LEON WALKER - 5 yo -(2010) Gary IN

Investigators say a boy was bound, tortured, and beaten to death inside a
home in Gary. He would have turned 6 years old Monday.
The child's death has been ruled a homicide. Gary police
were questioning people in connection with the boy's death Thursday
evening. Leon Walker, the 5-year-old victim, would have turned 6
years old Monday, but given how it appears his life was going, there is
no evidence anyone was planning a party. Neighbors-- who were
called to his house Wednesday night-- said he was dead long before he
was taken to the hospital, a victim of neglect, abuse and worse. In
hardscrabble Gary, the neighborhood is one where even those who say
they have seen it all tread warily. One neighbor who did not want to be
identified reportedly had Leon and his family over for Easter Sunday
dinner. "It is a tragedy. It is terrible because I went over
there, and he was just laying there with his eyes open, and he was dead.
I knew he was dead when I walked in the house," the neighbor said. The
disturbance was only the latest on Virginia Avenue. Last Saturday, Gary
police were called when 5-year-old Leon went missing. He was found at 2
a.m. hiding under blankets upstairs in the abandoned house next door to
his. "You have to ask yourself, 'What would make a child run
away from home to an abandoned house?'" neighbor Harold Wallace said. The coroner and the police say when an unconscious Leon was brought to
the hospital, he was covered in scars, including ligature marks on his
arms. "From what we could see, [it] looked like he was
tortured. He was beaten from head to toe," said Sgt. William Fazekas,
who was there on another matter. "In 21 years of doing this, it was
the worst I have ever seen -- for any human being." Leon Walker
lived with his father Leon Burns, his girlfriend Rochelle and her four
children. The adults are being questioned by police. "It looked
like something out of --I can't even describe it--something out of a
concentration camp," said Fazekas. "Someday, when the public is able to
review those pictures, when they are available, they are going to be
outraged." Gary police say they continue their investigation,
and they say they are confident they will be able to bring first-degree
murder charges in the case. The victim's mother, who is in rehab
for drug dependency, was told of her son's death.

Police took a man and a woman into custody late Thursday in
connection with the beating death of 5-year-old Leon D. Walker, of
Gary, police Cmdr. Tom DeCanter said.
Charges of murder and neglect of a dependent will be filed early
today with Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, DeCanter said.
Police did not release the names of the pair in custody. Murder
charges will be sought against at least one, and possibly both, of
the suspects, DeCanter said.
The 5-year-old was beaten severely before his death in what
officials ruled a homicide.
The boy's body had up to 40 injury marks on it, said Gary police
Sgt. William Fazekas, supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit and
lead investigator in the case.
Some of the marks may have been from past injuries, Fazekas said.
Paramedics were called to the boy's home in the 3900 block of
Virginia Street at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The call was made by somebody
in the home, police said.
He was pronounced dead at 8:44 p.m. in the emergency room at the
Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary.
His death was caused by trauma to the body so severe it shocked
even longtime law enforcement officials.
"What happened to that boy is incomprehensible," the coroner's
spokesman said.
Four other children were taken from the Virginia Street home by
Child Protective Services, Fazekas said. Their ages ranged from 1 to 13, he said.
Leon had been reported missing from the house on Sunday but was
found in an abandoned building and returned home, Fazekas said.
"They reported him missing, but there was no sign of wrong play
at that time," Fazekas said.
DeCanter said Thursday the investigation into the boy's death
was his division's top priority.
"I have all my violent crime guys working on this case right
now," DeCanter said.
The coroner's office and the Lake County Crime Lab participated
in the investigation.

