made the ruling after two court-appointed doctors submitted a psychological evaluation that found Elizabeth Johnson could not assist her attorney in her own defense. She is accused of kidnapping, child abuse and conspiracy to commit custodial interference. Gabriel, who was born a year ago, has been missing since December.

Superior Court spokesman Vincent Funari said there will be another hearing August 12 to decide the length and conditions of the rehabilitative process, which could take up to nine months.

If after that time, doctors are unable to restore her to competency, a judge must drop charges against her and commit her to state hospital.

Johnson's attorney, Nicholas Alcock, filed a request for the court evaluation, also known as a Rule 11. Alcock said he felt Johnson was mentally ill since his first meeting with her, and was concerned she would be unable to help him prepare her defense.

"A criminal defendant has to be able to assist their attorney," he said. "We're talking about complicated matters of law and fact, and there's a minimal standard a defendant has to pass."

Johnson will continue to be held in Maricopa County Jail until the hearing.

The case began in Tempe, where Johnson lived with the child and her boyfriend, Logan McQueary. She was arrested Dec. 30 in Miami Beach. Gabriel has not been seen since she checked into a hotel in San Antonio on Dec. 26.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/06/03/20100603tempe-baby-garbriel-mother.html

[iluvmua]

WOW! I am speechless!  this is def. NOT looking good for Gabriel.

I can't imagine what Logan and his family are thinking and feeling right now.

EJ may never tell what she did to Gabriel.

at this point, I think there is a VERY slim chance that he's alive somewhere.

[iluvmua]

According to a family statement by Logan's family, Ken Gamble the PI hired to help find Gabriel is no longer working on the case because he has to go back to Australia.
and that they are no closer to finding Gabriel than they were in 2009.

and the theories that were brought up are just that, theories.

[newfie]

It totally baffles me as to why someone is not made to tell the truth when it comes to matters such as these. A little child is either missing or dead yet no measures have been taken with Elizabeth to get to the facts that surround this case. We know no more now than we did on the first day. What is going on with Tammi and the courts. I do not understand our justice system. It caters to much to the criminals.

[Missiontoconvict]

It saddens me to no end but I think this case has gone cold.  Two PI's have quit investigating, the family has not raised the reward from a mere 5,000 dollars for any information about Gabriel. I am afraid they are going to keep her from standing trial and she will never talk because she will be spared being charged with murder.  God Bless you Gabriel I think the family and the system may have failed you and that breaks my heart.

[Northern Rose]

It saddens me to no end but I think this case has gone cold.  Two PI's have quit investigating, the family has not raised the reward from a mere 5,000 dollars for any information about Gabriel. I am afraid they are going to keep her from standing trial and she will never talk because she will be spared being charged with murder.  God Bless you Gabriel I think the family and the system may have failed you and that breaks my heart.

I agree Mission.  The family from day one has only been trying to raise funds for the private fund they set up which they can do what they wish with with no requirement to make any of the spending public.  They have done nothing to raise the reward fund, to have Gabriel registered with missing children groups for months, and have not been on the media from what we can see to have Gabriel over the airwaves.  All I see is the fundraisers and auctions with funds going to the private fund.  I am speechless and agree. 

[iluvmua]

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_4bcf19f8-7fe0-11df-b171-001cc4c002e0.html

[Northern Rose]

Where is Baby Gabriel?

Gabriel Scott Johnson has been missing for six months, and his whereabouts and well-being remain a mystery. His mother, Elizabeth Johnson, remains incarcerated in a Maricopa County jail on a $1.1 million cash bond on charges in connection to his disappearance and currently is incompetent to stand trial.

In the midst of a custody battle, Johnson, 23, of Tempe, told Logan McQueary, her estranged boyfriend and the child's father, on Dec. 27 that said she killed the then 7-month-old baby, stuffed his body in a diaper bag and threw it into a dumpster in San Antonio, according to Maricopa County Superior Court documents.

She later told authorities that she gave Gabriel to a couple she had never met in the parking lot of motel in San Antonio a day after meeting them in a park, sparking national media attention and a search that included the FBI, two renowned private investigators and McQueary himself. For reasons unknown, San Antonio was the first destination entered into a GPS device Johnson had that was confiscated by police.
The boy was last seen at a HomeGate Studios and Suites in San Antonio on Dec. 26, purportedly a meeting place for underground adoptions, according to authorities. Johnson, who was arrested in Miami Beach, Fla. on Dec. 30 without the child, is charged with kidnapping, child abuse, custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial interference.

Sandy Gutierrez, a spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department, told the Tribune on Thursday that there have been no developments in the case since March 12. That was the day investigators ended a 16-day excavation of a landfill in San Antonio after sifting through 4,260 tons of trash in an attempt to find any of the boy's remains or evidence that would help the case. Police also would not say whether they were able to locate a young Hispanic man, a known drug dealer, seen with Johnson at a motel in San Antonio where she was staying, according to authorities. Nor did they release the man's name.

Gutierrez also said that the police department has received very few tips in the last three months.

