mighty hornet
The HMIC!!
:smh::smh:
2 year-old swallows crack, dies
Mother charged with murder in Vidalia case
By S.A. REID , CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/05/06
Authorities are trying to figure out who owned the crack that killed 2-year-old Diamond Johnson and landed her mother in jail for her murder.
"Nobody's owned up to it," said Vidalia police Lt. Ray Corbett.
Toddler Diamond Johnson's death is under investigation.
Diamond, described as a sweet toddler who loved playing make-believe school and cooking as well as with dolls, died Saturday at an Augusta hospital after swallowing the illegal drug. Authorities have not released an official cause of Diamond's death or the amount of crack involved. An autopsy is complete, but toxicology results are pending.
Latoya Dixon, her 25-year-old mother, has been in the Toombs County Jail since Diamond's death Saturday. Police have charged her with felony murder, possession of cocaine, cruelty to children and contributing to the death of a minor. Her lawyer has requested a bond hearing Thursday.
Vidalia Detective Derek Williams said police believe Dixon was present when her daughter ingested the crack.
He said Dixon has no prior arrests and is not suspected of using drugs. But he said there were "strong indications" narcotics were in the home. "Why they were there, we're not ready to get into that," he said.
Williams said others might be charged in the case.
Diamond's siblings ? Zoey, 7, and Harry Jr., 5 ? have been placed with their maternal grandmother, Annie Ruth Burton.
The Georgia Department of Family and Children Services is also investigating the child's death. Authorities said Dixon has no prior history with the agency.
Authorities began investigating the case Saturday morning after Meadows Regional Medical Center officials summoned police to quiet family members who had been praying loudly while she underwent treatment, Corbett said. Diamond was later airlifted to an Augusta facility.
Esther Jinks of Vidalia, the childrens' paternal grandmother, said her daughter-in-law first told her and her son, Harry Dixon, that Diamond had gotten into some medication. They later learned from police that the child had swallowed cocaine.
"She told me they were pills," Jinks said. When she later learned the child had swallowed cocaine, she said, "I almost fainted. I never would have thought anything about drugs."
Jinks said she had warned Latoya Dixon about the company she kept, especially the male company, around her grandchildren.
"I knew I didn't like who she was around," Jinks said.
Harry Dixon, who has been separated from his wife for three years, said he believed that Latoya was associating with people who used drugs, but he did not know whether she used them.
"The whole time they were there I didn't feel they were in a safe environment because of the life she chose to live," said Dixon, who lives in Covington.
Dixon said he tried informally and through the courts to get custody of the children, but their mother refused and the courts preferred they stay with their mother.
Residents at the Doe Run Apartments where Latoya Dixon and her children have lived for nearly three years were shocked by Diamond's death, particularly in the absence of warning signs of impending trouble.
Neighbors and a cousin who reside there described the toddler as a sweet and friendly angel who didn't mind sharing with her playmates. She could be considered "prissy."
Latoya Dixon, they said, didn't appear to be involved in drugs and tended to be a protective mom. Like Diamond, she was friendly but didn't have close friends in the complex and spent a lot of time with family.
The sometime churchgoer who loved to dress Diamond up for church with bows in her hair went by the nicknamed of "Tweety."
"You never saw those kids lacking or dirty," said Kishia Rowllins, 37, who lives across from the Dixons.
Diamond's death is the talk of the children-friendly complex of two-story buildings in what many residents consider the nice part of Vidalia, famous for it sweet onions. Some neighbors said they are struggling with how best to share the news with their children, who on Tuesday played as usual at the complex's small play area dominated by an oversized hippopotamus, alligator and rocking horse.
Semeka Kent, 24, a neighbor who attended Vidalia High School with Dixon, described her neighbor as a quiet yet popular classmate, known as one of the best dressed students in the school.
Kent said her daughter played with Diamond, and she has not been able to tell her of the death.
"It's crazy," she said after a pause. "I don't know what to say."