OMG this is so heartbreaking. Why didn't somebody do something? If a child that young had run away to a scary abandoned house at night ANYONES alarm bells would ring. But despite this - and obviously scars and signs of abuse, he was just taken home to his torture and death?
The police who found Leon at 2am the previous Friday, and neighbours who did nothing should all rot in jail along with his caregivers and their relatives. Imagine being a child and suffering all the abuse and being surrounded by adults including police and just being left to your fate? I'm so so SICK of this. Poor darling child.

kiwimom wrote:OMG this is so heartbreaking. Why didn't somebody do something? If a child that young had run away to a scary abandoned house at night ANYONES alarm bells would ring. But despite this - and obviously scars and signs of abuse, he was just taken home to his torture and death?
The police who found Leon at 2am the previous Friday, and neighbours who did nothing should all rot in jail along with his caregivers and their relatives. Imagine being a child and suffering all the abuse and being surrounded by adults including police and just being left to your fate? I'm so so SICK of this. Poor darling child.

Couldn't agree more Kiwi, it's a travesty that it's happening. Any LE officer that has seen something like this and does nothing about should be severely punished also. If you have half a brain you DO NOT take the children back to that environment, damn idiots. I just don't understand it, when are people going to start speaking up for the children?? I get so tired of hearing, "don't want to get involved"--what a cop out.

Prosecutors filed murder charges against Leon
DeNeal Burns, 28, and Rochell Johnson, 32, in the beating death of
5-year-old Leon Walker, of Gary.

Burns, the father of the victim, and Johnson each face one count
of murder, three counts of neglect of a dependent, two counts of
battery and two counts of false informing.

Charging documents filed in Lake Superior Court show Johnson
admitting to police the child, whom police found scarred from head
to foot, had been beaten almost daily.

The finding left veteran homicide detectives and investigating
agencies aghast Thursday.

The court documents reveal a veteran pathologist with the Lake
County coroner's office told police "in all his years of performing
autopsies that he had never seen any person beaten this bad
before." The pathologist states the child was beaten with belts and
possibly a cord. The cause of death was from vertebrae being
separated by force from the child's skull, causing instant
death.

On Wednesday, the day the child died, Burns allegedly repeatedly
beat the boy with a belt while the boy's hands were tied with an
electrical cord so tight his fingers turned blue.

Court records indicate the child came back into Burns' life two
to three months ago, living with Burns and Johnson and several of
Johnson's children in the 3900 block of Virginia Street.

The boy's mother, Turquoise Walker, reportedly had been living
in a locked-down rehabilitation center in Gary for more than two
weeks prior to the boy's death. Walker told police she had not seen
her son since August.

Burns and Johnson initially told police Leon had been with his
mother until 7 p.m. the day he died. Burns later admitted lying to
police, saying the boy had spent the day with him. He initially
denied whipping the boy the day he died, but later told police he
was the only one to beat Leon that day, according to records.

Burns told police the bruises on the boy's legs were caused by
the boy moving away from him when he was being whipped. He admitted
the bruises were not all from one whipping, court records state. He
is quoted as saying, "I did it, I messed up, I probably went too
far."

Johnson, meanwhile, told police that about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday,
Burns tied the boy up with a black cord and beat him to stop him
from lying and being disrespectful. The boy was tied up all day and
not untied until minutes before his death, Johnson said. Sometime
after dinner, Johnson said Burns "lost his cool" because he thought
Leon was trying to untie himself, which prompted the final beating.
The child was tied because Leon was moving too much when Burns hit
him with the belt, Johnson told police.

Johnson told police she could hear Burns hitting the boy with
the belt and possibly a cord. She also could hear the boy screaming
and yelling that his stomach hurt. After what sounded like several
punches, Leon stopped crying, she said. She found the boy by the
front door, still tied up but not moving and his fingers blue.
Johnson told police she told Burns to let the boy go, and Burns
untied him.

Court documents show Johnson also admitted to spanking the boy
on the buttocks with her hand or a belt once or twice a week
"because Leon would not listen to her."

Ann Houseworth, director of communications for the state
Department of Child Services, said Friday the agency had no abuse
reports on the boy but is initiating an assessment.

