UPDATE 2: Johni Michelle Heuser
DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT AGAINST MOTHER IN TODDLER’S DEATH
Lillington, N.C. — Harnett County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against the mother of an 11-month-old girl whose remains were were found in the attic of a Spring Lake home two years ago.
Johni Michelle Heuser, 27, of 1680 Ray Road, was indicted in September on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Harmony Jade Creech.
Deputies found the toddler’s remains in her mother’s attic on Oct. 20, 2007. The indictment states the child was killed between Aug. 31, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2007.
You guys remember Johni Michelle Heuser, don’t you? Sure you do. Well, one of the problems with Johni’s case was that the prosecution couldn’t identify a cause of death for little Harmony. Heuser claimed that she panicked when she found the child dead in her crib and hid the body in her attic. They no longer have that problem.
The decision (to go for the death penalty) was made official Tuesday during a hearing in Harnett County Superior Court for Johni Heuser, 27, during which possible causes in the death of 11-month-old Harmony Jade Creech were revealed for the first time.
Ms. Heuser was charged with first degree murder in October 2007 after a search of her home revealed Harmony’s remains stuffed in a plastic-wrapped diaper box hidden in the attic of her Ray Road home.
The decision to try Ms. Heuser with a capital offence came during a Rule 24 hearing. In a Rule 24 hearing the state must show mitigating circumstances in the crime in order to raise it to the level of a death penalty offense.
In Ms. Heuser’s case, the mitigating circumstance, Prosecutor Davis Weddle said, was the way in which Harmony died, a cause of death determined in part by a study conducted by an anthropologist from UNC-Chapel Hill who studied the child’s bones. The death was a slow one, he said. “It takes a long time for bones to become stunted,” Mr. Weddle said. “She (the anthropologist) relayed to me that this child, Harmony Creech, died of starvation or chronic severe malnutrition.”
During his response, co-defense counsel Phil Fusco argued the state medical examiner officially sets the cause of death. Mr. Fusco said the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy said he could not determine starvation conclusively and chronic malnutrition could be caused by natural causes such as SIDS and pneumonia..
So it appear the State’s theory will be that Johni Michelle Heuser was obsessed with the online video game “Final Fantasy” to the point that she ignored the basic needs of 2-year-old Harmony Jade Creech. Things like food. And water. As a result of Heuser’s obsession, little Harmony Creech starved to death.
Afterwards, Heuser wrapped the body in plastic, placed it in an empty diaper box, and hid it in her attic. When Harmony’s father, Sgt. Ronald Creech II, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, returned from a 15-month deployment in Iraq, Heuser initially claimed the baby had been abducted. Later, when the remains were discovered, she changed her story and told police she found the baby dead in her crib.
A Big Thank You Goes Out To Starr Harper And Lanie For Their Tips On The Latest Developments.
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This is one of the very first stories that I read when I first found this website. It ripped my heart out and I cried and cried for this beautiful baby girl. It caught my interest so much that I went through the internet and dug up ANY information that I could find on this case. I have been waiting ever since for an update on this story and praying that this pos gets what she deserves. Now, I’ll just have to wait a little longer and continue to pray that she receives the death penalty that they are seeking.
Thanks Max for the update!
I actually played Final Fantasy XI Online for a few months back in 2003, while I was still enlisted in the Air Force. It was a good way to kill some free time on the weekend, and I’d never played such a game before, so it was pretty exciting to try out.
So it’s weird and morbidly fascinating to hear of a woman who plays the same game I used to and committed a crime of this magnitude.
Anyway, about the case itself: How is neglecting a child until it slowly starves to death better than any other method? In fact, it’s worse! Better to be drowned or stabbed than to suffer for weeks! Here, let me quote:
“…the mitigating circumstance… was the way in which Harmony died… this child, Harmony Creech, died of starvation or chronic severe malnutrition.”
MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCE? I swear to God, people these days are completely retarded. Passively letting your helpless child suffer for weeks because of pixels on a computer monitor is 10x worse than just strangling them or something.
