Mom testifies that baby’s remains were switched at Fort Worth mortuary

Desiree Williams testified that she wanted her baby’s body cremated and his ashes brought back home and said her friend promised to do that for her.

“I didn’t want him to be out by himself at a cemetery,” Williams testified Wednesday. “I wanted him to be cremated so he could be with me and his father.”

Williams’ friend, Dondre Johnson, 41, is being tried on a felony charge of theft of $1,500 to $20,000 stemming from his time as co-owner of the Johnson Family Mortuary in Fort Worth.

Johnson and Rachel Hardy-Johnson, 35, are accused of accepting payments to cremate and bury several bodies but failing to deliver those services.

Rachel Hardy-Johnson is in federal prison on unrelated food stamps charges.

Williams testified Wednesday that her family was among those cheated by the owners of Johnson Family Mortuary, where decomposing corpses were found in July 2014 after police were called to the funeral home.

Williams testified that her son, Titus Harrison, died May 1, 2014, after being born prematurely. He was due in September.

“I got to hold him for 30 seconds of his life,” Williams told the jury.

Williams testified that Johnson agreed to cremate the body and allow the family to hold a memorial service at the funeral home for $300 because “I was his sister.”

“I had known him for so much of his life,” Williams said. “I knew his mentor, Gregory Spencer. And I used to cut his and his brother’s hair.”

Williams said that weeks after the death she received a box of ashes that Johnson assured her were the remains of her son, but that something did not seem right. The seal on the box was broken and the name labeling was torn off, Williams said.

“I called and asked, ‘Is this my son?’ and he said yes,” Williams told the jury. “And Dondre said if you want another label I can give you another label. But I said it’s not about the label, it’s about who is in this box.”

Williams said a relative called her on July 15 and asked if she had heard the news about the decaying bodies that authorities had found in the Johnson Family Mortuary.

“I immediately knew that the child they were talking about was Titus,” Williams said. “After I heard the news all the red flags made sense.”

Williams said that the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office later verified that it was her son’s body found at the mortuary.

“So I had to go back again and get my son’s remains and have him cremated,” Williams said.

Landlord’s gruesome discovery

Johnson listened impassively Wednesday during the first day of testimony in his trial.

Earlier Wednesday, his landlord described the events that led police to shut down the mortuary last year.

Landlord Jim Labenz, who had purchased the mortuary building in February 2014, testified that Dondre and Rachel Hardy-Johnson had not been paying rent and that their electricity had been shut off for a few days in June before he changed the locks on two of the doors.

During questioning by Tarrant County prosecutor Harry E. White, he said the mortuary smelled foul.

Labenz testified that when he went inside the building with members of the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office in July, they found several bodies in varying states of decomposition.

Labenz said that after entering the mortuary garage he saw a small gray coffin sitting next to a bag that was collecting fluids.

“You could see the fluids dripping out of the bag,” Labenz said.

Johnson’s attorney, Alexander Kim, said during opening statements that everything the prosecuting attorney said — that the building smelled, that the Johnsons had not paid rent — was all true.

Kim also explained that Johnson’s wife “was the boss.”

Kim said his client could do nothing to change the outcome of the events that led to the closing of their business.

“The owner was actually Rachel Hardy,” Kim said. “The bank account was owned by Rachel Hardy. The only person who could pay employees and pay bills was Rachel Hardy. Johnson could not pay bills even if he wanted to. Employees will talk and say the boss was Rachel Hardy.

“If you work for someone, ultimately, who is responsible?” Kim asked the jury.

Labenz testified that after he changed the locks and smelled the foul odors, he called police and told them he believed the mortuary had been abandoned.

“When we went in there we got some wet rags to help us breathe,” Labenz testified.

Johnson also faces seven misdemeanor charges of abuse of a corpse.

If convicted of the theft charge, he faces a maximum of two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Johnson, who was arrested on a Dallas County warrant at a pre-trial hearing on Monday, also faces a charge of failure to pay child support.

Officials said that all but one of the eight bodies, six adults and two stillborn infants, showed signs of advanced decomposition. None of the bodies had signs of trauma or foul play, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

Rachel Hardy-Johnson began serving a 21-month federal prison sentence for food stamp benefit fraud in August. She was also also ordered to pay $76,494 in restitution in that case, which is unrelated to the others.

Reality TV show canceled

Before their business was shut down, the Johnsons had been negotiating with the Lifetime Television Network for reality TV show called Good Grief.

Labenz testified that a representative who worked with the show talked with him about the back rent owed by Johnson Family Mortuary, and asked what it would take to keep them in the building.

“We got April rent on July 11,” Labenz testified. “It was through a reality show they were getting ready to air.”

Good Grief, which had been scheduled to air in August, was canceled after allegations of wrong-doing were made public.

“The program featuring the Johnson Family Mortuary has not and will not air on Lifetime,” Les Eisner, vice president for corporate communications and publicity at Lifetime Networks, said in an email sent to the Star-Telegram in July. “The allegations are deeply troubling and our thoughts and prayers go to the families affected by this situation.”

Testimony is expected to continue Thursday in state District Judge Elizabeth Beach’s court. Sid Mody, Tarrant County prosecutor, is assisting in presenting the state’s case.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Mom testifies that baby’s remains were switched at Fort Worth mortuary."