"As unfortunate as it may be, nothing new has developed," Gutierrez said.

But by nearly all accounts, the search for the missing child remains ongoing and active and still is being investigated as both a homicide and a missing persons case. The family of McQueary said they remain in contact with authorities at least once a week, but could not release details of the investigation.

A statement issued to the Tribune from the McQueary family said, "We are unable to comment any further regarding the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Gabriel, except to confirm that law enforcement continues to investigate all leads."

Three Facebook pages have been set up for the missing boy: "Help Find Baby Gabriel," "Help Find Missing Baby Gabriel," and "Find Baby Gabriel."

Gabriel Johnson, who has light brown hair and blue eyes, now would be 1-year-old.

Tammi Smith, 38, of Scottsdale, the woman who had expressed interest in adopting Gabriel and provided false and misleading statements to Tempe police during their investigation, has been charged with forgery and conspiracy to commit custodial interference in connection with the case.

Smith is waiting to resume court proceedings after Johnson's competency level is restored through medical treatment and counseling, which she now is undergoing.

McQueary, 25, of Gilbert, had spent a short time living in San Antonio searching for clues that had been overlooked in his son's disappearance, but has since returned to Valley where he has obtained a job, according to his aunt, Kelli McQueary. He could not be reached for comment.

Jay J. Armes, a private investigator based in El Paso, Texas, and his associates initially had assisted McQueary in the search. Later on, Australia-based private investigator Ken Gamble also participated in the search, but he resigned from the case on June 5 due to lack of funding, according to Kelli McQueary and Gamble. Both Armes and Gamble strongly believed through evidence and information they reviewed from the case that Gabriel still is alive.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_4bcf19f8-7fe0-11df-b171-001cc4c002e0.html

[iluvmua]

hi, according to another crime board I frequent, SAPD does not think HG exists.

also, If EJ confesses to a crime and/or tells the location of where Gabriel is, LE will receive that information.

[bananas]

hi, according to another crime board I frequent, SAPD does not think HG exists.

also, If EJ confesses to a crime and/or tells the location of where Gabriel is, LE will receive that information.

This is so disappointing.  So mom just clams up and acts nutso.  Can we say FRUSTRATION!

[Sister]

hi, according to another crime board I frequent, SAPD does not think HG exists.

also, If EJ confesses to a crime and/or tells the location of where Gabriel is, LE will receive that information.

This is so disappointing.  So mom just clams up and acts nutso.  Can we say FRUSTRATION!

bananas, yes, frustration!  maybe they need to put this scum in general population.

[SuzieQ]

TWO things:

1. Can you believe someone has started a Facebook page to Support Tammy Smith. WTH

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100416220011425&ref=mf

2. These two pictures were suppose to be taken by Jack on December 17. Is it just me or does the second picture look like an older Gabriel?

[melisb]

TWO things:

1. Can you believe someone has started a Facebook page to Support Tammy Smith. WTH

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100416220011425&ref=mf

2. These two pictures were suppose to be taken by Jack on December 17. Is it just me or does the second picture look like an older Gabriel?

1.  Of course I believe some kook started a FB page for her.  Heck, she prolly did it herself.

2.  The pics look the same to me cause he's teething and drooling the same.  His hair is just combed forward in the second pic.  I believe they are of the same time.  I could be wrong bout it all too, though.

[Searching]

Baby Gabriel Mom Incompetent, Doctors Say

POSTED: 3:52 pm MST June 3, 2010
UPDATED: 4:07 pm MST June 3, 2010

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Two court-appointed doctors said the mother of a missing Arizona baby is incompetent to stand trial.

Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Steven Holding is expected to make a ruling on the doctors' report soon that could excuse 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson from participating in further court proceedings involving the disappearance of her son, who has been missing since December.

Tempe police said Johnson originally claimed she killed the baby and later said she gave the child to a couple in San Antonio.

If alive, Gabriel would now be a year old. Johnson remained in a downtown Phoenix jail and is charged with kidnapping, child abuse, custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial interference.

http://www.kpho.com/news/23786722/detail.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#

Hi Heart and monkeys, I would be more inclined to believe her first claim and that is that she killed him... I think that was her last action of vengeance against LM and I do not believe for one minute she is insane, I think she is very intelligent and knows the insanity act will get her out of this. She appears to have been playing that trump card for some time now and it has worked, she will continue to do so. The planning and carrying out of that plan and her getting away with it thus far tells me she is not insane, just selfish... sociopath, maybe, most likely but insane to the point of incompetence, doubtful...

[Searching]

TWO things:

1. Can you believe someone has started a Facebook page to Support Tammy Smith. WTH

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100416220011425&ref=mf

2. These two pictures were suppose to be taken by Jack on December 17. Is it just me or does the second picture look like an older Gabriel?

1.  Of course I believe some kook started a FB page for her.  Heck, she prolly did it herself.

2.  The pics look the same to me cause he's teething and drooling the same.  His hair is just combed forward in the second pic.  I believe they are of the same time.  I could be wrong bout it all too, though.

