How Could You? Hall of Shame-Gabriel Johnson case-Child Missing UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Phoenix, Arizona, Prospective Adoptive Mother, Tammi Peters Smith, 40, is on trial for forgery and conspiracy to commit custodial interference in the case of missing infant Gabriel Johnson. She has pled not guilty. The biological father Logan McQueary did not want to relinquish Gabriel for adoption. That is when biological mother Elizabeth Johnson “picked him up” from then-Guardian Tammi Smith and went to Texas where she has claimed to have killed Gabriel AND also claimed to have given him to a couple in San Antonio. Gabriel’s whereabouts are still unknown.

 

“Jurors in the trial of a would-be adoptive mother of an Arizona baby missing for more than two years heard a secretly recorded phone call Wednesday of the boy’s biological mother saying she suffocated him and he turned blue.

 

In the recording, 25-year-old old Elizabeth Johnson is heard telling her on-and-off-again boyfriend and her baby’s father, Logan McQueary, that she killed the child, put his body in a bag, and threw him in a trash can in San Antonio, Texas.

 

“I suffocated him and he turned blue,” Johnson is heard saying on the tape. “That’s when I put him in the bag and put him in the trash.”

 

McQueary wiped away tears as the phone conversation that he secretly recorded on Dec. 27, 2009, was played for jurors in the Phoenix trial of 40-year-old Tammi Peters Smith of Scottsdale, who was trying to adopt baby Gabriel before Johnson took him to Texas.

 

Smith has pleaded not guilty to forgery and conspiracy to commit custodial interference. She is accused of lying on a court document about the possible paternity of the baby in an effort to keep Gabriel away from McQueary, who testified against Smith on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

Meanwhile Johnson remained jailed awaiting her own September trial on charges of child abuse, kidnapping and custodial interference.

 

She had previously been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, but has since been restored to competency. She has pleaded not guilty.

 

In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors painted Smith as an “obsessed” woman who would stop at nothing to win custody of the boy, saying that while waiting to hear whether she could adopt Gabriel, she also approached another couple in line at a Jack in the Box and offered to adopt their baby.

 

“To the defendant, Gabriel Johnson was a thing to be desired — a prize, an object. She wanted a baby and she would go to any length to get one,” prosecutor Elisa Ramunno told jurors.

 

 

Smith offered to adopt Gabriel from Johnson in June 2009 when the two met during a long layover in Boston’s airport. Johnson didn’t decide to take her up on it until six months later, the same month he disappeared.

 

Johnson signed over temporary guardianship of Gabriel to Smith and her husband for about 10 days before she picked him up and left Arizona. McQueary, who said he never wanted to give the boy up, called police when it was his turn to take Gabriel and he found Johnson’s Tempe trailer empty, with no sign of either of them.

 

Investigators said Johnson drove the boy to San Antonio, stayed about a week, and then took a bus to Florida without him. She was arrested Dec. 30, 2009, in Florida and returned to Arizona.

 

Ramunno told jurors that taking Gabriel out of Arizona was a plan by Smith and Johnson to force McQueary to sign adoption papers.

 

Johnson told McQueary and a detective that she killed Gabriel but later recanted and said she gave the baby to a couple in San Antonio.

 

Gabriel has never been found and police still don’t know whether he’s alive or dead. He would have turned 3 years old this month.

 

Smith’s defense attorney said her client is a hard-working mother and upstanding member of the community who was just trying to help a troubled Johnson and her baby.

 

She said that after Johnson took Gabriel to Texas, Smith did nothing but try her best to bring Gabriel home safely and that all she got in return was “character assassination” by police and FBI agents intent on bringing charges against her.

 

Smith plans to address jurors herself during the trial, expected to last through mid-May.

 

 

Jurors hear recording of missing AZ baby’s mom saying she suffocated him, dumped body in Texas

[The Republic 4/18/12 by Amanda Lee Meyers/Associated Press]

 

The following 2010 blog post gives detailed background information on Tammi, including her relationship with Mount Juliet, Tennessee-based adoption professional Janet Morris.

 

“Tammi Fay Peters Smith, 37, is a ‘person of interest’ in the disappearance case of eight-month-old Gabriel Johnson. Her profession is Advanced Certified Colon Hydro-therapist for her company Healing Waters Health and Wellness Clinic. Tammi Smith and her husband Jack Smith, 56, have one adopted daughter, Hannah Grace, who is four-and-a-half years old. Hannah is actually his daughter’s child. Her father may be Travis Warford but his paternity is in question. He says that he is Jack’s son-in-law but he is not. For the full story, click here.

