Posted on 05/05/2005 8:07:02 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
Edited on 05/05/2005 9:20:49 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
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.
"Additional charges in this case are likely and very soon," Sanders said.
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."
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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
Refresh this page for updates.
I've nothing to say.
The abominable killing of this child and the others murdered in like/similar manner are assuaged in my mind and heart only in knowing that she and the other children are in Heaven.
Yes, indeed. And sloppy newswriting too. Introduce who "the Johnsons" are before telling us the tipster is related to the Johnsons.
I would say No. I think a death penalty case has to be prosecuted as a capital murder case. It's hard enough to get death penalty cases for 1st degree murder.
However, these murderers are usually "taken care of" by other inmates. Even the most hardened, despicable criminals detest child killers and those that kill children usually don't survive long in prison.
Justice?
What's saddest to me is that by tonight all of the "talking heads" will be offering explanations about these people being "depressed" or "overwhelmed" or they're victims of poverty or some other nonsense, and the left will try to convince all of us that the murderers are the one's that people should have sympathy for.
Uh, no! But to my knowledge only Muslims videotape their victims as they are beheading them alive!
Maybe that is the reason for the confusion.
(Wrong thread for this topic, OK?)
How can anyone be so evil as these two?
(And it must really, really suck to be one of the suspects now. Kid-killers are at the very bottom of the prison hierarchy, and often don't survive their incarcerations. I'm no fan of vigilantism, but I wouldn't shed too many tears if these knuckle-draggers had "unfortunate fatal accidents" while in custody.)
The Erica/Precious story reminds me of the most famous case of this kind -- The Boy in the Box, who will probably never be identified at this late date. (Scroll down the front page and click on the "Boy in the Bag" link at the bottom to see how a very similar case to both these ones just got solved.)
More info here:
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
Please don't post articles from the this site as it is on the 'do not post' list.
Thanks!
This is a KC Missouri crime not KC Kansas crime.
I was living in Pittsburg KS at the time of the death of Stefanie Schmidt, that was the crime that brought back the death penalty to Kansas.
Donald Gideon took Stefanie, raped, sodomized, and then killed her.
Gideon had spent most of his worthless life in jail and was on parole for raping an 80 year old woman, he knew the worst penalty Kansas had was the 'hard 40', 40 years without parole, that is what he asked and that is what he got.
Soon after that Stefanie's Law was passed that brought back the death penalty to Kansas.
Just read the article. What a MESS of lives! "Precious" was a pretty name.
Oh my goodness, I'm so glad to hear they found out who she was! My heart is just as broken over this situation as before...so sad.
They weren't married at the time, but are now??? She MARRIED the guy after he killed her baby?
I'm sick.
Amiga, I'll ping the OK list as soon as I can...I'm away from the computer with the list on it right now...
If it were by firing squad, sign me up and I will do my civic duty to remove them from the air we breath.
There acts are evil and chilling. Beyond that my words would have to be removed from the thread. You get the idea I am sure.
I don't understand either 2J. As a mother this is just something I can't possibly fathom. I can't comprehend how any mother could do such a thing to their child nor can I understand how she could *be* with the man who did it. It's sickening.
Another thing I can not believe...
They interviewed the grandmother...she said "She gave me some pictures of her other kids, but not Erica...I wondered about that..."
And the dad too, who is apparently incarcerated...he's "been in and out of trouble and hadn't seen his kids lately" Well, I can understand when he's IN trouble, but what about when he's OUT?
How can a little child like that just disappear and NO ONE in the family "know"? What about the other children?? When they grew up, what would they remember? A sibling there, then not?
Did no one EVER get this little girl a birthday present or a Christmas present and follow up to see how she liked it??
There truly are monsters on this earth...
Yes, there are. I can't imagine it, nor can I hardly bear to know it.
Following from your line of thought 2J, it also really bothers me about those other children. How are they living? Are they safe? What have they been through and what have they seen? I know they aren't alone in being victims of the monsters of the world, but they are in the light now. I just can't help but wonder what they've seen and wish I could scoop them up and give them love.
Makes me remember that my little piddly family problems are not quite so much of an issue. Those kids should be so blessed as to have even my screwed up relatives!
She was a little girl (police believed her to be 3 or 4 years old) who was found murdered in a park in Kansas City, back in 2001. They found a decapitated body, and some time later, found her head at another location.
There was nothing to identify her, and the community sort of "adopted her," and paid for a funeral. Until now, nobody knew who she was. There were a few features done about her on America's Most Wanted.
The whole thing probably would have died, and the mystery never solved, if not for the tireless efforts of Alonzo Washington. I rarely agree with most of his activist stands, but here, he deserves the credit for keeping the investigations alive.
Mark
When little Erica was found I thought that the mother, whoever or wherever she was had to be involved and probably a boyfriend. I just can't figure out why it took so long for a relative or friend to tell the police.
Yes, her body was found but they couldn't identify her. The entire community was so shocked that they held a huge memorial for "Baby Doe" and her grave became a shrine to the child with no parents, no one who loved her enough to come forward. Tragic story!
Muskogee... that's too close to home.
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