Also, if you look to the side of GJ head, there is a blond person holding him... EJ???? possible but the hair next to his head in the photos looks over processed or ummm "fuzzy" and a lighter blond then the photos of EJ we have seen on news etc.

[Missiontoconvict]

TWO things:

1. Can you believe someone has started a Facebook page to Support Tammy Smith. WTH

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100416220011425&ref=mf

2. These two pictures were suppose to be taken by Jack on December 17. Is it just me or does the second picture look like an older Gabriel?

Those who started the powder Tammi's butt FaceBook are the same who started the support Elizabeth Johnson group. Talk about desperate, how do you support Tammi on one hand and EJ on the next when they both are at each others throats about who is responsible for all of this?  They can't have it both ways.  One or the other (Tammi or EJ) is lying through their teeth in the last phone call EJ made to Tammi.  I have given up on the FB groups for Gabriel.....everyone of them has a hidden agenda. 

[KittyMom]

I can't believe that they may have to let her walk.  Couldn't someone tie her tubes before release so this doesn't happen to another of her children.  What a monster.  Just makes me sick.

[Nut44x4]

I agree....she will be set free to breed again. Saddest part is, no one will ever know what happened to that beautiful child.

[Northern Rose]

Attorneys dispute report that missing baby’s mom is competent for trial
Updated: 4:38 pm, Fri Aug 13, 2010.

Elizabeth Johnson, the incarcerated mother of missing baby Gabriel Johnson, was deemed competent to stand trial and her mental restoration process complete, according to information from the court, but a Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner on Thursday granted her attorneys an evidentiary hearing to contest the findings in the report.

The report, conducted by two court-appointed doctors, was released to Johnson’s defense attorneys Thursday morning, just hours before the hearing, and specific details in it will not be discussed until a hearing on Sept. 23.

Johnson’s attorneys also will present discovery including new evidence involving the case before the court at that time, The findings in the report will be discussed during a competency hearing before commissioner Steve Holding on Sept. 27, so a ruling could be made on Johnson’s level of competency. Holding ruled in early June that the Tempe woman was incompetent to stand trial based on the findings in the report, including a psychological evaluation, but ruled that her level of competency could be restored through medication and counseling by therapists.

Johnson, who turned 24 last month, drove to San Antonio in mid-December with her son Gabriel, who was 5 months old at the time, in the midst of a custody battle with her estranged boyfriend and father of the baby, Logan McQueary. On Dec. 27, Johnson told McQueary she killed Gabriel and stuffed his body in a diaper bag and placed it in a Dumpster. At the time of her arrest in Miami Beach, Fla. on Dec. 30, Johnson also told the FBI that she gave Gabriel to a couple at a HomeGate Inn and Suites Motel where she was staying a day after meeting them at a park in San Antonio, according to Maricopa County Superior Court documents.

Johnson has continued to refuse to reveal Gabriel’s whereabouts. She is being held in Maricopa County’s Estrella Jail on a $1.1 million cash bond on charges of kidnapping, child abuse, custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial interference. She has been held in the jail since her extradition from San Antonio in early January, and restrictions remain on her privileges to receive visitors after she recently was disciplined a second time, according to her grandfather, Robert Johnson of Scottsdale, who was present at Thursday’s hearing.

Adam Feldman, who is one of Johnson’s attorneys, and fellow attorney Nick Alcock, said after Thursday’s hearing it’s common procedure for the judge or commissioner to allow defense attorneys to contest findings in a competency report, but would not comment on what they disagree with until they further read it.

“We still have a great deal of concerns about her mental health and level of competency in being able to assist us in her defense,” Feldman said. “We have issues with findings that were generated in the report.”

Feldman also said that Johnson is being seen by therapists in jail, and visits likely will continue. If a judge rules that Johnson again is incompetent to stand trial, other options could be considered, such as dismissing the case or institutionalizing her, Feldman said.

“Prosecutors likely would re-integrate another process to determine whether she is competent if that were to happen, but that’s too early to tell,” Feldman said.

Alcock, who did not attend the hearing on Thursday, told the Tribune he had not read the report and likely would not comment on its findings until next week.

Alcock also would not comment on what San Antonio police detectives discussed with Johnson and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies at the county jail in May when at least one detective from San Antonio flew to Phoenix to interview her, according to court records.

However, in June, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that San Antonio police and the MCSO had to provide Johnson’s attorneys with details of what was discussed.

Pending the final outcome of the competency hearing in September, a Maricopa County Superior Family Court judge could rule that Johnson is in contempt of court for refusing the answer the court’s questions of Gabriel’s whereabouts, his well-being and when she last saw the child.

Johnson’s grandfather has said he firmly believes that she gave Gabriel away.

Gabriel turned a year old in May.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_0d4f8464-a66a-11df-bbb7-001cc4c03286.html

[Belmom]

Another Story. I thought you would like to see.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.examiner.com%2Fcrime-in-national%2Fgabriel-johnson-news-new-report-finds-mom-of-missing-baby-competent-to-stand-trial-hearing-sept-1&h=72eac