Background Mar. 23 1998Update Mar. 24 1998Update Mar. 25 1998 Update Mar. 27 1998 Update Mar. 30 1998 Update Mar. 31 1998 Update April 1 1998 Update April 2 1998 Update April 3 1998 Update April 6 1998 Update April 7 1998 Update April 8 1998 Update April 9 1998 Update The Outcome (1998 Trial) The Bail Hearing (1998) The Verdict (1999 Retrial)

Autopsy reports revealed that the infant died of a blunt force trauma to the head that was the equivalent of a fall from a third or fourth story window. Johnson, who operated a licensed day care center out of her home and had a reputation in her community as "everyone's grandmother," gave police a variety of different accounts of what happened to Jasmine. First, Johnson said the baby died from choking on food; later she claimed Jasmine fell out of her high chair; finally, the defendant told authorities Jasmine died from a freak accident. Johnson claimed that she had accidentally hooked her arm on Jasmine's high chair, and sent the baby (who was not strapped into the chair) flying out of the chair onto the floor. Although Jasmine was crying, said Johnson, she seemed fine. But later that afternoon, Johnson found that Jasmine had stopped breathing and called the police and paramedics. Based on the extent of the baby's injuries and Johnson's inconsistent statements, investigators charged Johnson with murder and child abuse that night. Johnson claims she never abused the child. Her defense also suggests that Jasmine really died from a head injury that was caused by someone else two weeks before the fatal incident and was aggravated. If convicted, Johnson, 53, could face between 25 years and life in prison. A Case Reminiscent of the British Au Pair The Millers found out about Suzanne Johnson's services from an advertisement at their local YMCA. They researched her background, interviewed her at length, and decided that they really liked her. Crystal Miller wanted to go back to work and began weaning Jasmine. The Millers admit that the weaning process had made their child fussy. But, they felt comfortable with Johnson's capabilities and began bringing Jasmine to Johnson's day care center in May 1997. But on June 24, approximately four hours after leaving Jasmine in Johnson's care, Jasmine was dead, suffering from a fractured skull and bleeding in the lining of her eyes. Shortly after 3 pm, Johnson called police and reported that the infant was not breathing. When police arrived, Johnson was administering CPR on Jasmine. The injured infant was rushed to Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 4 pm. Background to California v. Suzanne Johnson. Download Realplayer Johnson was taken to the police station, where she gave her three conflicting versions of the events that led to Jasmine's death. Prosecutors believed that the inconsistencies in Johnson's stories were evidence that she deliberately killed the baby and tried to cover up her crime by lying. Their theory is that baby Jasmine was fussy and aggravated that day, and Johnson lost her patience and may have shaken and slammed the baby against a hard surface. (In addition, Johnson, who was also watching other children at the same time, had previously complained that Jasmine did not allow her to give attention to the other children in her care.) At a pretrial hearing, the state coroner undermined Johnson's claim that Jasmine died from her alleged fall from her high chair and testified that, "a fall from a high chair would not cause what I consider the force necessary to cause these injuries. Falls from high chairs are rarely fatal." The Fatal Injuries Jasmine Miller suffered a fracture on the left side of the back of her head. According to the coroner, the force of the trauma to the left side of Jasmine's head was so strong that it caused another fracture that spanned the entire length of the right side of the skull. In addition, the child had fresh subdural hemorrhages and bleeding in the lining of her eyes. The coroner said that these injuries could have only been caused by a strong amount of force and would have immediately knocked a baby out and killed her shortly afterwards. Suzanne Johnson could face between 25 years and life in prison. The autopsy also revealed that Jasmine had suffered another head injury two weeks before her sudden death, a finding that both prosecutors and the defense plan to use to their advantage during the trial. Prosecutors say that this proves that Johnson, who had started baby-sitting Jasmine four weeks before the incident, abused the baby and probably caused the injury by shaking her. Johnson's lawyer may try to use this evidence to suggest that someone else caused Jasmine's head injury and the accidental fall from the high chair exacerbated the injury and killed Jasmine. Regarding the inconsistencies in Johnson's statements to police, the defense says that she was nervous, distraught, and intimidated by investigators at the time. Johnson's defense also believes that the coroner's findings and other scientific evidence cannot conclusively prove the state's claims that Johnson either hit Jasmine with a weapon or slammed her against a hard surface. Suzanne Johnson has been in jail ever since the night of Jasmine's death. Her family has been unable to raise money to pay her $250,000 bail. Whether Johnson is convicted for the death of Jasmine Miller or acquitted of all the charges, her reputation as "everyone's grandmother" has been forever tainted---and the lives of Travis and Crystal Miller will never be the same. The Outcome On April 13, 1998, after four days of deliberations and approximately 19 hours of deliberations, jurors in the murder case of daycare provider Suzanne Johnson announced that they were hopelessly deadlocked in trying to reach a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial. Regarding the murder charge against Johnson, jurors were divided 7-to-5 (seven thought she was not guilty of the death of six-month-old Jasmine Miller; five thought she was guilty). Jurors were evenly split 6-to-6 regarding the "assault on a child resulting in death" charge. Prosecutors vowed to bring Johnson to trial again. Johnson's second trial, originally set for August 3, then scheduled for November 9, 1998, will now take place on Jan. 19, 1999. top of page Travis Miller: The victim's father takes the stand on the first day of testimony.

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