 

Jack Smith told CNN, “We- you know, we got Hannah in our house at four months old and the adoption wasn’t final until two- until she was two.” Warford claims that Smith offered him money to sign over his custodial rights. He says of Jack and Tammi Smith re Gabriel, “I think what they’ve done is wrong. They’ve manipulated the system and lied and I wouldn’t mind seeing them face charges.”

 

However, Warford’s credibility is hindered by his criminal history of kidnapping and aggravated assault. Warford also said, “I’m angry. And the first chance that I have any opportunity, I will do as much as I can to gain not only visitation, but ultimately custody of my daughter.” His public statements re Hannah are a form of custodial interference since her adoption was a closed one with sealed documents.

 

Jack and Tammi Smith each have children from previous marriages. Tammi gave up custody of her three offspring to the father, Kieth Facio and his then-new wife. She said in an Internet post, “As all I ever wanted since I was a little girl was to have lots of kids to love. I am so happy to have all 4 kids in my life as well as all my kids in Africa.” The ‘four kids’ refer to her adopted daughter and her three older children- Gabrielle Victoria, Cody, and Emily- with whom she has reconnected. ‘My kids in Africa’ refers to her work with Children Without a Voice USA. Tammi Smith is writing the full story in a book called The Silenced, which she plans to publish.

 

The Tennessee Connection. The Smiths once resided in Nashville. Jack Smith lived there for about thirty-five years and has close family there, including two sons. He played the steel guitar for the Happy Goodmans and for country-western star Bill Anderson on shows at the Grand Ole Opry. He owned the now-defunct Tape and Disc Factory. At present, he is a real estate agent.

 

Tammi Smith lived in Nashville for about ten or twelve years. She started her first Healing Waters clinic there in 2004 and practiced as a Colon Hydrotherapist, without a license. However, she has since become fully certified and has developed a reputable and successful business in Arizona. The headquarters for the company that certified Tammi Smith, The International Association of Colon Hydrotherapists (IACH), are just a block from the hotel where Johnson stayed with baby Gabriel in San Antonio- the HomeGate Studios & Suites in Fiesta Park. The FBI questioned IACH employees.

 

They also questioned a San Antonio friend of the Smiths. The SAPD have not made statements about these questionings.

 

In response, Tammi Smith told ABC15, “I’ve never been to the office in San Antonio. I’ve talked to people there and called them. Nobody from the FBI has called us, yet. This whole thing is ridiculous. I have begged and begged for them to ask us questions- nobody will ask us questions, nobody will come to our home.”

 

Tammi Smith is friends with a Janet Morris, an adoption professional in Tennessee. While Elizabeth was on the run, Smith asked advice from her attorney Ken Schutt. When he was unavailable at one point, Smith called Morris who advised that Johnson return immediately to Arizona with Gabriel.

 

Smith is very concerned about the welfare of Gabriel. She posted on her Facebook page, while Johnson was still on the run, “Please keep praying for Gabriel and his mommy’s safety on the road! She found an underground help in TX that has given her formula/ diapers, Etc. and all the legal formalities… Keep praying for his safety!!!!!!”

 

At the time that Johnson offered Gabriel up for adoption to the Smiths, the Smiths were about to adopt a newborn boy but the adoption fell through. They and their daughter had been bonding with the baby in its mother’s womb. The year before, Tammi had considered using a surrogate mom and made a few inquiries on one or two Internet sites for surrogates.

 

Tammi Smith has said of Elizabeth Johnson, “She’s completely innocent. She loves that baby [Gabriel] and just wants to find a good home for that baby. As a mother, I commend her.” When a KPHO reporter asked Johnson in an exclusive jailhouse interview in January, with the Smiths also on the line, why if she felt so stressed out, she didn’t take baby Gabriel to a police station, Johnson replied, “I did think about that.” When asked why she didn’t do so, she replied, “Because I was afraid I was gonna get arrested.” Tammi asked, “Who told you that?” Johnson responded, obviously upset, “Logan.” Smith said, “So… basically, you were on the ledge- and Logan pushed you off.” Elizabeth said, Yes.”  ”

 