Hi there Vain… I think (and I’m not sure b/c I’m pretty bad with deciphering the legal lingo) that the mitigating factor in this case is what DOES allow them to push for the death penalty. So the fact that she was starved to death was seen as cruel torture. At least, I hope it was.
My God. Fry this ass-clown! I understand the whole “video game fixation” that some people have. But, for it to reach a point where it causes you to completely neglect your child? If it weren’t videogames, it would have been something else. She is a disgusting pig who should have never been allowed to have children.
I still feel so so sorry for the baby, but worse the man who is serving our country to come home and find that the beautiful child that was his was destroyed by someone he loved and trusted. I do not know how he could possibly move on from that. He would have to have great counseling and an amazing support system. I wish only the best for him. As far as the monster who was the child’s mother I personally do not want her to have the death penalty because I want her to live her days out never forgetting why she is in ther an possibly beaten daily from some huge bull dyke that makes her her bitch.
A lot of people say things like that when it comes to the death penalty being implemented on a murderer. That they want them to have to live with what they have done for the rest of their life. The only problem is, if they could do something like this in the first place, odds are they don’t care enough to spend their life living in remorse. I will go back to saying that it’s just us (the tax payers) who get to support these shits for the next 20-50+ years until they finally rot in their cell. So ultimately the only ones who pay the price for there being no death penalty for people like this, is us.
Not to mention the price of there being no true justice for their victims.
I hate video games. Let’s get that out of the way right now. I hate how my friggin kid is plastered to the big screen TV; I hate the other kids who come over just to get plastered to the big screen TV, I hate the noise and the addictive quality they all generate.
That said, I still can’t believe that anyone could get so into the video game that they starved their kid to death. That’s like saying “I was so busy screwing that I forgot to feed the kid. For weeks.”
oh YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT. It makes me wonder how the hell they fed their own fat asses….??? HUMMMM?
Ah yes. For it is clear that this fat slob was not depriving herself of food, and her baby screamed and cried because she was hungry. Ugh. Makes me sick.
I’ll be the first to admit.. Video games are my vice. I’m totally 100% addicted to video games. What most people spend time watching TV, I would rather play a game.
With that said.. I ALSO have three children. Not a single one of my kids have ever done with out. Wanna know why? That little button on the remote that says, “Start.” Wanna know what happens when you push it? The game pauses. When it pauses the game stops right exactly were you left it, nothing else.. it just stops until you push the start button again. And I will pause that game for many hours at a time if I have to, just to make sure that my kids have everything they need.
Another thing… Food, diapers, shoes for the kids VS. brand new video game… The kids win flat out. The money I’ve spent on my games is money that we’ve gotten out of selling pecans, tax rebates, or something like that. The money we’ve made from our jobs does NOT go to this past time. That money pays our bills.
What gets me, why is it someone like me, who is addicted to video games can find the will to put aside my own selfish wants for the better of our children? When it was just my husband and I.. Sure we spent a lot of money on games. When your 21, no children and few bills… What’s teh problem? But once our first child was born everything changed. We grew up. Yes we still play games, but we also post pone any game play until the children are safely at school or in their beds.
So, video game obsession defence means nothing too me. If I can do it, I can’t see why anyone else can’t as well. This poor excuse for a human being was just coming up with stupid excuses to justify what she did. This makes me think of that movie “Trainspotting.” Where the baby died while the mom was on a drug bing that lasted several days. I think seeing that movie as a teenager is the main fuel I needed so that video games always take a back seat to real life.
Nothing wrong with playing video games….it’s something wrong with some of the people who play them! I personally love video games (and the interwebs) too….I am a Rock Band addict!!!! I really love to play the games with my children and I think if it brings you together as a family then by all means play on! Like you though Gabby it comes second to my children, just like everything else in life. My children come first no matter what. Just this morning I had to peel myself away from PYSIH to get my little man off to school. I made sure he was woken up the right way, lots of kisses, hugs, and sunny ‘good mornings’. Watched over him while he brushed his teeth, put his shoes on, and bundled up for the cold. Then I stood and watched out the window until I saw him get safely on the bus. I do it every morning and couldn’t imagine anything being more important than spending every second I can with him. Now if I can just convince the school to let me stay with him while he is there!!!!
