A tragic incident took place in Mobile County, Alabama on Thursday, September 28, where a woman allegedly drowned her two children before taking her own life. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch described the event as “horrific.” The mother has been identified as Nancy Johnson, 37, and her children as Jacob Johnson, 2, and Mia Johnson, 5.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the children were drowned in the bathroom, with Mia also sustaining a knife injury to her throat. Nancy Johnson was found hanged from a hallway closet rod using a silk belt. Autopsies confirmed that drowning was the cause of death for the children, while Mia’s death was additionally complicated by the loss of blood from her knife wound.
The crime scene was described as chilling and brutal by Semmes Police Chief Todd Friend. The father, Derek Johnson, discovered the children on a sofa in their Semmes home. They had been cleaned up after being submerged in water and then covered with a blanket. Currently, Derek Johnson will not face any charges as the investigation progresses.
Sheriff Burch expressed the need for reflection within the system, indicating possible oversights by social services that may have contributed to the tragedy. Chief Friend informed the media that the police had responded to six domestic calls at the Johnson residence in recent months, with both Nancy and Derek Johnson calling the police on each other at various times. The couple was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle, and court records revealed signs of Nancy’s mental health issues.
Following a protection-from-abuse order obtained by Nancy in Utah in August, Derek filed for divorce the next day in Mobile County. Despite their problems, Judge Walter Honeycutt granted joint custody to both parents, with the Alabama Department of Human Resources overseeing “protective supervision” for the children. The court order also stipulated that Derek had to place a camper trailer in the backyard for both parents to sleep in alternately while caring for their children, a new arrangement that was set to begin on October 1.