Suspect arrested 4 years after Statesboro 2-year-old boy died at Augusta hospital

STATESBORO, Georgia (WTOC) – An arrest has been made in the 2020 investigation into the death of a 2-year-old from Statesboro who later died at an Augusta hospital.

The Statesboro Police Department released a statement regarding the death on June 14, 2020.

Almost four years later, Dorothy Deshay Johnson was arrested in connection with the death.

On June 14, 2020, Statesboro Police officers responded to an incident at a residence on Best Street in Statesboro where a two-year-old child was not breathing.

The child was later taken to a hospital in Augusta, but died shortly thereafter.

The detectives initiated the investigation, conducted numerous interviews and obtained documents on the child’s medical and family history.

The forensic pathologists began a lengthy task to determine the cause and manner of the child’s death.

After an investigation, the findings, along with the SPD’s investigative files, were turned over to the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Attorney’s Office.

On Monday, June 3, 2024, the circumstances of the child’s death were presented to the Bulloch County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment against Statesboro resident Dorothy Deshay Johnson.

According to Statesboro police, Johnson is the mother of the deceased child.

Johnson is charged with alleged murder, first-degree child abuse and aggravated assault.

Johnson was arrested the next day, Tuesday, June 4, and taken to the Bulloch County Jail, where she awaits further legal action.

Anyone with information about this case should contact Detective Chief Inspector Eric Short at 912-764-9911 or submit an anonymous tip to www.cityprotect.com/forms/statesboroga.gov/anonymous.

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