20-Year-Old Man Charged In Girlfriend's Murder, Also Accused Of Child Abuse
DETROIT (WWJ) – A 20-year-old man will be arraigned in 36th District Court Friday morning, charged in the death of a Detroit mom earlier this week.
Lorenzo Franklin McNeil, who police say was the victim's boyfriend, also faces charges of first child abuse in connection with the case.
The body of 31-year-old Charmanek Johnson was found in a pool of blood Monday in an upstairs bedroom of her house on the 4000-block of Hazlewood Street, near 1-96 and Joy Road, on the city's west side. Her 8-month-old daughter, found dehydrated in a crib near her mother's corpse, was taken to the hospital.
Johnson's mother had become concerned when she hadn't been able to get in touch with her daughter for several days. When she went by to check on her, she found the body. Police said Johnson she'd been stabbed multiple times.
"The baby needed to be changed; baby was hungry," Anna Maria Borders, Johnson's friend, said in an interview with WXYZ. "And then the mother wasn't responding. Crying for her mama and her mama wasn't responding — that's a bad feeling."
Neighbors said Johnson's mother was suspicions that McNeil was involved in her daughter's murder. He was allegedly spotted running from the scene.
"She was the one that called the police — the grandmother did," one woman, who didn't want to give her name, told WWJ. "And, you know, she was trying to stop him from leaving. He left anyway and she called the police. The police arrived about five minutes later."
McNeil was arrested on Wednesday.
Police said the baby is recovering.
Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.