Arkansas Mom Charged In 18-Month-Old Toddler's Death

Fort Smith Police Department confirmed Tuesday they arrested the mother of 18-month-old girl Kylah Woodard, who died in January.

The mother identified as 20-year-old Sierra Johnson was arrested on the charge of permitting the abuse of a minor, an ABC-affiliated television station, KHBS-TV reported.

Johnson’s arrest comes just a few weeks after her live-in boyfriend Tyree Williams was booked Feb. 1 on murder charges for the toddler’s death.

According to police officials, the couple entered the emergency room Jan. 30 at Sparks Hospital in Fort Smith, a city on the Arkansas River, in northwest Arkansas.

At the time, Johnson carried her deceased daughter in her arms and several medical experts attempted to revive the child to no avail and determined she was dead on arrival.

Reports stated the child’s body showed bruising when she was brought to the medical center, after which an autopsy was ordered by the doctors. Williams, 25, later admitted he punched the little girl in the stomach. At first, he was arrested on an outstanding unrelated warrant and later charged with murdering the girl.

As of now, both Johnson and Williams are being held at Sebastian County Adult Detention Center and the investigations in the case were still ongoing.

In a fairly similar incident from October 2017, a Florida man was arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend’s 17-month-old son and then pawning off the woman’s valuables while she was with her dying son in the hospital.

Reports stated 31-year-old David Earl Vickers from Holmes Beach, Florida, was charged with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of his girlfriend’s son, Luca Sholey, in August.

The incident first came to light Aug. 21, 2017, when Vickers called 911 because Luca was unresponsive and not breathing.

After the 911 call, the child was rushed to the Blake Medical Center in nearby Bradenton, Florida, and later airlifted to John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Two days after being in the hospital, the toddler succumbed to his injuries and was declared brain dead.

An autopsy was also done on the baby which showed that he had injuries that were “consistent with child abuse”.

The police department and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office launched more than a month-long investigation into the child’s death, which revealed Luca was subjected to physical abuse while in Vickers’ care.

According to police officials, Vickers faced more than homicide and abuse charges in connection with the 17-month-old toddler’s untimely death.

As of now, Vickers is being held at the Manatee County Jail in Palmetto, a city in Manatee County, Florida, without the possibility of bail. It is still unclear if he entered a plea deal or has retained an attorney to fight his case.

Interestingly, before his arrest in Aug. 2017, Vickers was already in custody in connection to an unrelated case.