A Maryland woman, Nicole Michelle Johnson, 36, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after the decomposing bodies of her niece and nephew were discovered in the trunk of her car during a routine traffic stop in Baltimore County on July 28, 2021. The gruesome discovery revealed a tragic case of child abuse and neglect that led to the deaths of 7-year-old Joshlyn Marie James Johnson and 5-year-old Larry Darnell O’Neil III, siblings entrusted to Johnson’s care by their mother in 2019.

The case began when Baltimore County Police pulled Johnson over on Eastern Boulevard near Wagners Lane in Essex, Maryland, shortly after 11 p.m. for speeding. Officers noted that the vehicle was unregistered, uninsured, and bore a fake temporary West Virginia tag. As they prepared to tow the car, Johnson made cryptic remarks, telling an officer, “It don’t matter, I won’t be here in five days,” and ominously adding, “Y’all going to see me on the news making my big debut.” When instructed to remove her belongings from the vehicle, officers detected the unmistakable odor of decomposition. Johnson retrieved a suitcase wrapped in plastic and a plastic tote from the trunk, leading to the horrifying discovery of the children’s remains.
Joshlyn’s body, weighing only 18 pounds, was found inside the suitcase, while Larry’s body, weighing 21 pounds, was inside a trash bag within the tote. Autopsies revealed that both children were severely malnourished, with their weights indicating months of neglect. Both deaths were ruled homicides by unspecified means, according to Baltimore County Deputy State’s Attorney Lisa Fox Dever.

During an interview with homicide detectives, Johnson admitted to the events leading to the children’s deaths. She stated that in May 2020, while staying at the Regal Inn on Pulaski Highway in Rosedale, she became angry with Joshlyn for misbehaving and allegedly stealing her belongings. Johnson struck the 7-year-old multiple times, causing her to fall and hit her head, resulting in her death. Instead of seeking help, Johnson placed Joshlyn’s body in the suitcase and kept it in her car’s trunk. In May 2021, two months before the traffic stop, Johnson claimed Larry told her he was tired, lay down in the backseat, and never woke up. She noted a wound on his left leg but provided no further details about its cause. Johnson then placed Larry’s body in a plastic tote, storing it alongside his sister’s remains in the trunk. She never contacted emergency services or authorities about either death.

The children’s mother, Dachelle Johnson, had entrusted Joshlyn and Larry to her sister’s care in July 2019 after moving from Dayton, Ohio, to Maryland, as she was unable to care for them at the time. Dachelle told detectives she attempted to contact Nicole multiple times to retrieve her children, including arranging a meeting in March 2021, but Nicole never appeared and became unreachable. Dachelle learned of her children’s deaths only when police notified her after the traffic stop. In a now-deleted GoFundMe post, Dachelle expressed her anguish, writing, “It was supposed to just be a family helping family situation. I trusted her… I’ll never get to see my kids because of a mistake I made in trusting my sister.”

On August 13, 2024, Nicole Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a victim younger than 13 in Baltimore County Circuit Court. On February 10, 2025, Judge Nancy M. Purpura sentenced her to life in prison, suspending all but 50 years, and ordered five years of probation upon release, mental health treatment, and no contact with children under 18. During the sentencing, Johnson was visibly emotional, holding her face in her palms as the judge delivered the verdict.

The case has raised questions about oversight, as no formal custody agreement was in place, and the children’s absence went unnoticed, partly due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maryland Department of Human Services, which includes Child Protective Services, could not confirm any prior investigations involving Johnson due to confidentiality laws. The tragedy has left a lasting impact on the family, particularly James Phillips, who raised Dachelle in Dayton and considered Joshlyn and Larry his grandchildren. He described the siblings as inseparable, with Joshlyn doting on her younger brother, and expressed regret that he was unaware the children were no longer with their mother.

Nicole Michelle Johnson, now held at the Baltimore County Detention Center, will serve her 50-year sentence for the horrific crimes that ended the lives of two young children who were entrusted to her care.