Mother forced her 8-year-old daughter to live in a shed, then let the girl rot in a bathtub after she died — and is headed to prison for it

A 34-year-old California pistillate volition walk much than a decennary down bars for forcing her 8-year-old girl to unrecorded successful a shed earlier the kid died, past leaving her assemblage to decompose successful a bathtub for months.

Samantha Johnson pleaded nary contention to manslaughter and 2 counts of child abuse successful the decease of her girl Sophia Mason. As portion of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the execution charge. A justice connected Thursday sentenced Johnson to 15 years and 8 months successful prison.

Authorities recovered Sophia dormant successful a bath connected March 11, 2022, successful Merced, which is astir 50 miles northwest of Fresno. Authorities recovered Sophia's decomposing assemblage aft she was reported missing.

Johnson was arrested immediately, portion her fellow Dhante Jackson was taken into custody astir six months later. He was facing the aforesaid charges but helium pleaded blameworthy past October to a lesser charge. He was released from jailhouse with recognition for clip served.

The San Jose Mercury News reported Johnson near Sophia with household members soon aft the girl's birth. Her grandma raised her until Johnson came backmost into representation successful 2021 and took backmost custody to her. For the adjacent 15 months, determination were astatine slightest 7 reports of Sophia being abused, nevertheless societal services workers declined to intervene oregon adjacent alert cops, which violated California law, the Mercury News reported.

"This isn't justice," Sophia's aunt Emerald Johnson wrote successful a unfortunate interaction statement, per the Mercury News. "Sophia didn't get to unrecorded her life. Her beingness was chopped short. [Samantha] and Dhante some merit to rot successful situation for the remainder of your lives."

The aunt concluded: "But careless of these sentences, I cognize that God has the past accidental for you both. You volition get the karma that you genuinely deserve."

Lynn Linnen, different of Sophia's aunts, had a frank appraisal of the defendant's parenting skills.

"You failed," Linnen told her, the Mercury News reported. "Instead of protecting her, you allowed her to endure and die."

As Law&Crime previously reported, Sophia was forced to unrecorded successful a shed successful the backyard of her location successful the last months of her life.

According to the Merced Sun-Star, Johnson told investigators that the past clip she saw her girl live was connected Feb. 10, 2022.

On that day, she took Sophia retired of the shed to cleanable the feces covering her body, according to the report.

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Johnson past near the miss unsocial successful a bath with Jackson, the antheral she knew was abusing her girl some physically and sexually astatine the time, authorities reportedly claimed.

She reportedly told investigators that soon after, she heard a "thud."

The adjacent day, a sliding doorway was near unfastened successful the home, reports the Merced Sun-Star, and Johnson assumed her physically weakened girl had gone retired connected her own.

Johnson stated that she believed that Sophia had tally away.

This script is astir parents' worst nightmare, but Johnson refused to hunt for her girl oregon study the miss missing.

"Jackson told Johnson that your girl does not privation to beryllium with you and does not privation to beryllium your girl anymore. Johnson stated that Jackson told her this, truthful that is the crushed wherefore she stopped looking for [Sophia]," reads the report.

Police officers discovered Sophia's assemblage precisely 1 period aft Johnson past saw her daughter.

After days of searching for Sophia successful effect to an at-risk missing juvenile report, officers with the Hayward Police Department said they yet located the residence wherever Johnson was surviving with Jackson.

Hayward constabulary officers accidental they faced 1 much hurdle erstwhile Johnson and Jackson refused to reply the door, truthful they waited until Johnson near home.

"On Mar 10, 2022, arsenic detectives continued their investigative efforts, it was determined probable origin existed to apprehension Johnson for corporal wounded connected a child," HPD wrote successful a property release. "Detectives besides received accusation Johnson whitethorn beryllium astatine an code successful Newark. Hayward PD Officers responded to the area, located Johnson, and took her into custody."

MPD past obtained a hunt warrant for the location wherever Johnson and Jackson were surviving with Sophia, wherever authorities discovered the missing girl.

Chris Spargo contributed to this report