Audio By Carbonatix
Independent Journalism in Phoenix Needs You
We need to raise $15,000 by August 9 to support the reporting our community depends on. Reader support keeps us independent and is playing a larger role in funding local journalism and shaping what comes next. If you believe independent local journalism matters, make a contribution today.
Elizabeth Johnson, the mother of missing baby Gabriel Johnson, will be in court next week where a judge will rule on whether she’s competent to stand trial on charges related to the disappearance of her 9-month-old son.
Johnson’s been charged with kidnapping, child abuse, and custodial
interference in the disappearance of the baby, who’s been missing since December of 2009.
Johnson was initially ruled incompetent to stand trial in June of 2010. She was then ruled competent in September of 2010, but in May was ordered to undergo another psychological evaluation, the findings of which will be used to determine whether she’s competent to stand trial.
Johnson has been in jail since January after she failed to show up to a December custody hearing.
Johnson, police say, disappeared with Gabriel and went to San Antonio, Texas, where the baby was last seen alive.
While on the run, Johnson sent text-messages to the baby’s father,
Logan McQueary, saying she had killed the baby and put his body in a
dumpster.
She later recanted her claims and said she gave the baby to a random couple she met at a park in San Antonio.
When Johnson was first thrown in jail, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe
Arpaio claimed she was the model inmate but has since changed his tune
after Johnson allegedly assaulted other inmates and then refused to eat Joe’s loaf.
If you’re unfamiliar with Joe’s loaf, click here.
