A North Dakota couple is charged with murder in the death of their three-year-old foster daughter, who has autism.
Raymond F. Johnson, 62, and Jamie L. Johnson, 44, appeared remotely for a hearing on Monday, as chilling details about the case became public.
On March 19, emergency personnel were dispatched to the Johnsons’ home in Stanley after Jamie Johnson reported that the child was unresponsive. At 6:31 p.m., the little girl was taken to the local emergency room and pronounced dead.
Johnson told investigators that the child had fallen down stairs several days before, according to the affidavit.
She also claimed that shortly before the child became unresponsive, she bit Johnson while attempting to remove food from the child’s mouth.
According to the affidavit, the little girl sustained extensive injuries, including bruising, lacerations, and facial trauma, which were documented by both the Stanley Police Department and the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office.
Johnson told investigators that the child had autism and would scratch herself and hit her head against walls, resulting in the injuries.
Raymond Johnson told investigators that he last saw the child sleeping on the couch before leaving for work that day, and she was whimpering.
According to the affidavit, the little girl’s preliminary cause of death was “inflicted blunt force trauma of the head” and her preliminary manner of death was “homicide.”
The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation took over the case, stating that Ring doorbell footage obtained from the home revealed disturbing scenes of physical abuse on the day the child died.
A BCI agent stated in the affidavit that they saw Jamie Johnson “striking and punching Jane Doe in the face multiple times with an open and closed hand.”
According to the affidavit, the footage also showed Johnson striking the girl with a cell phone and violently pulling her up by her hair, causing her to hit her head on the floor.
At that point, the child bit one of Jamie’s fingers, prompting Raymond Johnson to intervene and kick the girl in the lower back with his right foot, according to the special agent.
Agents conducted interviews with other children living in the home and discovered ongoing abuse allegedly committed by the foster parents.
One child alleged that Jamie Johnson abused them, while Raymond was the “nice one.”
Both are facing multiple felony charges, including Class AA felony murder during the commission of certain crimes involving a child victim, Class A felony child abuse causing permanent impairment to a victim under the age of six, and Class B felony domestic violence resulting in serious bodily injury to a victim under the age of twelve.
At Monday’s hearing, Mountrail County State’s Attorney Wade Enget asked for a $1 million cash or surety bond for each defendant, citing the gravity of the charges and the risk of flight. Raymond Johnson did not contest the amount, so Judge Gary Lee granted the request.
Jamie Johnson pleaded for a lower bond, claiming she needed to be free in order to obtain legal representation and that she was not a threat to the public.
Judge Lee noted that co-defendants are typically subject to the same bond terms, but said the issue could be revisited at a later hearing.
Both are scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 24. If they are found guilty of felony murder, they will both face life imprisonment.