OMG these people should burn in hell.....This little boy came into their lives and was tortured by these monsters until he died. This is incomprehensible....An eye for an eye.....they should torture these people the same way they did to this child....

The bruises and welts on 5-year-old Leon Walker's body tell of the
boy's violent, painful final hours.
But before the beatings that led to his death April 28, Leon briefly
enjoyed the kindness of a stranger, a 20-year veteran of the Gary
Police Department with a son of his own.Sgt. Hector King was the officer who found Leon in a vacant house
about 1 a.m. Sunday, April 25. Medics examined the boy and released him
to his father, Leon Burns, who has since been charged with murder in the
boy's death.

King returned the day after he found Leon, toting a stuffed toy.

"He went back to check on him. He's got a small son, too, and if
there's anyone I've ever met who loves children, it's Hector King," said
his wife, Cpl. Gabrielle King. They have an 8-year-old son, Mylze.

Leon took the Scooby-Doo doll from King, smiled and thanked the
officer, a police report states.

Two days later, Leon was pronounced dead at The Methodist Hospitals
Northlake campus emergency room.

Investigators believe that perhaps Leon's disappearance may have
triggered the beatings police describe as "torture," because the boy's
hands and feet were bound for hours while he was punched and hit with a
cord.

Leon's great-grandmother, Vesta Doyle of East Chicago, who had been
caring for Leon and his younger brother while their mother lives at a
church home in Gary, said she was grateful for the officer's
thoughtfulness.

"I take comfort in that," Doyle said Thursday after Leon was buried
at a family plot in Fern Oak Cemetery, just outside Griffith. Donations
from strangers helped pay for Leon's private funeral.

"It was sad, but he looked more like himself. He looked like a little
boy again, not what I saw before," Doyle said.

"Tell everyone the family -- his mother, Turquoise Walker,
grandmother Precious Frith and great-grandmother Vesta Doyle, appreciate
everything everyone has done," she said.

She was pleased to learn that Gary police did respond when Leon was
missing days before he died.

King and other officers arrived at 3973 Virginia St. late April 24.
Burns was living there with Rochelle Johnson and her children. Johnson,
who allegedly witnessed the beatings, is also charged with murder.

Police learned the family had been looking for Leon "all day," but as
officers launched a search, Burns claimed he had located the boy at his
great-grandmother's home in East Chicago.

A short time later, Gary police were recalled to the Glen Park home
and Burns confessed that his son was missing and had been gone for
hours.

King searched the upstairs bedrooms and noticed the back door was
near the stairway. He walked out the door and into the adjacent home,
which was "very dark and had garbage and clothing scattered all over the
floor," his report states.

Leon was in a pile of clothing, wet and cold, King reported.

After the boy was wrapped in a blanket, King called for an ambulance
to examine Leon.

Medics checked the child's condition and returned him to the family.


"If there was any sign of abuse, we would have known about it then,"
Sgt. William Fazekas said.

Doyle said Burns had wanted a visit with his son, then started making
excuses for not returning him at the arranged time.

"The severity of it I'll never understand. He really went in and beat
that boy," she said.

This still doesn't answer why Leon was promptly returned to his father even if they found no signs of physical abuse. Authorities should have retained temporary custody until a social worker and child psychologist could interview Leon. The fact that he ran away shows how terrified he was to be with his father and the others. 4 year olds don't run away. At 4 he was old enough to be able to tell them he didn't want to go back there and preferred to hide in a dark abandoned house and why. Did they even bother to ask him?

The bruises and welts on 5-year-old Leon Walker's
body tell of the boy's violent, painful final hours.

But before the beatings that led to his death April 28, Leon briefly
enjoyed the kindness of a stranger, a 20-year veteran of the Gary Police
Department with a son of his own.

Sgt. Hector King was the officer who found Leon in a vacant house about 1
a.m. Sunday, April 25. Medics examined the boy and released him to his
father, Leon Burns, who has since been charged with murder in the boy's
death.

