Judge calls mother-of-two, 23, 'extremely disturbing' as she's sentenced to 20 years in prison
Lovily Johnson, 22 (pictured), from Wyoming, Michigan, has been sentenced to between 20 and 80 years in prison, after pleading guilty for the second-degree murder of six-month-old Noah Edward Johnson
A Michigan mother-of-two has been sentenced to at least 20 years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her six-month-old son.
Lovily Johnson, 23, left her baby, Noah, in a sweltering attic strapped in his car seat for several days without air conditioning, food or water, while she was away partying with friends.
Sentencing her to between 20 and 80 years in prison on Thursday, Kent County Circuit Court Judge Mark Trusock lambasted Johnson, describing her actions as 'outrageously disturbing'.
'And what did you chose to do?' Judge Trusock asked Johnson. 'You went out with your friends, you partied, you sought out a place that had air conditioning and you used drugs.'
Police said the infant was ignored for about 32 hours spread over three days in July 2017, where temperatures in the attic bedroom reached 90 degrees.
'I hope you think every day of how you killed your own child, ma'am,' Trusock added.
Lovily Johnson, 23 (pictured in court in September, left), left her son, Noah Johnson (right), in an 90 degree attic across a period of three days as she partied with friends
The judge also told Johnson he hopes she never has the opportunity to care for another child again.
Her other child, a four-year-old girl, has been taken into foster care.
When Johnson took her son to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids on July 19, 2017, Noah's decomposing body was still in the same car seat Johnson had left him in days earlier.
The 23-year-old was arrested hours later.
On July 19, Johnson (pictured with Noah) arrived at about 2.35pm at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids with her baby, according to police. She admitted to authorities that she was Noah’s sole caregiver in the days before he died, and that she was home several times a day during that time but had not fed the child since
An autopsy of the boy discovered he only weight 12 lbs, had severe diaper rash and was severely dehydrated.
It's believed he'd been left in the Wyoming attic across a period of three days.
'This was an outrageously disturbing set of facts,' Trusock said. 'This was your own child, who was six-months-old, and you killed him.'
Attempting to mitigate his client's sentence, Johnson's attorney Johnathan Schildgren said the single mother endured a difficult childhood.
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ShareHe also detailed how she was overwhelmed looking after two children in addition to her younger sister.
'She’s a young kid who probably had her heart broken when she was born,' Schildgren said.
'So do I think she has the heart and soul of someone who wanted to torture and sadistically murder her baby? No, she doesn’t.'
Judge Trusock told Johnson (left and right) that he hopes she never gets to care for children again
Johnson (pictured) is also mother to a four-year-old daughter who has since been placed under the supervision of the state Department of Health and Human Services
Schildgren instead offered a different hypothesis, instead saying Johnson suffered from a 'generational curse', insisting troubles in her childhood have repeated in her motherhood.
Johnson entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder in November after her previous trial collapsed two months before.
A Kent County judge declared a mistrial in September 2018 because jurors were unable to reach a verdict after five days of deliberations.
Speaking to the court, Johnson said: 'I understand justice has to be served for him today but I also plead for your mercy.
'If I could give my life for his, I would have done that.'
