The man who kicked his girlfriend’s daughter in the head and then dumped her body in the woods will spend the rest of his life behind bars with no chance of parole.  It took a jury just about three hours to decide 29-year-old Harrell Johnson’s fate.  For seven years  a Kansas City community waited to bring  the killers of 3-year-old Erica Green, known as “Precious Doe,” to justice. Erica’s mother, Michelle Johnson, testified during the trial that Johnson kicked the baby in the head because she didn’t want to go to bed. Michelle said Harrell was high on drugs at the time. She pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in Erica’s death.

‘Precious’ Doe case begins in K.C.

The Kansas City man who allegedly chopped off the head of his girlfriend’s lifeless baby and buried the body in the woods is now on trial. Prosecutors say that Harrell Johnson, 29, was drugged up when he knocked Michelle Johnson’s daughter to the floor because she refused to go to bed. When the girl lay motionless for almost 10 hours, the couple did not seek medical attention, prosecutors say, adding that the duo were afraid they would go to jail on outstanding warrants if they notified authorities. The 3-year-old child, Erica Green, was nicknamed “Precious Doe” after her headless body was discovered in 2001. Her head was found several days later. It took four years before the case was cracked; in 2005, someone gave a tip to a community activist who had kept the pressure on about the tragic death of Erica. Michelle is expected to be called to testify against Harrell, whom she married a year after Erica’s death. Michelle has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Harrell’s defense attorney says that first-degree murder charges are not unjustifiable because nobody intended to kill Erica. Because Harrell withdrew his demand to have the case taken out of Kansas City, prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty out of play. The worst Harrell can be sentenced to is life without the possibility of parole.