Aunt arrested after bodies of niece, nephew found in her car, police say

(CNN) — A Baltimore pistillate is facing aggregate charges, including kid maltreatment resulting successful death, aft constabulary recovered the remains of her 7-year-old niece and 5-year-old nephew successful her car precocious Wednesday, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.

Nicole Michelle Johnson, 33, of Baltimore, was arrested connected Thursday and charged with 2 counts each of first-degree felony kid abuse, first-degree felony kid maltreatment resulting successful death; misdemeanor neglect of a minor; misdemeanor nonaccomplishment to study the decease of a child; and the unauthorized burial of a assemblage arsenic a misdemeanor, tribunal records show.

“The full Baltimore County Police Department grieves with the assemblage implicit the “unspeakable deaths of 2 guiltless children,” Police Chief Melissa Hyatt said pursuing Johnson’s arrest. “The probe into this atrocious transgression volition not halt until those liable are brought to justice.”

Johnson remains held connected a no-bail status, tribunal documents show. A preliminary proceeding is acceptable for August 27.

CNN has reached retired to the nationalist defender representing Johnson but person not heard back.

According to charging documents filed with Johnson’s charges, officers pulled Johnson implicit for speeding astir 11 p.m. connected Wednesday and recovered she had neither licence nor insurance, and that she was utilizing a fake impermanent tag. The officers advised that Johnson study to the territory tribunal successful 5 days and that they were going to tow her car, according to the documents.

Johnson past stated, “It don’t matter, I won’t beryllium present successful 5 days” and “y’all going to spot maine connected the news, y’all going to spot connected the quality making my large debut,” according to the documents.

Johnson past retrieved items from the trunk of her car, including a maggot-filled wide trash container with a beardown “decomposition odor” and a achromatic and yellowish integrative tote, according to the documents.

The serviceman asked Johnson to unfastened the wide trash bag, which she yet did, revealing a suitcase that Johnson claimed contained blankets, the documents said. Johnson attempted to usage the broad to conceal the contents of the suitcase but serviceman told her to region the broad and she did, “exposing the decomposing assemblage of a young child,” according to the documents.

At his point, Johnson attempted to fly but was rapidly caught, the papers said. Officers past opened the integrative tote container and recovered different integrative container containing the remains of different child.

The bags contained the remains of 2 siblings, which constabulary said were Johnson’s niece and nephew, 7-year-old Joshlyn Johnson and her 5-year-old brother, Larry O’Neil. Police noted that it volition instrumentality immoderate clip to find the origin of decease and the Maryland authorities aesculapian examiner has not yet responded to CNN’s inquiry.

Johnson told detectives that she deed the miss respective times for “misbehaving,” causing her to autumn and deed her caput connected the floor, according to the documents. Johnson past stowed the girl’s assemblage successful a suitcase and carried it astir for months.

She besides told detectives that she’d seen humor connected the Larry’s limb 2 months agone and that helium ne'er woke up aft saying helium was tired, aft which she placed him successful the integrative tote which she aboriginal placed successful the trunk with his sister. It is not wide erstwhile the boy’s assemblage was moved to the car. An autopsy recovered that Joshlyn weighed 18 pounds and the Larry weighed 21 pounds, according to the documents.

Johnson had custody of the children since 2019 aft her sister, Dachelle Johnson — the parent of the 2 children — said she couldn’t instrumentality attraction of them, according to the constabulary charging documents. Dachelle Johnson spoke with detectives, saying she moved to Maryland from Ohio successful July 2019, which was erstwhile she asked her sister to look aft the kids, according to the documents.

Dachelle Johnson told detectives she tried to scope her sister respective times aft dropping her children disconnected and yet reached her successful March 2021, according to the documents. She arranged to person her sister instrumentality the children but her sister ne'er met her and Dachelle Johnson had been incapable to scope her sister oregon the children until detectives notified her of their deaths, the documents said.