Inset: Stephanie Kay Johnson (Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in North Carolina where Johnson allegedly killed a 21-month-old girl (Google Maps).
A 37-year-old North Carolina woman is accused of killing her 21-month-old great-niece, whose death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.
Stephanie Kay Johnson was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of murder and one count of intentionally inflicting child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury in the toddler’s death, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began April 30, when deputies and emergency medical personnel responded to a home in the 5900 block of Bob’s Lake Road in Hamptonville for a reported medical emergency involving the toddler.
First responders performed CPR at the scene before taking the victim to a local hospital, according to a report from the Yadkin Ripple.
While the toddler was receiving medical care, sheriff’s office detectives found evidence of earlier non-accidental trauma, WXII reported. The child later died from her injuries.
Following an autopsy, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the toddler’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was blunt force trauma.
An arrest warrant issued Oct. 8 provides additional details about the allegations against Johnson. In the murder count, prosecutors allege that she killed the child with “malice aforethought,” a legal term for intent to kill or act with extreme disregard for life. A second count accuses Johnson of intentionally inflicting the serious bodily injury that resulted in the toddler’s death.
“At the time the defendant inflicted the injury the defendant was providing care for the child as great aunt,” the warrant states.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) assisted the Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Division in the case. The county Department of Social Services also launched an investigation into Johnson following her great-niece’s death, WXII reported.
In an earlier report, WXII spoke with the victim’s grandfather, who described the toddler as happy and full of love and said the family planned to hold a memorial service. The station reported those comments before Johnson’s arrest.
Johnson was arrested without incident and is being held in the Yadkin County Jail without bond.
