SEMMES, ALABAMA: Nancy Johnson, 37, and her two children, 2-year-old Jacob Johnson, and 5-year-old Mia Johnson, were found dead on September 28.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch called the incident a “horrific” murder-suicide, reported Fox10 News.
Burch stated that children were found positioned on a sofa and covered with a blanket upon entering through the back door. Later reports suggest that the case was a murder-suicide.
How did Nancy Johnson kill her children?
Johnson allegedly drowned both of her children in the bathroom, additionally slashing her daughter's throat. She then hanged herself with a silk-type belt around the rod in a hallway closet near the bathroom, said Butch to NBC 15 News.
The autopsies of the children showed that they both died from drowning, but the blood loss suffered by Mia from being cut with a knife added to her situation.
Semmes Police Chief Todd Freind told Fox10 News, "It’s definitely not a typical homicide scene. It is more brutal than normal than what we normally see. So yeah, it definitely will test your character when you say something like this."
Bodies were found by Nancy Johnson's estranged husband
Derek Johnson, the father of the deceased children and estranged husband of Nancy Johnson, was the one to discover the bodies, stated Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
The couple had recently moved to Alabama and were from Utah and Washington per Law And Crime. Police mentioned that Derek is "cooperative" and is not considered to be a suspect.
Police Chief Freind stated that there had been multiple domestic disturbance calls made to Johnson's address in the past.
Nancy and Derek were going through a divorce at the time of this tragedy.
Court documents show that Derek had filed for divorce from Nancy in April before reconciling, and then again filed for divorce in August, this time requesting the court to provide him with Nancy’s mental health records.
Derek was arrested on September 17 for allegedly forcing his way into the couple’s shared home, causing damage to the property and breaking windows.
He was living in a camper outside the residence at the time of the death of his estranged wife and children, as mandated by a previous child custody order. A judge had awarded joint custody to both parents, with the condition that they share a camper and stay in it whenever the children are in the custody of the other parent.
Speaking to NBC 15 News, Burch said, “Somebody within the system dropped the ball. I'm not necessarily looking at it from a criminal aspect, but I'm damn sure looking at it to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
