Mother claims SpongeBob made her kill her own daughter in troubling new ‘Crime Stories’
Nancy Grace sits down with Cole Watermen, Dan Corsentino and Dr. Kendall Crowns to discuss how the body of 3-year-old Sutton Mosser was found.
"SpongeBob made me do it."
In a new episode of Fox Nation’s "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" the podcast’s host and her guests attempt to unravel the chilling story of a Michigan mother who told police that the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants instructed her to stab and kill her 3-year-old daughter.
"I’ve prosecuted a lot of violent crimes on children and those crimes are the ones you never forget," said Grace during the podcast.
22-year-old Justine Johnson, who has been charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse, is accused of killing and disposing of the body of Sutton Mosser. She claims that during heroin withdrawals she received "messages" from the TV threatening to kill her if she did not kill her own child.
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Justine’s two brothers began searching for Johnson and Mosser after the eldest brother returned home from work to find the mother and child missing. Johnson had recently moved back in with the family so that they could help her care for the child. It was 4 AM on September 16, 2021, when Justine’s two brothers discovered a human foot sticking out of a trash bag behind the Oscoda Township home.
"The child is completely discarded. It is a tragic case because there is a disconnect that takes place between the mother and the child," said former Police Chief Dan Corsentino.
Atlanta-based psychiatrist Dr. Angela Arnold added that she believes the way in which the body was thrown away indicates that the mother may have been suffering from some type of attachment disorder, such as postpartum depression. She refuted the idea that this excuses the perpetrator’s actions.
"It ultimately shows a lack of attachment between the mother and child," said Dr. Arnold.
Early that morning, investigators quickly retrieved Sutton’s body, which had been wrapped in a comforter and a pair of jeans. Police investigated the home and discovered blood-stained across a closet door, couches, and various other items in one of the home’s bedrooms. Three blood-soaked knives were also recovered.
A short time later Johnson was picked up by police while walking back to her mother’s house. She allegedly was "unemotional" and "calm" but later told police that she had gone to her own apartment to try and take her own life after taking her daughter's.
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Johnson’s defense team is likely to buckle down on an insanity defense for their client. Official transcripts purport that Johnson told authorities she was going through drug withdrawals, accompanied by weeks of insomnia and hallucinations before her daughter’s death.
But, Grace says much of the evidence and statements from Johnson "completely torpedo" any chance of a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea occurring. To learn Grace’s reasoning and more about the intricacies of this "heinous" crime, you can watch the podcast on Fox Nation.
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