KEY POINTS
- A 33-year-old Maryland woman drove around for months with her dead niece and nephew's bodies in her car
- One child had been in the trunk since May 2020
- The bodies were discovered Wednesday when officers pulled her over for speeding near Baltimore
A 33-year-old Maryland woman allegedly drove with the bodies of her niece and nephew in the trunk of her car for months, according to court documents. One of the children had been in the trunk since May last year.
Nicole Michelle Johnson, of Baltimore, is facing multiple charges, including neglect, failure to report the deaths of the children, disposal of their bodies and first-degree child abuse that resulted in the death of a child under the age of 13, The Baltimore Sun reported, citing charging documents.
The bodies of siblings Joshlyn Johnson, 7, and Larry O’Neal, 5, were discovered just after 11 p.m. Wednesday after Johnson was pulled over near Baltimore by officers from the Baltimore County Police Department for speeding, WBFF reported.
Police allegedly found that the car had fake paper tags from West Virginia and was unregistered and uninsured, the report said.
As the officers were issuing a citation, Johnson allegedly said, "It don't matter, I won't be here in five days," and "Y'all going to see me on the news, y'all going to see me on the news making my big debut."
As the car was about to be towed, Johnson opened the trunk to get her belongings. But officers at the scene smelled "the unmistakable odor of decomposition," the report said.
When she removed a plastic sheet and trash bag, officers noticed maggots in the bag. She was ordered to remove the blankets inside the bag, and this revealed a suitcase.
Police found in the luggage the body of one of the children. At that point, the woman allegedly tried to run but was apprehended a short time later.
The body of the second child was discovered inside the plastic tote by homicide investigators.
Court documents revealed that one of the children had been kept inside the trunk of the car since May 2020. Their cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
Johnson told detectives she became angry with her niece and hit her several times, causing the child to fall and hit her head. The young girl's body was placed in the suitcase, authorities said.
She claimed the girl's brother never recovered after getting injured two months ago and died. She then allegedly put her dead nephew next to her niece's decomposing body.
When they were found, Joshlyn weighed 18 pounds and O'Neal weighed 21 pounds, Fox News reported.
Johnson told investigators that both children are her sister's. She apparently turned them over to Johnson because she said that she could not care for them. She had moved with her children from Ohio to Maryland in July 2019, according to court documents.
According to WBFF, the mother posted a statement on Facebook, saying, "I’ll never get to see my kids because a mistake I made in trusting my sister I wish I could take it back but I can’t. I was in the process of getting them back when she just disappeared. I still trusted her and didn’t want to think the worse. This is my blood sister she’s was my family."
Crime scene police line | Representational Image Photo: GETTY IMAGES / SCOTT OLSON
