Mom's boyfriend charged in death of 3-year-old in Normandy Park



NORMANDY PARK, Wash. -- A mother's boyfriend is behind bars, now charged with murder in the death of a toddler who had bruises all over his body when medics arrived.

William Johnson, 28, has been charged with murder in the second degree-vulnerable victim and assault in the second degree-domestic violence. His bail is $2 million.

According to court documents, Normandy Park police officers responded Saturday afternoon to suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a 3-year-old boy.

The child's mother told police she left her son and three daughters (ages 9, 8 and 7) at home Johnson while she went to get food. When she came back, her son was unconscious. The fire department responded and performed CPR, but the 3-year-old was pronounced dead at the home.

Johnson told her and police that he had only given the child a bath, but a neighbor told police he heard screams and thumps that were so loud, he had to turn up his television and turn on his air conditioning to drown out the noise.

The other children inside the home told police they, too, heard the screams coming from the bathroom, but when they went to check on their brother, their Johnson reportedly closed and locked the bathroom door. He denies ever locking the bathroom door.

When detectives told the suspect that the child had multiple bruises and evidence of blunt force trauma, he then said the child had fallen in the bathtub and hit his head. Johnson said the bruises on the toddler's stomach must have been from his attempts to perform CPR.

Two days later, the toddler's father, who is not a suspect in the child's death, was arrested after a shootout with police in Burien.

The King County Sheriff's Office said deputies were on the hunt for a man in connection with a harassment investigation. They were told he was at a gas station in Burien, and when they confronted him, the man allegedly pointed a gun at them.

Police and the man exchanged gunfire, then the man reportedly stole a vehicle and fled. After a short chase, he crashed the vehicle in a nearby parking lot on 1st Avenue. The man was arrested after a short standoff with police.

The woman he was reportedly harassing before the shootout and chase happened is the toddler's mother.