A Maryland woman has been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison after the decaying bodies of her niece and nephew were discovered in her car’s trunk, a discovery that has left the local community in shock and mourning.
Nicole M. Johnson, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree child abuse resulting in the deaths of her niece, 7-year-old Joshlyn Johnson, and her nephew, 5-year-old Larry O’Neil III.
The crime was uncovered during a routine traffic stop on July 28, 2021, when police officers pulled Johnson over for driving an unregistered and uninsured car with a fake temporary tag.
During the stop, officers noticed a strong odor emanating from the vehicle, prompting a search that led them to the grim discovery in the trunk.
Inside the trunk, officers found Joshlyn’s body wrapped in a garbage bag and Larry’s body in a maggot-infested tote.
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The children had been dead for months, with reports indicating that Joshlyn weighed just 18 pounds at the time of her death and Larry weighed 21 pounds.
Both children had been living with their aunt since 2019, when their mother had entrusted them to Johnson’s care.
Johnson confessed to police that she had been driving with the children’s bodies in her car for over a year. She claimed Joshlyn’s death occurred in May 2020 after a beating led to the child falling and hitting her head.
She said Larry died a year later in May 2021 after falling asleep in the car and never waking up. After his death, she placed both bodies in the trunk, where they remained for months.
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The children’s mother, Dachelle Johnson, spoke out after the sentencing, sharing her heartbreak and regret over trusting her sister to care for her children. She had been in the process of regaining custody when she lost contact with Johnson.
In a heartfelt message, she expressed her sorrow, writing, “I still trusted her… this is my blood sister, she was my family.”
At the sentencing on February 10, 2025, Judge Nancy Purpura imposed a life sentence, suspending all but 50 years in prison.
The crime continues to haunt the family and community, as the tragic deaths of these two innocent children are a painful reminder of the depths of betrayal that can exist even within families.