Missing Baby Gabriel Johnson; Tammi Smith on Elizabeth, Children, Etal

[Yahoo Voices 1/12/10 by Rik Merchant]

 

 

Pound Pup Legacy has 2009 and 2010 coverage of this case here. The Homegate Hotel in San Antonio is recounted as where Elizabeth stayed. This hotel is a known location where underground adoptions take place. Camera footage also showed Elizabeth with Gabriel on December 26, 2009 at Six Flags amusement park, another common location where people meet for underground adoptions. Another article discusses Elizabeth’s handwritten notes and a Rimkus Park in San Antonio where she claims to have met a couple whom she gave Gabriel to. Another article has the transcript of a jailhouse phone call between Tammi and Elizabeth. Elizabeth states that Tammi arranged for the couple in San Antonio to pick Gabriel up.

 

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “A child abuse charge has been dismissed against the jailed mother of an Arizona boy missing since December 2009.

Maricopa County Superior Court officials said Friday that a judge granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss that charge against Elizabeth Johnson.

The 26-year-old Tempe woman is scheduled to be tried in September on charges of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit custodial interference.

Johnson has been jailed without bond since January 2010. She previously was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, but has since been restored to competency.

Johnson first said she smothered her 8-month-old son Gabriel and put him in the trash. She later recanted and said she gave the baby to a couple in San Antonio, Texas.

Gabriel has never been found, and police don’t know whether he is alive.”

Child abuse charge dismissed against Tempe woman

[KIIITV 7/27/12]

 

This is the sickest father’s rights case to date.

Update 2: “The mother of missing baby Gabriel is out of prison and now is out of the state of Arizona.

CBS 5 News first reported last Friday that the mother of missing baby Gabriel, Elizabeth Johnson, had requested through the court to leave the state of Arizona and move to New Mexico.

The request states that she wanted to reunite with her biological grandmother, Sylvia Puckett, also known as Mauzzy, because she is emotionally and financially supportive of Johnson.

The family of Logan McQueary, Gabriel’s father, told CBS 5 News that the request was granted and Johnson has already left the state.

CBS 5 News tracked down Johnson and her grandmother on Friday, just hours after Johnson was released from prison. She spent four and a half years locked up for fleeing to Texas with Gabriel where the child was never seen or heard from again. Johnson would not answer any questions on Friday.

Johnson maintains her latest story that she gave her son away to a couple in a Texas park, but Johnson has yet to answer questions from the media. Johnson’s attorney said while Johnson would like to reconnect with her son, her attorney doesn’t know if that would be in Gabriel’s best interest.

Gabriel would now be 5 years old and may have no idea that his father is desperate to find him.”

Baby Gabriel’s mom, Elizabeth Johnson, leaves Arizona[KPHO 7/29/14 by Pat Mc Reynolds]

Update 3:“An Arizona woman who served prison time in connection with the 2009 disappearance of her baby has been arrested in New Mexico for a probation violation.

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s officials say 29-year-old Elizabeth Johnson was booked into jail Thursday afternoon.

They won’t disclose details of the probation violation and Johnson’s lawyer in Arizona declined comment.

But officials with the Maricopa County Adult Probation office say Johnson didn’t report to a law enforcement contact with the New Mexico Adult Probation Department and failed to request and obtain written permission to leave New Mexico.

They say Johnson also failed to get written approval by the Adult Probation Department before associating with an individual who has a criminal record and didn’t notify the Adult Probation Department that she got married last December.

Johnson was released from prison in July 2014.

Authorities say 8-month-old “Baby Gabriel” was last seen in December 2009 in Texas.

Johnson was suspected of kidnapping her son, then taking him to San Antonio and giving him away to a couple she just met.”

Mom in ‘Baby Gabriel’ case arrested in New Mexico [KSAT 3/31/16]

“An Arizona woman who served prison time in the 2009 disappearance of her baby is jailed without bond in Phoenix after being extradited from New Mexico.

Elizabeth Johnson appeared briefly Friday morning before a judge who ordered the 29-year-old woman held pending a court hearing next Thursday on alleged probation violations.

Johnson was arrested in Albuquerque. None of the alleged probation violations there stem from the case of her missing 8-month-old son Gabriel, who has never been found.

Among other things, Johnson is accused of failing to get approval before traveling out of New Mexico, associating with a person with a criminal record and not notifying probation officials when she married last December.

Johnson was released from Arizona’s Perryville prison in July 2014 after serving about 17 months.”

