North Texas parents arrested after ‘extremely malnourished’ baby dies, police say
The father and mother of a 9-month-old baby have been arrested and face murder charges after the infant was found dead at a North Texas home, police said.
The Mesquite Police and Fire Departments responded to a CPR in progress call for an unresponsive child in a home in the 3500 block of Byrd Drive on Friday, Dec. 13.
Mesquite Fire Department medics arrived at the scene and determined that the baby girl was dead and appeared to be extremely malnourished, a police spokesperson said.
Police said the investigation led to the child’s father, 22-year-old Leon Johnson, being arrested.
Further investigation also led to the arrest of the baby’s mother, 23-year-old Destiny Avila.
Both parents face a charge of capital murder of a person under 10 years of age.
Johnson and Avila shared custody of their 9-month-old daughter, Maliyah Johnson, but did not live together, according to police.
Leon Johnson lives at the home where the 911 call was made. He told police that Maliyah had not been eating for a couple of days and had been throwing up, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The father said he was giving the baby Pedialyte to try to keep her hydrated but that he was worried she would overdose, the warrant states.
On Friday morning, Johnson said he found Maliyah lying in vomit and after he picked her up, she spat up again and made a “gurgling sound before she fell out of his arms,” the documents state.
Police said they believe both parents are responsible for Maliyah starving to death.
“During this time, the child was clearly in medical distress based off her emaciated state,” police said in a statement. “The investigation revealed both individuals’ inactions led to the starvation and death of the child.”
Johnson was booked in the Dallas County Jail with bond set at $1 million. Avila was being held in the Mesquite Jail and her bond had not been set Tuesday, Dec. 17.
This story was originally published December 16, 2024 at 1:16 PM.