King returned the day after he found Leon, toting a stuffed toy.

"He went back to check on him. He's got a small son, too, and if there's
anyone I've ever met who loves children, it's Hector King," said his
wife, Cpl. Gabrielle King. They have an 8-year-old son, Mylze.

Leon took the Scooby-Doo doll from King, smiled and thanked the officer,
a police report states.

Two days later, Leon was pronounced dead at The Methodist Hospitals
Northlake campus emergency room.

Investigators believe that perhaps Leon's disappearance may have
triggered the beatings police describe as "torture," because the boy's
hands and feet were bound for hours while he was punched and hit with a
cord.

Leon's great-grandmother, Vesta Doyle of East Chicago, who had been
caring for Leon and his younger brother while their mother lives at a
church home in Gary, said she was grateful for the officer's
thoughtfulness.

"I take comfort in that," Doyle said Thursday after Leon was buried at a
family plot in Fern Oak Cemetery, just outside Griffith. Donations from
strangers helped pay for Leon's private funeral.

"It was sad, but he looked more like himself. He looked like a little
boy again, not what I saw before," Doyle said.

"Tell everyone the family -- his mother, Turquoise Walker, grandmother
Precious Frith and great-grandmother Vesta Doyle, appreciate everything
everyone has done," she said.

She was pleased to learn that Gary police did respond when Leon was
missing days before he died.

King and other officers arrived at 3973 Virginia St. late April 24.
Burns was living there with Rochelle Johnson and her children. Johnson,
who allegedly witnessed the beatings, is also charged with murder.

Police learned the family had been looking for Leon "all day," but as
officers launched a search, Burns claimed he had located the boy at his
great-grandmother's home in East Chicago.

A short time later, Gary police were recalled to the Glen Park home and
Burns confessed that his son was missing and had been gone for hours.

King searched the upstairs bedrooms and noticed the back door was near
the stairway. He walked out the door and into the adjacent home, which
was "very dark and had garbage and clothing scattered all over the
floor," his report states.

Leon was in a pile of clothing, wet and cold, King reported.

After the boy was wrapped in a blanket, King called for an ambulance to
examine Leon.

Medics checked the child's condition and returned him to the family.

"If there was any sign of abuse, we would have known about it then,"
Sgt. William Fazekas said.

Doyle said Burns had wanted a visit with his son, then started making
excuses for not returning him at the arranged time.

"The severity of it I'll never understand. He really went in and beat
that boy," she said.

Charges Filed in 5-Year-Old Boy Beaten To Death

GARY, Ind. (Post-Tribune) ―
Five-year-old Leon Walker spent his final hours with his hands bound
together with an electric cord, squirming to avoid more blows from a
belt, begging to be untied.

His father, Leon D. Burns, admitted to police he had "probably went too
far" on Wednesday, the day Leon died from a broken neck, his body
covered with "deep bruises," court records state.

Burns, 28, and his live-in girlfriend, Rochell Johnson, 32, were both
charged Friday with eight felonies in connection with Leon's beating
death. Johnson admitted to police she was present while her boyfriend
punched and beat Leon at the home they shared at 3973 Virginia St. in
Gary, Ind.

The couple are being held without bond at Lake County, Ind., Jail on
charges of murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing,
Gary police Detective Sgt. William Fazekas said.

Leon was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospitals Northlake campus
emergency room at 8:44 p.m. Wednesday, but was likely dead when he
arrived, police said.

"The cause of Leon's death was from the C1 vertebrae being separated by
force from Leon's skull, causing instant death," the coroner's report
states.

"He was a major liar," Burns told police after his son died. He admitted
striking the boy after Leon "lied about eating a roll from the stove,"
and said in the last three months since he's been seeing the boy
regularly he would hit him "two to three times a week," the probable
cause affidavit states.

