KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In a brief news release sent to the media early Thursday morning, Kansas City police announced that the young girl known for the past four years as Precious Doe had been identified.

Erica Green The girl, whose decapitated body was found near 59th Street and Kensington April 28, 2001, was identified as Erica Michelle Maria Green, 3.

Police went to Muskogee, Okla., this week to check out a tip that an Oklahoma woman was the mother of the young girl.

The information came from an Oklahoma man who contacted local activist Alonzo Washington after seeing an advertisement in a Kansas City newspaper. The man claimed to know the identity of Precious Doe and who killed her. Washington said the man claimed that the mother of Precious Doe came to Kansas City in 2001 seeking a job, but became involved in drugs. The man with the tip was a relative of the Johnsons, officials said.

Harrell Johnson and Michelle Johnson Two people were taken into custody in Oklahoma in connection with the case. The Muskogee Phoenix newspaper identified the pair as Harrell Johnson, 25, and Michelle Johnson, 30, both of Muskogee.

Kansas City police and city leaders held a news conference Thursday morning to talk about the case and announce charges. Jackson County, Mo., prosecutor Mike Sanders said Michelle Johnson was charged with one count of felony murder and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The stepfather, Harrell Johnson, was not charged.

According to court documents, Green was allegedly kicked in the head by her stepfather and was unresponsive for two days. Investigators claim that the Johnsons did not seek help for the young girl and she died. Her body was later disposed of in a wooded area. The child's head was severed and placed in a trash bag, which was found a few days after her body was discovered.

"What I hope and pray is that she was not alive when this took place," Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks said. "I don't know. Maybe that will come out in the end, and maybe the medical examiner already knows and the police department. But I hope and pray, and please join me in that hopefulness and prayerfulness, that she was not alive when this took place. That would be beyond horrific. That would be beyond the savagery that it is already."

Washington went to Hibbs Park in Kansas City Thursday morning where a memorial had been set up for Precious Doe. He told KMBC that he was overjoyed that the case had been solved.

"I was out here just Thursday, saying that one tip can solve this case. I did not know two days later that tip would come in," Washington said. "So I'm overjoyed and happy to know that Erica Green is Precious Doe. We have a name to our child."

Teresa Perry of the Precious Doe committee told KMBC that she cried when she heard the news.

A retired postal worker who found the girl's head days after her body was discovered said he is very happy the young girl has been identified.

"Oh, I feel great that we got a name for somebody that we really didn't who it was. Now we have a name and hopefully we can close this. It's not Precious Doe. We do have a name," Billy Stegall told KMBC.

TheKansasCityChannel.com

Police: 'Precious Doe' Identified

Investigators To Hold News Conference At 10 A.M.

POSTED: 6:23 am CDT May 5, 2005

UPDATED: 10:09 am CDT May 5, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In a brief news release sent to the media early Thursday morning, Kansas City police announced that the young girl known for the past four years as Precious Doe had been identified.

Video

	LIVE: Watch KMBC's Coverage at 10 a.m. Watch KMBC's Report

The girl, whose decapitated body was found near 59th Street and Kensington in April 2001, was identified as Erica Michelle Maria Green, 3.

LIVE: See the news conference live at 10 a.m.

Police went to Muskogee, Okla., this week to check out a tip that an Oklahoma woman may have been the mother of the young girl.

Two people were taken into custody in Oklahoma in connection with the case. The Muskogee Phoenix newspaper identified the pair as Harrell Johnson, 25, and Michelle Johnson, 30, both of Muskogee. Jackson County, Mo., prosecutor Mike Sanders said Johnson was charged with one count of felony murder and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The man with the tip is a relative of the Johnsons, officials said. He said he had a granddaughter who he hasn't seen since 2001 when her mother, Michelle Johnson, took the 3-year-old girl to Kansas City.

Community Reacts To News

Washington went to Hibbs Park in Kansas City Thursday morning where a memorial had been set up for Precious Doe. He told KMBC that he was overjoyed that the case had been solved.

Teresa Perry of the Precious Doe committee told KMBC that she cried when she heard the news.

"This is wonderful news. This is a blessing. We're thanking God," Perry said.

A retired postal worker who found the girl's head days after her body was discovered said he is very happy the young girl has been identified.

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