2 year-old swallows crack, dies
Mother charged with murder in Vidalia case
By S.A. REID , CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/05/06
Authorities are trying to figure out who owned the crack that killed 2-year-old Diamond Johnson and landed her mother in jail for her murder.
"Nobody's owned up to it," said Vidalia police Lt. Ray Corbett.
Toddler Diamond Johnson's death is under investigation.
Diamond, described as a sweet toddler who loved playing make-believe school and cooking as well as with dolls, died Saturday at an Augusta hospital after swallowing the illegal drug. Authorities have not released an official cause of Diamond's death or the amount of crack involved. An autopsy is complete, but toxicology results are pending.
Latoya Dixon, her 25-year-old mother, has been in the Toombs County Jail since Diamond's death Saturday. Police have charged her with felony murder, possession of cocaine, cruelty to children and contributing to the death of a minor. Her lawyer has requested a bond hearing Thursday.
Vidalia Detective Derek Williams said police believe Dixon was present when her daughter ingested the crack.
He said Dixon has no prior arrests and is not suspected of using drugs. But he said there were "strong indications" narcotics were in the home. "Why they were there, we're not ready to get into that," he said.
Williams said others might be charged in the case.
Diamond's siblings ? Zoey, 7, and Harry Jr., 5 ? have been placed with their maternal grandmother, Annie Ruth Burton.
The Georgia Department of Family and Children Services is also investigating the child's death. Authorities said Dixon has no prior history with the agency.
Authorities began investigating the case Saturday morning after Meadows Regional Medical Center officials summoned police to quiet family members who had been praying loudly while she underwent treatment, Corbett said. Diamond was later airlifted to an Augusta facility.
Esther Jinks of Vidalia, the childrens' paternal grandmother, said her daughter-in-law first told her and her son, Harry Dixon, that Diamond had gotten into some medication. They later learned from police that the child had swallowed cocaine.
"She told me they were pills," Jinks said. When she later learned the child had swallowed cocaine, she said, "I almost fainted. I never would have thought anything about drugs."
Jinks said she had warned Latoya Dixon about the company she kept, especially the male company, around her grandchildren.
"I knew I didn't like who she was around," Jinks said.
Harry Dixon, who has been separated from his wife for three years, said he believed that Latoya was associating with people who used drugs, but he did not know whether she used them.
"The whole time they were there I didn't feel they were in a safe environment because of the life she chose to live," said Dixon, who lives in Covington.
Dixon said he tried informally and through the courts to get custody of the children, but their mother refused and the courts preferred they stay with their mother.
Residents at the Doe Run Apartments where Latoya Dixon and her children have lived for nearly three years were shocked by Diamond's death, particularly in the absence of warning signs of impending trouble.
Neighbors and a cousin who reside there described the toddler as a sweet and friendly angel who didn't mind sharing with her playmates. She could be considered "prissy."
Latoya Dixon, they said, didn't appear to be involved in drugs and tended to be a protective mom. Like Diamond, she was friendly but didn't have close friends in the complex and spent a lot of time with family.
The sometime churchgoer who loved to dress Diamond up for church with bows in her hair went by the nicknamed of "Tweety."
"You never saw those kids lacking or dirty," said Kishia Rowllins, 37, who lives across from the Dixons.
Diamond's death is the talk of the children-friendly complex of two-story buildings in what many residents consider the nice part of Vidalia, famous for it sweet onions. Some neighbors said they are struggling with how best to share the news with their children, who on Tuesday played as usual at the complex's small play area dominated by an oversized hippopotamus, alligator and rocking horse.
Semeka Kent, 24, a neighbor who attended Vidalia High School with Dixon, described her neighbor as a quiet yet popular classmate, known as one of the best dressed students in the school.
Kent said her daughter played with Diamond, and she has not been able to tell her of the death.
"It's crazy," she said after a pause. "I don't know what to say."