Johnson told police Burns would tie Leon during the beatings because the
child was "moving too much." On other occasions, Burns forced the child
to perform exercises "because the boy was being disrespectful."

Although the couple first claimed the boy had been with his mother,
Turquoise Walker, in the hours immediately preceding his death,
Detective Michael Barnes learned Walker had been in a closed
rehabilitation center for two weeks and had not seen Leon.

Burns told more than one version to explain Leon's injuries, but
admitted he had "grabbed his son a little too hard and that might be how
his son injured his head." Police said Leon had ligature marks on his
wrists, ankles and around his neck.

Johnson said her boyfriend "never untied Leon the whole day of April 28
and that young Leon kept asking Burns to untie him and he promised to be
good," the probable cause affidavit states.

"Burns told young Leon he didn't believe him," the affidavit states.

After dinner on Wednesday night, Leon was still restrained and asking to
be let loose. His father became angry, Johnson told Detective James
Bond and Fazekas. "She could hear Burns hitting young Leon with the belt
and possibly a cord and young Leon was screaming and crying ... she
heard what sounded like several punches and young Leon stopped crying
... he was still tied up but wasn't moving."

Leon Walker would have turned 6 years old on Monday.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/gary.boy.beaten.2.1667214.html

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/gary.boy.beaten.2.1667214.html

i encourage you to post your comments about how the system failed to protect this poor child.

oviedo45 wrote:http://cbs2chicago.com/local/gary.boy.beaten.2.1667214.html

i encourage you to post your comments about how the system failed to protect this poor child.

Thanks. Have done Ovie. My comment is the one by Angrymom.

Crim Div MR - Rm II (new) (45G02-1004-MR-00008) State of Indiana v. LEON DeNEAL BURNS

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case.psml/js_pane/P-11ffb7e96a1-15af4
State of Indiana v. ROCHELL RENEE JOHNSON

Clarence Murray

Jury Trial

Criminal Court - Crown Point - Room 2 - G02

07-18-2011

08:30 AM

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case.psml/js_pane/P-11ffb7e96a1-15ae6

LEON DeNEAL BURNS

Court Information
Judge	Clarence Murray
Appearance Date	08-09-2011
Location	Super. Ct. Crim. Div - Crown Pt. - Room 2 - G02
Next Event Type	Omnibus Hearing & Defendant's Discovery Response

ROCHELL RENEE JOHNSON

07-11-2011

Def apprs in person by Attys Derrick Julkes and Alger Boswell. State apprs by Atty Aleksandra Dimitrijevic. FP held. On defense mtn, case is set for PTC: 09-12-11; and JT: 10-03-11. [CDM/MR/SJM/RJO]

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case.psml/js_pane/P-11ffb7e96a1-15af4

Crim Div MR - Rm II (new) (45G02-1004-MR-00009)
State of Indiana v. ROCHELL RENEE JOHNSON
Next >>
07-11-2011 Def apprs in person by Attys Derrick Julkes and Alger Boswell. State apprs by Atty Aleksandra Dimitrijevic. FP held. On defense mtn, case is set for PTC: 09-12-11; and JT: 10-03-11. [CDM/MR/SJM/RJO]

Crim Div MR - Rm II (new) (45G02-1004-MR-00008)
State of Indiana v. LEON DeNEAL BURNS
Next >>
08-09-2011 Def apprs in person by Atty Timothy Ormes. State apprs by Atty Angela Mattozzi. FP held. On defense mtn, OH is cont'd to 09-27-11. [CDM/MR/SJM/09]

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case.psml/js_pane/P-11ffb7e96a1-15af4

Crim Div MR - Rm II (new) (45G02-1004-MR-00009)
State of Indiana v. ROCHELL RENEE JOHNSON

