A young Wyoming mother has been arrested and charged for allegedly leaving her baby son to die in his car seat while she was out partying with friends. According to CPS, six-month-old Noah Johnson’s death was entirely preventable, if only his mother had checked on him and fed him during that window of time. But for reasons that no one is sure of, 22-year-old Lovily Johnson chose not to attend to the infant.

Court records show that the case began when Johnson arrived at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital on July 19th with her son, Noah. Medical staff say that it was immediately obvious that the baby was already dead and had been for some time. Court documents state that, according to the doctor who first examined the baby, “Noah’s body was in advanced stages of decomposition. His stomach was obviously bloated, his eyes were glossy, and he was emitting a strong, foul odor. Noah had blood on his genitals and buttocks.”

So what happened here? How did this baby come to be dead and decomposing, strapped into his car seat? Police were called shortly after Johnson brought her son to the hospital, and she was arrested within hours. During the interview, officers asked Johnson what had happened to Noah in the last few days. The answers she provided were illuminating, to say the least.

On July 17th, Johnson told officers she fed Noah a bottle, and then strapped him into his car seat without changing his diaper, and went out to have fun with friends. She was gone for about 12 hours, during which time she claims she spent time with friends and smoked marijuana, before returning home. However, she didn’t check on Noah at that time.

The following day she left the house again, having still not checked in on Noah since before leaving the previous day.

This time she was gone for about 8 hours before returning home in the afternoon. However, once again she admits that she didn’t check on her baby while she was home. She left again that evening and was gone overnight, only returning to the apartment the following morning.

Police records show that Johnson came come that morning, on July 19th, but left once more without checking in on Noah. She allegedly ran errands that morning, going first to Family Fare, then a gas station, and finally a bank. According to one of the investigators working on the case, Johnson returned home that afternoon and finally checked on Noah. She found him unresponsive, but instead of calling 911, she called her father and asked him to give her a ride to the hospital.  

Investigators went to her home a few hours after her arrest, and noted that the temperature in the room where Noah had been left, was approximately 90 degrees. Officers also discovered that Johnson has another child, a two-year-old daughter. CPS was contacted, the little girl was taken into state custody, and a petition was filed to terminate Johnson’s parental rights.

CPS records also show that this is not their first interaction with Johnson. The agency was notified a month ago, when someone called the police after finding Noah alone in a car, in the parking lot of the Family Video for 20 minutes. A complaint alleging improper supervision was filed against her. Johnson has since been charged with First Degree Child Abuse and Felony Murder. She was denied bond, and has requested a court-appointed attorney.