The parents of a 1-year-old from Oklahoma who died after allegedly spilling methadone on herself have been arrested for child neglect.
Christopher Paul Johnson, 39, and Kourtany Johnson, 31, were taken into custody on March 3 after reporting that their 1-year-old daughter was unresponsive that morning. According to a probable cause affidavit, police arrived at the Johnsons’ home and found the baby along with another 3-year-old child who was reportedly covered in dried food, glitter, and animal hair. The parents were described as behaving erratically, and the home was found to be in an unsanitary condition.
Authorities later determined that the child had already been dead for 18 hours when she was found.
Reports state that Christopher Johnson had been watching the baby the day before when he opened a bottle of methadone near her. He reportedly told police that he briefly turned away, then noticed that the baby had spilled the methadone on herself and considered that she may have ingested some of it. Believing that the amount was not enough to harm her, he nonetheless told Kourtany Johnson to take the child to a hospital. However, she allegedly refused, fearing that authorities would remove her children from the home.
The couple reportedly put the baby to bed at 11 p.m. that night and found her unresponsive the next morning. However, the medical examiner later determined that the child may have died as early as noon the previous day.
The condition of the home suggested severe neglect. Authorities reported finding flies, roaches, and maggots in several rooms, along with animal waste, rotting food, and open prescription bottles, including methadone. Another school-age child who lived in the home was not present at the time.
Both Christopher and Kourtany Johnson were arrested and booked into the Pawnee County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and child neglect. They remain in custody and are scheduled to appear in court on March 25.