09-16-2011 Def apprs in person by Attys Alger Boswell and Derrick Julkes. State apprs by Atty Angela Mattozzi. Hrg held on defense verified motion for continuance. Mtn granted. Court orders the 10-03-11 trial setting vacated and conts case on further mtn of defense, to 11-04-11, which the Court designates as a discovery status conf. [CDM/AG/SJM/RJO]

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case.psml/js_pane/P-11ffb7e96a1-15af4

Johnson
11-04-2011 Def apprs in person by Atty Derrick Julkes. State apprs by Atty Jamise Perkins. FP held. Parties advise the court that discovery is on going. On defense mtn, cause is cont'd to 12-16-11 for a further disc status conf. [CDM/MR/SJM]


Burns

Clarence Murray Omnibus Hearing Criminal Court - Crown Point - Room 2 - G02 11-15-2011 08:30 AM



https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case/js_pane/P-feb6810afe-10000/caseid/7490166

State of Indiana v. LEON DeNEAL BURNS

Court Information
Judge Clarence Murray
Appearance Date 01-17-2012
Location Super. Ct. Crim. Div - Crown Pt. - Room 2 - G02
Next Event Type Omnibus Hearing & Defendant's Discovery Response

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case/js_pane/P-feb6810afe-10000/caseid/77843152

Johnson
Appearance Date 02-09-2012

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case/js_pane/P-feb6810afe-10000/caseid/7490166

Burns
Appearance Date 03-13-2012

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case/js_pane/P-feb6810afe-10000/caseid/77843152

Just look at this dear child -

Lake County judge removes absent attorney from murder case July 6, 2012 5:02PM

Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray removed the lead defense attorney from a life-without-parole murder case because the lawyer had missed hearings after being ordered to attend.

“My patience is wearing thin. I’m removing Alger Boswell from this case, effective immediately,” Murray said, because of Boswell’s failure to attend hearings.

Two months ago, the judge admonished Boswell that both he and co-counsel Derrick Julkes must attend all future hearings for Rochell Johnson. Julkes said he did not know why Boswell wasn’t present at Friday’s hearing.

Johnson, 34, of Gary, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and other counts in the April 28, 2010, beating death of her boyfriend’s 5-year-old son, Leon Walker.

Co-defendant Leon DeNeal Burns, 30, also has pleaded not guilty to the same charges.

On May 23, more than two years after the charges were filed, Boswell filed notice that he intended to interpose an insanity defense for Johnson. Deputy prosecutor Jamise Perkins objected to the filing. Murray found there was no good cause in filing the motion beyond the deadline in the rules governing criminal court procedure, but the judge agreed to certify the question so the defense could file an interlocutory appeal with the Indiana Court of Appeals.

If the court agrees to take up the issue, it could be one year or longer before there is a decision.

Murray told Julkes that if Boswell had some justification for why he missed Friday’s hearing, he should file something with the court for consideration at the next hearing on Aug. 3.

Boswell, the son of Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell, couldn’t be reached Friday afternoon at his law office.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/13629431-418/lake-county-judge-removes-absent-attorney-from-murder-case.html

Woman admits to neglect in child beating case

October 26, 2012 11:50AM

A Gary woman facing life without parole has pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent in the beating death of her former boyfriend’s 5-year-old son.

Rochell Johnson, 34, who has no criminal convictions on her record, admitted she put Leon Walker in a situation that endangered his life or health, but Johnson took no responsibility for inflicting any of the injuries the boy suffered.

Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray accepted the plea agreement and scheduled a Jan. 4 sentencing hearing. Murray approved a request by defense attorney Derrick Julkes that a the public defenders office retain a neuropsychologist to examine Johnson for psychological and physical issues before her sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors intend to dismiss the life without parole sentencing enhancement filed in October 2010. Johnson will now face 20 to 50 years in prison on the neglect charge.

The child’s father, Leon Burns, 30, of Gary, has pleaded not guilty to murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing.

At the time of Walker’s death, Burns and Johnson were living together with their children in Gary. Walker came to stay with the couple while his mother was in a secure drug treatment facility.

