Baby Gabriel Mom Pleads Fifth When Asked About Baby's Location; Awarded No Custody | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
Navigation

Baby Gabriel Mom Pleads Fifth When Asked About Baby's Location; Awarded No Custody

The parents of missing baby Gabriel Johnson were in Maricopa County Family Court this morning for a custody hearing unrelated to the criminal charges against the baby's mother, Elizabeth Johnson.Logan McQueary, the baby's father, was awarded full custody of the missing baby and Johnson, who is currently in jail on...
Share this:

The parents of missing baby Gabriel Johnson were in Maricopa County Family Court this morning for a custody hearing unrelated to the criminal charges against the baby's mother, Elizabeth Johnson.

Logan McQueary, the baby's father, was awarded full custody of the missing baby and Johnson, who is currently in jail on kidnapping charges relating to the baby's disappearance, was ordered to have no contact with the baby, court officials say.

Not that the jailed woman could anyway these days.

Although today's appearance was only supposed to be a custody hearing over a baby who hasn't been seen since before Christmas, the day in court gave the judge and McQueary's lawyer a chance to ask Johnson some important questions -- you know, like "where's your kid?"

Johnson took the stand at about noon, and when McQueary's lawyer, Craig Mehrens, began questioning her about the baby's location, she promptly used her fifth amendment right and clammed up.

Outside of a courtroom, however, Johnson sings like a bird.

She has given several interviews to various media outlets, where she insists she gave the baby to an unknown couple in a San Antonio, Texas, park. That was only after sending text messages to McQueary saying she had killed the baby and put his "little blue body" in a dumpster.

Weeks of searching through a Texas landfill, where investigators thought the remains of the baby might be, turned up nothing and the mystery couple that Johnson claims she left the baby with haven't come forward, despite the intense media coverage of the disappearance.

McQueary has since made plans to move to Texas to continue the search for Gabriel.

Johnson, on the other hand, isn't going anywhere. She is currently sitting in a Maricopa County jail, where she's been since late-December. She is scheduled to be in court again for a contempt hearing in her kidnapping case on April 28.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.