A Washington mother is facing serious criminal charges after firefighters investigating a water leak made a horrifying discovery inside her apartment — an 8-year-old girl floating face-up and unresponsive in an overflowing bathtub.
Travionna Christine Johnson, 23, was arrested Sunday after emergency crews were called to an apartment building in Spokane’s Logan Neighborhood over water leaking from an upstairs unit.
When firefighters arrived at the apartment on East Baldwin Avenue, the front door was locked. Crews entered through a window and found Johnson’s daughter, identified in court records only by the initials K.J.J., floating in the bathtub with no one else inside the home.
Firefighters and paramedics immediately began lifesaving efforts before rushing the child to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
She was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.
Johnson now faces first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter and first-degree abandonment of a dependent person in connection with her daughter’s death. The allegations have not been proven in court.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Johnson told investigators that she left the apartment shortly before 7 a.m. to go to work.
She said her daughter was asleep in bed at the time.
Johnson allegedly told detectives she had sent her sister a text asking her to come over and watch the girl, but acknowledged she never received confirmation before leaving.
She later told investigators she knew the text may not have gone through because her phone only worked over Wi-Fi and she had sent the message after leaving the apartment’s Wi-Fi range.
Johnson’s sister told investigators the child could not safely be left alone, even for a few minutes.
Court records say the second grader had epilepsy, developmental disabilities and was nonverbal. Johnson herself told police that her daughter functioned at roughly the level of a 3- or 4-year-old child.
The girl also suffered from balance and walking problems and wore braces on her legs, according to notes from a licensed home-care aide who had spent about three and a half hours with her the day before she died.
The caregiver wrote that the child needed help with personal hygiene, getting dressed and eating and had to remain “within sight at all times.”
The aide also told investigators that the girl was fascinated by running water and sometimes turned on bathroom faucets.
Johnson allegedly told police she allowed her daughter to play with the sink faucet when she could supervise her, but would not allow her to play with the bathtub faucet because she could not see her from another room.
She allegedly acknowledged that leaving the girl alone around running bath water would be unsafe.
Johnson’s sister said her sister usually made childcare arrangements in advance and would change her work schedule if nobody was available.
When detectives asked why she had departed from that routine on Sunday, Johnson allegedly responded, “I don’t know how to answer that.”
Police say Johnson later provided a written statement saying she was sorry, felt “heartbroken and dumb” and believed she would never be at peace with her decision.
According to The Spokesman-Review, Johnson works two jobs in the in-home care industry and told investigators that finding enough care for her daughter had become increasingly difficult after school resumed.
Her authorized in-home care hours had reportedly dropped significantly during the school year, from roughly 120 hours per month to 68.
Johnson also told investigators she was depressed and overwhelmed by working two jobs seven days a week while raising a child with substantial disabilities as a single mother.
Her sister told police Johnson had struggled with depression and previously sought treatment at Inland Northwest Behavioral Health.
Johnson gave birth to her daughter at age 15, according to court records. She later moved to Spokane, where relatives including her mother, grandparents, cousins and sister became part of her support network.
Her sister reportedly told investigators that she had no prior concerns about the child’s safety in Johnson’s care and described Johnson as a loving and attentive mother.
During Johnson’s first court appearance Monday, her mother, Kimberly Russell, pleaded with the court to consider her daughter’s circumstances.
“I know deep in my heart she loved her baby,” Russell said.
Russell added that she did not believe Johnson would intentionally hurt her child.
Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Samantha Wright took a much harsher view, telling the court, “This was a serious, violent crime.”
Court Commissioner Tami Chavez set Johnson’s bond at $500,000 during the hearing. Spokane County court records confirm her first appearance took place Sept. 21.
Johnson was scheduled to return to court for arraignment later that week.
The precise medical cause of the child’s death had not yet been publicly released, and the criminal case remains pending.
