A Michigan mother charged with killing her baby by neglect told police she was “just too busy” to feed and care for the child.
At the trial of mother Lovily Johnson, Detective Robert Meredith in Wyoming, Michigan, told the court the suspect stated that she did not have time to pay attention to her dying child, according to MLive.
“Her words were this, ‘I was just too busy,'” Detective Meredith said during a court appearance on February 21.
The court also heard from medical professionals who said her child had already been dead for some time and showed signs of decomposition when he was finally brought to them.
“Noah’s body was in advanced stages of decomposition,” court records state. “His stomach was obviously bloated, his eyes were glossy, and he was emitting a strong, foul odor. Noah had blood on his genitals and buttocks.”
The final blow may have come last July, when, police allege, Johnson left her baby strapped into a car seat and sitting in her vehicle in sweltering, 90-degree heat for more than two days.
Police say that Johnson told them that when she finally brought the baby into the house, the child was “gasping” for breath. Police also say that the woman then told them she put the baby in a bedroom but did not look in on the child for another full day.
“She doesn’t check on him, doesn’t hear him crying, doesn’t feed him,” Meredith said Johnson told them.
After several days, during which time Johnson told police she had smoked pot and passed out, she discovered the child lying unresponsive.
Ultimately, Johnson contacted a friend and asked him to drive her and the child to the hospital. The man told police that Johnson did not seem rushed about going to the hospital and also said she felt she was “stressed to the edge” from being a single mother.
Johnson now faces charges of felony murder and first-degree child abuse.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.