Mom Gets 25 Years in Prison in Beheading Murder of Toddler Daughter 'Precious Doe'
Thursday, October 23, 2008
AP/Muskogee, Okla., Police Department
Erica Michelle Maria Green, a toddler known as 'Precious Doe' after her body was found in Kansas City, Mo., in 2001.
Erica Michelle Maria Green, a toddler known as 'Precious Doe' after her body was found in Kansas City, Mo., in 2001.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A judge handed down a 25-year prison sentence for the mother of a 3-year-old girl who was beheaded and for years was known only as "Precious Doe."
The sentence on Wednesday for Michelle Johnson was what Jackson County prosecutors had recommended.
The 33-year-old Johnson pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder for her role in the 2001 killing of her daughter, Erica Green.
Johnson's boyfriend at the time, Harrell Johnson, whom she later married, was convicted of first-degree murder earlier this month in the Kansas City slaying. He faces a life sentence.
Michelle Johnson testified against Harrell Johnson at his trial, saying the man kicked Erica in the head, left her to die, and later decapitated and dumped the body.
