LIVE OAK, Calif. (TCN) — The primary caregivers of a teen who needed round-the-clock care have been arrested in connection with the girl’s starvation death.
The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of 37-year-old Sherwood Johnson II and 33-year-old Megan Fredrick on April 20. CBS News reports Fredrick is the victim’s sister.
The sheriff’s office began their investigation into the couple in January 2025 following the death of a developmentally disabled teen whose name has not been released. Authorities were called to a home with reports that she was unresponsive, and the circumstances surrounding her death were deemed suspicious.Â
According to investigators, the victim needed to eat via feeding tube and required round-the-clock care. The coroner determined the victim’s death was a homicide caused by starvation and neglect. Arrest warrants for Fredrick and Johnson were issued and they were apprehended on April 16 in Washington, where they had moved.Â
According to a press release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, both were booked into jail pending extradition to California.Â
KCRA reports the couple was jailed in California on $750,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in court on April 22.
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