[Rodney King]

Who is Precious Doe/Erica Green?

[Former Military Chick]

TheKansasCityChannel.com

Police: 'Precious Doe' Identified

Investigators To Hold News Conference At 10 A.M.

POSTED: 6:23 am CDT May 5, 2005

UPDATED: 10:09 am CDT May 5, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In a brief news release sent to the media early Thursday morning, Kansas City police announced that the young girl known for the past four years as Precious Doe had been identified.

Video
	LIVE: Watch KMBC's Coverage at 10 a.m. Watch KMBC's Report

The girl, whose decapitated body was found near 59th Street and Kensington in April 2001, was identified as Erica Michelle Maria Green, 3.

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LIVE: See the news conference live at 10 a.m.

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Police went to Muskogee, Okla., this week to check out a tip that an Oklahoma woman may have been the mother of the young girl.

The information came from an Oklahoma man who contacted local activist Alonzo Washington after seeing an advertisement in a Kansas City newspaper. The man claimed to know the identity of Precious Doe and who killed her. Washington said the man claimed that the mother of Precious Doe came to Kansas City in 2001 seeking a job, but became involved in drugs.

Two people were taken into custody in Oklahoma in connection with the case. The Muskogee Phoenix newspaper identified the pair as Harrell Johnson, 25, and Michelle Johnson, 30, both of Muskogee. Jackson County, Mo., prosecutor Mike Sanders said Johnson was charged with one count of felony murder and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The man with the tip is a relative of the Johnsons, officials said. He said he had a granddaughter who he hasn't seen since 2001 when her mother, Michelle Johnson, took the 3-year-old girl to Kansas City.

Community Reacts To News

Washington went to Hibbs Park in Kansas City Thursday morning where a memorial had been set up for Precious Doe. He told KMBC that he was overjoyed that the case had been solved.

"I was out here just Thursday, saying that one tip can solve this case. I did not know two days later that tip would come in," Washington said. "So I'm overjoyed and happy to know that Erica Green is Precious Doe. We have a name to our child."

Teresa Perry of the Precious Doe committee told KMBC that she cried when she heard the news.

"This is wonderful news. This is a blessing. We're thanking God," Perry said.

A retired postal worker who found the girl's head days after her body was discovered said he is very happy the young girl has been identified.

"Oh, I feel great that we got a name for somebody that we really didn't who it was. Now we have a name and hopefully we can close this. It's not Precious Doe. We do have a name," Billy Stegall told KMBC.

Refresh this page for updates.

[Non-Sequitur]

Who is Precious Doe/Erica Green?

About 4 years ago the beheaded body of a 3 year old girl was found in Kansas City. A few days later they found her head wrapped in a trash bag not far from her body. The brutality of the crime caught the city attention, the funds were raised to give her a decent burial, and since she was unidentified she was nicknamed 'Precious Doe' by the media. They've been trying to identify her since then, thought they had a couple of times but DNA evidence fell through. According to the news reports this morning, the cause of death was being kicked in the head and she apparently lingered for a few days before dying.

[MarkL]

Who is Precious Doe/Erica Green?

She was a little girl (police believed her to be 3 or 4 years old) who was found murdered in a park in Kansas City, back in 2001. They found a decapitated body, and some time later, found her head at another location.

There was nothing to identify her, and the community sort of "adopted her," and paid for a funeral. Until now, nobody knew who she was. There were a few features done about her on America's Most Wanted.

The whole thing probably would have died, and the mystery never solved, if not for the tireless efforts of Alonzo Washington. I rarely agree with most of his activist stands, but here, he deserves the credit for keeping the investigations alive.

Mark