A woman received a sentence of life imprisonment Wednesday with all but 50 years suspended after Maryland police discovered the decomposing bodies of the woman’s niece and nephew in her car during a 2021 traffic stop.
Nicole M. Johnson was 33 when the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) pulled her over at 11 p.m. on July 28, 2021, according to a post. Officers “discovered the decomposing bodies of her 7-year-old niece and 5-year-old nephew in the trunk of her vehicle,” the BCPD said Wednesday. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the deceased as Joshlyn Johnson, 7, and Larry O’Neil, 5.
The presiding Baltimore County judge also sentenced Johnson to five years’ probation, ordered her to receive mental health assistance and banned her from contact with minors, the BCPD said.
The officers who pulled Johnson over originally intended to tow the car and give Johnson citations after finding that vehicle was not ensured or registered and bore a fake West Virginia tag, WMAR-2 News reported.
Johnson then reportedly made disturbing remarks as the officers told her of possible court dates. “It don’t matter, I won’t be here in five days. Y’all going to see me on the news, y’all going to see on the news making my big debut,” Johnson said, according to the outlet.
The officers asked her to remove whatever she might need from the car before it would be towed — and that was when an officer said the smell of decay rose from within the car. Johnson pulled a plastic tote bag and a trash bag which police said contained a suitcase and maggots.
Johnson claimed that the smell came from dirty blankets, but officers told her to open the suitcase. The putrefying body of Joshlyn Marie James Johnson was discovered inside.
Johnson unsuccessfully tried to escape. Police then found the decaying body of Larry O’Neill, Joshlyn’s brother. (RELATED: Parents, Son Guilty Of Murder After Police Find Rotting Girl In House Of Horrors)
Joshlyn’s body was heavily malnourished and weighed merely 18 pounds while Larry’s weighed 21 pounds, according to their autopsies.
Johnson later told police that she was the children’s aunt and that her sister, Dachelle, had turned them over to her as the other woman could not take care of them, according to the outlet.
Johnson said she repeatedly struck Joshlyn one night until she fell and hit her head on the floor because the girl was allegedly acting up and stealing her things. Johnson then confessed to keeping the child in the car while inside the suitcase for months.
Johnson claimed Larry fell asleep but did not awaken. She told law enforcement he had a cut on his leg at the time but that she could not recall anything else.
Nicole never called 9-1-1, police said.
Dachelle told investigators she had left the children with Johnson in July 2019 and later tried to retrieve them but never heard back from Johnson. She said they had agreed that she would take them back.