Throughout the day on April 28, 2010, Walker was beaten, his hands and feet were bound and tied, and at one point he could not feel his extremities from being bound for hours. The boy was beaten continuously throughout the day. Bruises and scratches covered the boy’s body, and he ultimately died from injuries he sustained while in the care of Burns and Johnson.

“As Leon Walker begged for help, Rochell Johnson did nothing to give him assistance, help him or free him,” the stipulated factual basis for Johnson’s guilty plea states. “Rochell Johnson placed Leon Walker, a dependent, in a situation that ultimately cost him his life.”

The boy died five days before his 6th birthday.

Burns’ next hearing date is Nov. 6 for scheduling a trial date or submitting a plea agreement.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/15976950-418/woman-admits-to-neglect-in-child-beating-case.html

Dad's girlfriend gets 30 years for ignoring boy's beating

July 29, 2013 6:30 pm

CROWN POINT | The girlfriend of a Gary man accused of beating his 5-year-old son to death in 2010 was sentenced Monday to 30 years for her role in the slaying.

The court sentenced Rochell Johnson, who had faced a maximum 50-year sentence, to the advisory sentence of 30 years, suspending five years, after considering the mental health factors in a case that had horrified even hardened police officers and a veteran coroner's pathologist.

Johnson on Monday tearfully and repeatedly admitted to "not responding as I should have."

"I ask God to forgive me," she told the court.

In a plea agreement reached in October, Johnson, 35, admitted to doing nothing to help Leon Walker while the child was being beaten by his father, Leon Burns, on April 28, 2010.

The child was beaten throughout the day with his hands and feet bound and tied, suffering bruises and scratches over his entire body, according to plea documents.

The boy had been in the care and custody of the couple while the child's mother was in a secure drug treatment facility, the documents state.

In other court documents, Burns admitted the boy's bruises were not all from one whipping and that he was the only one to beat the boy the day he died.

Prosecutors dropped murder and other charges against Johnson in exchange for her plea to neglect of a dependent

Testifying for the defense, a clinical psychologist told the court medical records show Johnson has suffered from seizures. His own tests showed Johnson suffered from emotional turmoil and cognitive difficulties, including a low I.Q.

Johnson was not considered dangerous by nature but could become overwhelmed in unfamiliar situations due to her limitations, he said.

Johnson's half-sister described her as a loving person, who as a child was rejected by her mother and raised by grandparents. She later became involved in abusive relationships, she said.

But deputy prosecuting attorney Aleksandra Dimitrijevic argued photos of the dead boy showed the fatal incident "did not just happen." The beatings took place over a long period of time, she told the court. The boy suffered injuries over every inch of his body, she said.

"She did nothing," Dimitrijevic said. "That's why she's sitting here today."

Defense attorney Derrick Julkes, however, argued there were no records of Johnson harming her own natural children.

Julkes said Johnson's limitations meant she doesn't have the ability to make quick decisions.

"She's a loving person, a kind person, a sweet person," said Julkes, describing Johnson as having gotten "wrapped up in a bad relationship" and not having reason to know Burns was going to kill the child.

Burns, 31, is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 17 for a possible change of plea, according to court documents. He is charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/dad-s-girlfriend-gets-years-for-ignoring-boy-s-beating/article_9b64dc39-045a-5205-af55-4592a817a141.html

ull Name LEON DeNEAL BURNS Attorney(s)
Charge
Action Code 35-42-1-1(1)
Description Murder
Offense Date 2010-04-27
Jurisdiction LAKE COUNTY INDIANA
Agency Gary Police Dept.
Court Information
Judge Clarence Murray
Appearance Date 2014-07-21
Location Super. Ct. Crim. Div - Crown Pt. - Room 2 - G02
Next Event Type Jury Trial

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case/js_pane/P-feb6810afe-10000/caseid/77843152