Erica Michelle Marie Green (May 15, 1997 – April 28, 2001), also known as Precious Doe, was an American three-year-old girl who was

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, in April 2001. Green's decapitated body was discovered on April 28, 2001, and her head was found nearby on May 1, but remained unidentified until May 5, 2005. Green's murder attracted significant media and public attention due to the brutality of the crime and the lengthy period without identification. In 2008, Green's mother and step-father were convicted for her murder.

Discovery

On April 28, 2001, the decapitated body of a young

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

girl was found near Hibbs Park at 59th Street and Kensington Avenue in

. On May 1, 2001, the young girl's head was found wrapped in a

trash bag A bin bag, rubbish bag (British English), garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag (American English) or refuse sack is a disposable bag used to contain solid waste. Such bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides o ...

approximately 150 to 200 yards southeast of the body discovery site. Investigators determined that she had been beaten with an ashtray found with the body and kicked several times, causing extensive injuries throughout her body, and then decapitated in an effort to keep police from being able to identify the body. The ashtray lacked DNA or

fingerprints A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surf ...

, and the unidentified girl was known by the

multiple-use name A multiple-use name or anonymity pseudonym is a name used by many different people to protect anonymity. It is a strategy that has been adopted by many unconnected radical and cultural groups, where the construct of personal identity has been crit ...

Precious Doe, which was used in public broadcasts in an effort to identify her.

Media appearances

The brutality of the crime, and the fact that Green went unidentified for a long period, sparked nationwide interest in an effort to identify her. Police released sketches, computerized facial reconstructions, and at least two busts. The case was featured on the TV programs ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' and '' Cold Case Files'' several times.

Identification

On May 5, 2005, Precious Doe was identified as Erica Green, a three-year-old from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Her mother, Michelle Johnson (also known as Michelle Pierce), and her stepfather, Harrell Johnson, were charged with murder and extradited from Oklahoma to face charges in Missouri. Michelle Johnson's eight other children were taken into state custody or placed with relatives. On December 3, 2005, prosecutors announced that they would seek the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

against Erica's stepfather, Harrell Johnson. Police stated that Erica had died when Johnson had used a pair of hedge clippers to sever her head after she had been brutally beaten. Johnson's cousin, Lawanda Driskell, said that Erica's mother helped Harrell dispose of the body by taking Erica from the house as if sleeping in a

stroller Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English), infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks ...

and telling Driskell she had given Erica to the woman who had raised her while Johnson was in prison.

Conviction

On October 8, 2008, Harrell Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. On October 22, 2008, Michelle Johnson was sentenced to 25 years in prison, in exchange for her 2007 guilty plea to second-degree murder and testimony against her husband.

References

External links