Mother testifies in Johnson murder trial
By JEFFREY SAULTON, jsaulton@newsandsentinel.comPARKERSBURG - Testimony from the mother of Jada Whited started the trial of William Ryan Johnson, who was indicted in connection with the 2007 death of a 15-month-old girl.
Stephanie White, 26, in custody at Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County, testified Wednesday there were only three bruises on her daughter when she last saw her alive on Jan. 12, 2007. Under direct examination from Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley, she said the bruises were on her thumbs near the palm and on her right cheek.
White said the bruises on the thumbs came from Jada attempting to climb out of her playpen and the bruise on the cheek came from an accident where she slipped in the bathtub.
White said when she returned from her job at a local bar at 3:30 a.m. Jan. 13, she found Johnson and the daughter they had together, Savannah Johnson, sleeping and the door was open to Jada's room but she did not check on her.
White said she did not realize anything was wrong with Jada until 11:30 a.m. when she went to check on her.
"I found her on her stomach on the floor and she did not move," White said sobbing. "She was not far from her bed and near a pink diaper bag. She was cold to the touch."
Jurors heard a recording of White's call to the Central Telecommunications Center. In the call, White said she knew how to apply CPR but did not think it would work, but then began CPR.
Under cross examination by Johnson's attorney Bill Merriman, White said she lied to investigators about being home all day. She said she asked her coworkers to lie for her but they refused. She tried to get to Johnson to tell him not to say she was home. However, he was being questioned at the sheriff's department and she was not allowed to speak to him. Then she decided to admit she lied, White said.
In April, White was sentenced to three to 15 years in prison after her December 2007 plea to child neglect resulting in a death. Merriman asked if the plea was made to avoid a murder charge. White said it was.
"I wasn't responsible for her death. I was taking responsibility for what I did that led to her death," she said. "I left her with someone who was not fit to stay with her."
Also testifying was Dr. Anthony Kitchen, an emergency room physician at Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital where Whited was pronounced dead.
Kitchen said Whited had no pulse, was pale, and had a body temperature of 80 degrees, indicating she had been dead for some time. Kitchen said bruises to the cheek, arms, legs and forehead were found on Whited. Her skull on the left side was flat from a point behind the ear to the base of the skull, he said.
Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. today with the state expecting to rest its case by afternoon. It was not known if Johnson would testify.
