Raymond F. Johnson, 62, and Jamie L. Johnson, 44, both of Stanley, appeared remotely over ITV for the hearing before Judge Gary Lee. The pair have been charged with counts of Class AA felony murder-in the course of in furtherance of certain crimes-child victim; Class A felony child abuse-victim under 6-permanent loss or impairment; and Class B felony domestic violence-serious bodily injury-victim under 12.

According to court documents, on March 19, Jamie Johnson called 911 to report the victim, a foster child placed in their home, was not responding. Jamie Johnson reported she had been performing CPR for 5 minutes, and dispatch directed her to continue administering CPR until responders arrived. The victim was transported to a Stanley emergency room, but was pronounced deceased at 6:31 p.m.

The affidavit of probable cause included observations from photos taken by the Stanley Police Department and the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office of the victim’s body, which included bruising and lacerations covering the victim’s entire body and injuries to the child’s face.

Jamie Johnson was interviewed by a sheriff’s office detective and stated the victim sustained injuries by falling down stairs about three or four days prior. She also attributed the marks and scratches on the victim to an autism diagnosis and said the victim would hit their head on walls.

Jamie Johnson told investigators earlier that day the victim had bitten her as she was trying to remove food from the victim’s mouth. Jamie Johnson reported that after this incident, she discovered the victim was unresponsive, and she was able to remove food from the victim’s mouth.

Raymond Johnson also was interviewed by investigators and said before he left for work that afternoon he observed the victim sleeping on a couch, making whimpering noises.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, other children living in the residence and one daycare child were forensically interviewed. During these interviews, the other children reported Jamie Johnson struck and hit them and the victim on multiple occasions, with one saying Raymond Johnson is the “nice one” at home.

A Bureau of Criminal Investigations agent executed a search warrant for home surveillance cameras at the Johnsons’ residence, which led to the discovery of footage from the day of the incident. Jamie Johnson was recorded shouting at the victim, striking the victim with her cell phone, grabbing the victim by the neck and hair and throwing the victim into the floor, walls and furniture.

The footage of the biting incident also was reviewed and showed Raymond Johnson assisting Jamie Johnson with removing her finger from the victim’s mouth. Both Raymond and Jamie Johnson were recorded kicking the victim’s back, and Jamie Johnson was recorded throwing the victim by the hair. Bruising and blood were visible on the victim’s face, arms, legs and body, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

At the initial appearance hearings on Monday, Mountrail County State’s Attorney Wade Enget requested cash or surety bonds of $1 million for both defendants, citing the severity of the alleged offenses and high probability of a flight risk. Raymond Johnson did not protest the proposed bond, and Lee imposed the bond as recommended.

Jamie Johnson asked Lee for mercy, saying she needed to be free to work to secure an attorney to represent her in future proceedings. Jamie Johnson stated she was not a danger to the community and would be willing to abide by any bond restrictions the court imposed.

Lee responded saying that once a bond for a co-defendant has been imposed, their co-defendant’s bonds are typically the same, but she could revisit the issue at a future bond hearing.

Their preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 24.