Michigan Mother Claimed to Hear Threatening Voices Through the TV Before Killing Daughter
The victim, Sutton Mosser, turned 3 two days before the murder.
A Michigan mom accused of killing her toddler daughter allegedly told police a hallucination of SpongeBob SquarePants told her through her television to kill the child.
Online records confirm 22-year-old Justine Johnson has been charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse stemming from the Sept. 16, 2021, death of her daughter, Sutton Mosser.
Sutton died from multiple stab wounds. Her mother has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to MLive.com and CNN, Johnson allegedly told an official from Iosco County Child Protective Services that voices from her television threatened her life, saying she would die if she did not murder Sutton.
Both reports cite information from Johnson’s arrest report.
Johnson allegedly specified that the threatening voice belonged to SpongeBob SquarePants, the title character of the iconic Nickelodeon cartoon.
A CPS official told police about the interaction with Johnson, who has been in prison without bond since September.
Last month, a judge determined she was mentally fit to stand trial.
At the time of the killing, Johnson was going through heroin withdrawal. She allegedly admitted to using cocaine on the day of the killing, according to CNN.
Sutton had just turned 3 two days before her murder.
According to CNN, Sutton was found the morning of Sept. 17, 2021, by Johnson’s brother, Knesley Johnson. The concerned uncle started searching for Sutton after returning from work and not finding her in his grandmother’s Tawas City home.
Knesley Johnson lives at the grandmother’s home with his teenage brother and, as of a month-and-a-half ago, his sister and niece, CNN reports.
During his search, Knesley Johnson spotted a human foot, sticking out of a black garbage bag.
As part of their investigation, police allegedly accessed Johnson’s old apartment, where they found blood on the floor and in a bathtub.
They have yet to specify whose blood it was.
PEOPLE was unable to reach Johnson’s attorney for comment.