By Imran Khan • Published: 29 Mar 2023 • 21:45 • 2 minutes read
Mother stabs three-year-old daughter multiple times after ‘receiving orders from cartoon character’ Image: Bjoern-Wylezich Shutterstock.com
A court in the US has given a life sentence to a woman who murdered her daughter by stabbing her 17 times.
Justine Johnson claimed she stabbed her daughter after being given orders by a “cartoon character” to commit the crime, according to the Sun.
The girl names Sutton Mosser reportedly died on September 16, 2021, as her body was found inside a garbage bag at her house located in Osconda Township, Michigan.
During the hearing, Johnson pleaded guilty to “one count each of first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse”.
She was sentenced to a maximum of 50 years, which she will serve alongside her life sentence.
According to Ryan Eberline, Michigan Child Protective Services investigator, “The 23-year-old mother had suffered hallucinations of a television character who instructed her to kill her daughter”.
Eberline stated that Johnson “was getting hallucinations from the TV. It was SpongeBob who was saying these things on the TV.
“If she didn’t do what she did to her daughter, they would kill her.
“She was afraid for her life and she lost her mind.”
Eberline also testified at the preliminary hearing and said that “Johnson had told him she tried to kill herself before stabbing her daughter”.
As per reports, the body of the girl was discovered by Johnson´s brother, who reported it to the police, after he spotted her foot coming out of the bag.
Court records stated that she had been wrapped in bedding inside the bag, and was wearing a disposable diaper.
“What I saw was something I’d never imagine I would see in over 30 years as an attorney”, said a statement by prosecutor James A. Bacarella.
“It was something truly insidious. It’s difficult for me to imagine, first off, how anybody could murder a child, a toddler, a 3-year-old”, he said.
Bacarella also stated that, “I don’t know how you can recover from that, I don’t know a way any person could be reformed from that”.
He continued “The most vulnerable of lives was entrusted to this mother and then brutally murdered by her”.
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A journalist, content professional, and former TEDx Speaker based in Tarragona (Spain), with a Master's in International Journalism (Cardiff, UK). Imran is an online reporter for The Euro Weekly News and covers international as well as Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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