Baltimore Aunt Drove Car for a Year With Kids Stuffed in Trunk

For about a year, a Baltimore woman allegedly drove a car with a gruesome secret: the dead body of her 7-year-old niece stashed in a suitcase in the trunk. Then in May she allegedly cracked the trunk’s lid to dump the body of her 5-year-old nephew beside it.

It wasn’t until months later that police discovered the decomposing bodies of siblings Joshlyn Marie James Johnson and Larry Darnell O’Neal.

Baltimore County Police said in a statement Thursday night that they were grieving over the “unspeakable deaths” after discovering the kids’ bodies when they pulled 33-year-old Nicole Johnson over in a traffic stop late Wednesday.

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In charging documents obtained by local outlets, police allege Johnson told detectives that her sister, Dachelle Johnson, had asked her to look after the kids in 2019 when she was unable to care for them.

The documents allege Johnson said she had grown angry with Joshlyn more than a year ago, hitting her niece several times, resulting in the girl hitting her head. Johnson allegedly told police she put her niece’s body in a suitcase in her car in May 2020, where it has remained ever since.

She allegedly told police that Larry’s body was put in a bag alongside Joshlyn’s a year later, without providing details about how or when he died.

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According to a probable cause statement obtained by the Baltimore Sun, Johnson was initially issued a citation to appear in court after cops noticed unauthorized tags and registration on her car, and found she had been driving without a license.

The car would be towed, an officer allegedly told Johnson.

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“Y’all going to see me on the news making my big debut,” she allegedly added.

{snip} Johnson attempted to flee the scene when the officer opened the trunk {snip}

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