Mother found dead in Detroit home, baby rushed to hospital

Family members tell Local 4 no one had heard from victim in several days

DETROIT – A mother was found dead Monday inside a home on Detroit's west side, and her baby daughter has been rushed to a hospital to be treated for dehydration.

Emma Olden-Johnson told Local 4 she went to check on her 31-year-old daughter, Charmanek Myrana Johnson, at a home on Hazelwood Street after not hearing from her for several days and her not showing up for Easter dinner.

"She usually calls and talks," Olden-Johnson said. "We talk three and four times a day, always."

When she got to the house, she said she saw Johnson's boyfriend and a woman carrying appliances out of the home and called police.

"I say to him, 'Where's Charmoneek?' (He said) 'Oh, she's gone for three days now.' 'Three days where?' 'To a friend's.' I said, 'You're lying to me,'" she said.

Olden-Johnson said she broke a window to get in, but waited for police to arrive because she smelled natural gas.

"They [police] went in and said she was gone," Olden-Johnson said.

Police discovered Johnson's body in a pool of blood in an upstairs bedroom. Her 8-month-old daughter was found inside her crib.

"She was dehydrated. She was naked, had no clothes on. It was like she had been crying for two or three days," Olden-Johnson said.

Neighbors Local 4 spoke with said someone found bottle of water and was able to get the baby to drink before she was taken to a hospital by EMS.

Local 4 learned Monday night that 911 calls have been made in the past about domestic violence. Family members said they believe Johnson knew her killer.

"I hope they find him and lock him up as soon as possible and call me to court so I can say, 'That's him,'" said Rodney Smith, Johnson's father.

Police haven't released names of any suspects.