Baby Gabriel’s mother held without bond after extradition from New Mexico [FoX 10 Phoenix 4/8/16 by AP]

“A judge has ordered that the mother of missing “Baby Gabriel” have her probation reinstated, although she will wear an electronic monitor upon her departure from a Maricopa County jail. She is scheduled to be released April 21.

Elizabeth Johnson, 29, admitted to one of the alleged violations of her terms of probation at a Thursday afternoon hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court. Johnson acknowledged that she did leave New Mexico — her new state of residence — without permission in July 2015.

The state agreed to dismiss all other allegations.

The seven additional days Johnson will spend in custody were a considerably leaner punishment than the 60 days Maricopa County prosecutors had sought.

Defense attorney Marc Victor argued that his client should be released Thursday. He asked Judge Charles Donofrio to consider the 15 days Johnson has spent in custody since her latest arrest.

Although Donofrio’s decision largely favored the defendant, it came with a withering assessment of Johnson and fellow Millennials.

“People of your generation do not want to surrender to authority,” he said shortly before issuing his sentence. “Being on probation means that you have to follow the rules. These are dumb mistakes that you made, but they are mistakes showing that you don’t want to submit to authority.”

Johnson was returned to Phoenix last week and was booked into Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue jail.

She had been extradited from New Mexico, where she was arrested on several allegations of violating the terms of her probation.

Authorities said Johnson failed to report contact with law enforcement to the New Mexico probation agency within three days, failed to get approval before traveling out of the state or associating with a person with a criminal record and failed to notify probation officials when she got married last year.

None of the allegations stems from the original case of Johnson’s missing son. Gabriel, then 8 months old, disappeared in December 2009.

Johnson was arrested in connection with the missing boy, and a jury in December 2012 found her guilty of unlawful imprisonment, custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial interference.

Johnson was released from Arizona’s Perryville prison in July 2014. She had banked nearly three years of credit for time served in jail while awaiting trial.

She is currently on probation for her conviction of conspiracy to commit custodial interference.

When arguing for more jail time on Thursday, Assistant Maricopa County Attorney Angela Andrews described Johnson as insubordinate with no respect for her probation. Andrews highlighted some of the more troubling details of the allegations: When she left New Mexico, Johnson was visiting a woman she met in prison, and she lied to probation officials about being married.

“Miss Johnson likes to do what she wants to do when she likes to do it,” Andrews said.

Andrews also read a letter from Logan McQueary, Gabriel’s father. McQueary talked about being stripped of the chance to see his son grow up with his other children, and how complete strangers seemed to care more about Gabriel’s whereabouts than Johnson.

“I personally don’t believe she’s felt remorse or changed her ways,” he said.

Her attorney highlighted the positive aspects of Johnson’s current life. Victor said she is a successful car saleswoman in New Mexico and is taking classes full time.

He also underscored that all of the recent allegations were technical, not criminal violations.

“Are these the types of violations, that would make me — speaking as a citizen — that would make me worry about her living in the community?” he said.

Johnson’s plan to return to New Mexico could take some time, because she has to go through another application process. Victor said he and Johnson’s husband would help find her temporary housing in Arizona.

Given the chance to make a statement, a tearful Johnson apologized for the “stupid decisions” she made.

“It has been a struggle for me the last few years,” she said, wearing gray striped inmate garb. “I understand that I need to do better, and I’m doing better. In the past six months, I believe I’ve overcome a lot of personal issues … I’m sorry.”

In December 2009, the Tempe mother fled to Texas with Gabriel after losing a custody battle. Investigators said she stayed for about a week, then took a bus to Florida without the boy.

Two days after Christmas, Johnson texted McQueary: “I killed him. You made me do it.”

She described suffocating the baby and dumping his body in the trash.

After her arrest, Johnson changed her story. She said she had given Gabriel to a couple in a park in San Antonio. Johnson never identified the pair and never veered from the story.

Gabriel has never been found.

Although a cloud of suspicion followed Johnson, she was not charged with murder, and a jury was unable to reach a verdict on the kidnapping charge. A kidnapping conviction would have carried as many as 24 years in prison.

Johnson’s probation is now scheduled to end July 26, 2018.“

‘Baby Gabriel’ mom Elizabeth Johnson admits probation violation, to remain jailed until April 21 [Arizona Central 4/14/16 by Megan Cassidy]