Merced, California police officials announced on Saturday that they have arrested the mother of a young 8-year-old girl, who was reported missing only this week but was last seen by family members in December, on suspicion of murder.
According to authorities, police discovered the body of an adolescent girl on Friday, March 11, while they were serving a search warrant at a Merced residence believed to be connected to the disappearance of the girl named Sophia Mason. Investigators are not yet sure whether the body they found at the home is that of the missing girl's, but they hope to make an identification of the remains soon.
Mason was believed to be with her mother, 30-year-old Samantha Johnson. According to authorities and jail records, she was arrested on Thursday by Hayward police and booked into Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County on suspicion of child abuse and obstruction.
Murder warrants issued to Johnson and her boyfriend Jackson
Authorities said Merced police interviewed Johnson at the Santa Rita jail regarding the body found in the house and arrested her later on the murder charge. Johnson remains in custody in Alameda Country and will soon be transferred to the Merced County Jail while facing her murder charge.
Apart from Johnson, Merced police have also issued a murder warrant for her boyfriend, 34-year-old Dhante Jackson, 34. According to police, Jackson was living at the home where the body was discovered. Jackson, who is known to spend time in the Bay Area, fled the neighborhood soon after news spread that the home was being searched by the police.
According to information provided by both police departments, Hayward cops had reached out to their colleagues in Merced on Friday, asking for help regarding their investigation into young Sophia's whereabouts. Hayward police was alerted to her disappearance on Tuesday after family members reported her missing, with their last sighting of her coming in December of last year.
According to Merced police spokesman Lt. Joey Perez, Johnson provided suspicious answers to Hayward detectives when she was questioned about her daughter. With the help of their joint investigation with Hayward police, Perez said Merced authorities were able to link the girl and her mother to a home in the 500 block of Barclay Way.
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Sophia Mason's relatives heartbroken with discovery of young girl's body
Family members are heartbroken with the discovery of the young girl's body, saying the tragic death could have been avoided if Child Protective Services took notice of repeated warnings about Johnson. According to Mason's relatives, they have been very worried about her well-being for years now.
Mason's cousin Melanie Verlatti was emotional when speaking to local network KPIX, saying "Devastated, shocked and angry. Just seems unreal. Thinking about how this could have been avoided, and just knowing that it's terrible, and it's a tragedy." Verlatti described her young cousin as a playful 8-year-old girl who loved her adoptive grandmother, Sylvia Johnson, so much. The elder Johnson raised Mason most of her life.
