A woman will spend 10 years in prison for severely starving her three children, Judge Melba Marsh ordered Tuesday morning.
In court, both the prosecution and defense told stories of tragedy tied to the case.
The prosecution said 28-year-old Hannah Johnson had three children aged 4 years, 6 years and 7 years. All three were severely emaciated when Johnson dropped them off at her mother's house in 2023.
The eldest child, at 7 years old, weighed just 22 pounds, prosecutors said.
"When I first saw them, I had never seen anything like it before in my life," said Johnson's mother. "It was like (7-year-old's) skin was melted to her bones. She had no fat at all on her."
The children are predominantly nonverbal, with autism, prosecutors said.
Johnson's defense attorney told a long story of abuse that she said comprised Johnson's childhood. The attorney said Johnson was raped and abused by an uncle, from whom her physically abusive father extorted money in exchange for being with Johnson.
Johnson's uncle is the father of her children, and Johnson's attorney said he controlled most of her life and the lives of her children for years until he died. The attorney said Johnson had taken her children to doctor's appointments and into the hospital, where physicians noted the children's father exercised concerning amounts of power over her.
"This is a horribly sad situation all around," said Johnson's attorney.
Marsh decided to rule in line with the plea agreement formed, in which Johnson was convicted on one count of endangering children and one count of kidnapping. Johnson was sentenced to 2 years for the endangering children charge and 8 years for the kidnapping charge.
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