Man convicted of killing Mo. 3-year-old gets life

[November 21, 2008]  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A man convicted of killing and beheading the 3-year-old daughter of the woman he would marry and dumping her body in the woods was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Before being sentenced, Harrell Johnson again stated that he is innocent of the 2001 murder of Erica Green. The girl's remains went unidentified for four years after they were found, during which time she was referred to by the community and in the news media as "Precious Doe."

"Never once have I harmed a hair on her head or did anything to hurt her," Johnson told the court. "God knows my little angel -- Erica -- knows the truth. And I ain't gonna stop fighting until I prove my innocence and the truth is brought to the light."

Johnson, 29, was convicted last month of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and abuse of a child.

Erica's mother, Michelle Johnson, testified at Harrell Johnson's trial that he was high on drugs and kicked Erica in the head because the girl wouldn't go to bed. She said she and Johnson didn't seek medical help for Erica for fear of going to jail on outstanding warrants in other cases.

Prosecutors said Johnson decapitated the girl's body and dumped it in woods. Michelle Johnson, 33, who married Harrell Johnson after the slaying, was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison for the murder.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, partly because Johnson agreed to withdraw his request to have the case moved out of Kansas City.

The only sentence that Jackson County Circuit Judge John Torrence could hand Harrell Johnson for the murder charge was life in prison without the possibility of parole. He sentenced Johnson to four years for the endangerment and 25 years for the abuse. The sentences will run consecutively.

Johnson will appeal the conviction, said one of his lawyers, Kent Hall. He declined to comment further.

[Associated Press; By ANDALE GROSS]

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