Family friend convicted of murdering Sandy Springs 9-month-old
Dehaven Johnson, 28, was charged with felony murder in the death of a 9-month-old.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - A jury has found a man accused of murdering his friend's infant guilty on all counts.
Dehaven Johnson, 30, was asked to watch 9-month-old Jelani Williams on March 31, 2021.
The child's mother, Diasia Williams, said she was good friends with Johnson when she dropped her son off at his house in Sandy Springs.
Less than two hours later, Williams called Johnson to ask how Jelani was doing, and that's when Johnson told her he wasn't responding. Williams made Johnson call emergency services to take the baby to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He was pronounced dead.
According to detectives, Johnson gave them multiple versions of what happened to Jelani. First, he said the baby may have choked on his bottle. Then, he said he may have dropped Jelani. At another point, he said he may have fallen from a futon.
The autopsy revealed the infant had blunt force trauma to his chest and abdomen, a left femoral fracture and cranial cerebral trauma with bleeding from the brain.
Dr. Ricardo Jiminez from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta testified that the injuries were consistent with non-accidental trauma. He said he did not see signs of CPR, falls or choking, as Johnson told law enforcement.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said it took the jury just 40 minutes to return the verdict.
Johnson's charges include malice murder, felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree and aggravated battery. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, plus forty years.
"My beautiful precious baby was taken away from me by a person I called a friend. This has been a huge eye-opener. On March 31, 2021, heaven gained a precious child, and I am finally left with a sort of peace that Jelani received justice on Oct. 18, 2023. Justice for Jelani. Justice for children everywhere."