Police officers were significantly affected after a routine traffic stop led to an unspeakable and atrocious discovery in the trunk of a woman’s car, resulting in her arrest. What these officers found is enough to send chills down anyone’s spine. Nicole Michelle Johnson, a 33-year-old woman from Baltimore, Maryland, was speeding at approximately 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night in Essex when she was pulled over by police. They discovered that she didn’t have a license or insurance and was using a fake temporary tag. Unfortunately, that would soon be the least of their worries as they uncovered a crime much more heinous than a simple traffic violation.
After advising Johnson to report to the District court in five days and informing her that they were going to tow her car, the woman callously told the police, “It don’t matter, I won’t be here in five days, and y’all going to see me on the news. Y’all going to see on the news, making my big debut.” She then proceeded to the trunk of the car to retrieve items, including a maggot-filled clear trash bag emitting a strong decomposition odor, and a black and yellow plastic tote, as reported by CNN.
Nothing could have prepared the officers for what they were about to witness. After urging Johnson to open the clear trash bag, she eventually complied, revealing a suitcase that she claimed contained blankets. However, Johnson attempted to use a blanket to conceal the contents of the suitcase. The officer instructed her to remove it, and when she did, the officers were horrified to see the decomposing body of a young child, according to police documents. Sadly, the nightmare didn’t end there.
Despite Johnson’s desperate attempt to flee, she was swiftly apprehended by the police. They proceeded to open the plastic tote bag found in the vehicle, discovering another plastic bag containing the remains of another child. It was later determined that the remains belonged to two siblings, seven-year-old Joshlyn Johnson and her five-year-old brother Larry O’Neal, as reported by Inside Edition. These siblings were Johnson’s niece and nephew, and she had been entrusted with their custody since 2019 when their mother, Jachelle Johnson, asked her sister to look after them.
Deschall, the mother of the two children, had moved to Maryland from Ohio in July 2019 and could no longer care for them. She allegedly tried to contact Nicole several times after leaving her children with her but was unsuccessful. In March 2021, Deschall finally made contact, attempting to have her sister return the children. However, Nicole never met her and she hadn’t heard anything from her sister about Nicole and the kids. It was only when detectives notified her of the children’s deaths that she became aware of the tragic outcome.
Nicole Michelle Johnson was arrested and charged with two counts each of first-degree felony child abuse, first-degree felony child abuse resulting in death, misdemeanor neglect of a minor, misdemeanor failure to report the death of a child, and unauthorized burial of a body as a misdemeanor, according to court records. She was ordered to be held on a no-bail status. During questioning, Johnson alleged that she had hit seven-year-old Joshlyn multiple times for misbehaving, causing the girl to fall and hit her head on the floor while they were staying at a hotel off Pulaski Highway. She claimed to have placed the girl’s body in a suitcase, carrying it around for many months before her brother, Larry, also died.
Johnson admitted to investigators that she had seen blood on five-year-old Larry O’Neal’s leg two months before the discovery. She stated that Larry fell asleep in her car and never woke up, claiming he was tired. Johnson confessed to placing Larry’s body in the plastic tote bag. At some point, she placed his body together with her sister’s remains, driving around with the bodies in her car for over a year, as reported by People. Autopsy results revealed that Joshlyn weighed only 18 pounds, while Larry weighed 21 pounds, indicating severe neglect and malnutrition, according to CBS Baltimore.
The unspeakable, atrocious, and harrowing nature of this ordeal has left the community shaken. Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt expressed her condolences, stating that the entire Baltimore County Police Department grieves with the community over the deaths of these innocent children. Chief Hyatt promised that the investigation into this horrific crime would not cease until those responsible were brought to justice. The incident has had a profound impact on the patrol officers, forensic technicians, and detectives who were involved in the case.
Michelle Johnson, the mother of the deceased children, expressed her grief on a since-deleted GoFundMe page. She stated that it was a mistake to trust her sister, who she claims disappeared while she was trying to regain custody of her children. Michelle explained that it was meant to be a family helping family situation, but she now regrets trusting her sister. The pain of losing the woman who raised her, combined with the tragedy involving her children, has left Michelle broken-hearted.
This heartbreaking case serves as a reminder that one cannot always trust even their own family members to care for their children without the risk of an unimaginable tragedy. The officers involved in this investigation are left to grapple with the trauma of making such a gruesome discovery. It is a chilling reminder that the worst forms of evil can sometimes be found within our own families.