Curry-Demus and Johnson met while both women were at a county jail, visiting different inmates.  Curry-Demus offered Johnson baby clothes and a ride home.  Curry-Demos was already reporting that she was pregnant and had an ultrasound of another woman’s fetus. 

When the women arrived at Curry-Demus apartment, she drugged Johnson, bound her with duct tape and cut her infant from her body. Then she wrapped Johnson’s corpse in plastic and a comforter before hiding it in a crawl space.  Curry-Demos even took a picture of Johnson’s bound corpse, which the police later found.  The neighbors reported the stench of decomposition and Johnson’s corpse was found. 

Curry-Demus showed off ‘her’ baby to relatives, claiming to have given birth at home. When she went to the local hospital, Curry-Demos did not wish to be examined, which alerted the staff. She then told her mother that she bought the newborn from ‘a crack addict’. 

In 1990, Curry-Demus was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison for a similar crime.  In May, 1990, Curry-Demos stabbed a woman who was only a few days post-partum, while visiting her and the new baby; she then ran from the house and was not caught.  The following day, she went to the local children’s hospital and kidnapped 3 week old infant being treated for meningitis.   In 1991, Curry-Demos pled guilty to kidnapping, aggravated assault, and concealing the whereabouts of a child.  In other words, Curry-Demos was a repeat offender, and she knew the risk of leaving Johnson alive to testify against her. 

According the testimony of her physician, Curry-Demus had never been pregnant, never experienced a miscarriage, contradicting the defense attorney’s claim that Curry-Demus’ behavior was due in part to her history of repeated miscarriages.