Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas City police have uncovered the identity of a murdered 4-year-old girl who had been known as Precious Doe since her headless body was found in 2001. Her real name was Erica Michelle Marie Green. Acting on a tip, police last week charged the girl’s mother and stepfather in her death. Her stepfather, Harrell Johnson, admitted to kicking and throwing the child during a drug-fueled rage when she refused to go to sleep. Johnson said that after she died he severed her head with garden shears. Billy Stegall, a retired postal worker who discovered some of the remains, had returned to the site regularly to pray. “I just asked the Lord to say who she is so she could be at peace,” Stegall said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