This Johni filth shouldn’t be locked up for life in my opinion…..she should be executed and quickly so as not to infect the rest of humanity any further. Anyone with so little disregard for their children should just be taken out back and gotten rid of! We as a society need people like her raising our future generations like we need a hole in the head!
Yeah, funny how the video games did not interfere with feeding her own stupid ass…just the kid, mitigate away-I am so tired of the excuses, throw in the tradiditonal post partum defense, give her a few other disorders, explain away all you want she was not too depressed or mentally ill to function -she was still able to take care of herself, so I fail to understand how she could be depressed or mentally ill to the point she could not take care of the child
she is just a waste of space, no mental illnesses or disorders. the bitch just needs to die too. i play on the comp alot, but i dont neglect my kids. thats why the pause button was invented. or the fact that you could easily replay that game again. she was just ignoring that child to no end, cuz at 11 months they are close to walking, thats when they are fun. hell, i’m getting bored with computer games now, and would rather spend the time with my two rambunctious brats
Sit that fat lump of clay’s ass in a cell with her video games and just forget to feed her…seems fair to me! I wonder how long it would be before she she loses interest in the games because she is starving to death? Her problem is laziness plain and simple,the bitch.
Forget? Forget? Pretty sure they cry Really loud when they’re Hungary, if not starving! And didn’t she have two other kids? What a loser. It is so pathetic when you see “proud parent” on thier myspace pages. Like they even know what being a parent entails. I just don’t understand. And then, she has a story to tell the bf when he gets home? Sounds like planning to me. Sounds like it was allll fucking planned. Post partum my ass, this skank was a cold hearted gaming loser who was lazy and evil. Hopefully she can’t look at her fat face in the mirror and she is haunted in dreams and wake.
I enjoy my video games, too, but my first responsibility is to my daughter. The pause button is a really great thing, and the save point helps, especially since my 18-month-old is already clever enough to turn things like the tv, computer, and game systems off and on.
My heart breaks every time I see that beautiful little baby looking back at me. I felt like vomiting when I went to her myspace and saw the picture–I’m amazing she stopped playing her damned game long enough to take a picture–was she still feeding the poor baby back then, too?
This monster and her avatar need to be dropped in an active volcano.
I was obsessed with WoW, but a child is not an animal. I felt bad that I forgot to feed my pets regularly, but never killed them. My rats were upset of course. They bit me, poor things. My short term memory is terrible and I have no intention of having a human baby, if ever. I tend to get lost in my own world at times for hours. This is scary. I have a long ways to go to function more normally. That is why I don’t allow myself to do “grown up” things. Yiou can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Nothing wrong with playing video games….it’s something wrong with some of the people who play them! I personally love video games (and the interwebs) too….I am a Rock Band addict!!!! I really love to play the games with my children and I think if it brings you together as a family then by all means play on! Like you though Gabby it comes second to my children, just like everything else in life. My children come first no matter what. Just this morning I had to peel myself away from PYSIH to get my little man off to school. I made sure he was woken up the right way, lots of kisses, hugs, and sunny ‘good mornings’. Watched over him while he brushed his teeth, put his shoes on, and bundled up for the cold. Then I stood and watched out the window until I saw him get safely on the bus. I do it every morning and couldn’t imagine anything being more important than spending every second I can with him. Now if I can just convince the school to let me stay with him while he is there!!!!
This Johni filth shouldn’t be locked up for life in my opinion…..she should be executed and quickly so as not to infect the rest of humanity any further. Anyone with so little disregard for their children should just be taken out back and gotten rid of! We as a society need people like her raising our future generations like we need a hole in the head!
Why should she just be allowed to lay down and go to sleep in her death? She deserves to be starved and allowed to just rot somewhere! She deserves nothing but a slow and painful death for what she made that sweet baby endure.
Rest in peace Harmony!