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A mother convicted in the stabbing death of her 11-year-old son was sentenced this week to 20 years in a New Mexico state prison, according to multiple news reports.
On Thursday, Mary Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2022 death of Bruce Johnson Jr., according to court documents obtained by KRQE, NewsWest9 and the Hobbs News-Sun. Johnson, who was initially charged with first-degree murder, was also ordered to pay restitution for her son's funeral.
At 1 a.m. on July 10, 2022, deputies with the Lea County Sheriff’s Office responded to the family’s home in Hobbs, N.M., after Mary’s husband, Bruce Johnson Sr., called 911 to report that his wife and son had been stabbed, a press release states.
Bruce Sr. reportedly told police he woke up to the sound of his son, Bruce Jr., screaming, before finding him lying on a bed with multiple stab wounds. He went to call police when he discovered Mary, had also been stabbed but was unconscious in another room, per the release.
The 11-year-old boy, who was still conscious, was rushed to the hospital, police said. There, he reportedly told authorities that his mother, Mary, was the person who stabbed him. He died a short time later.
Meanwhile, Mary was being treated at the hospital, where investigators learned she had suffered self-inflicted stab wounds, they said. She survived, and later admitted to killing her son, and trying to kill herself, per the documents obtained by the Hobbs News-Sun.
Mary also allegedly told hospital staff, “If I can’t have him, no one can,” referring to her son, KRQE reports.
According to the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Bruce Sr. said he and his son moved from Oklahoma to New Mexico to get away from Mary, who he alleged was abusing the boy. Bruce Sr. reportedly intended to file for divorce, citing the alleged abuse and claimed Mary had also been violent with him.
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Authorities said Bruce Sr. later allowed Mary to stay with them in Hobbs, N.M., after she begged to see her son. While there were no reports of abuse or neglect in New Mexico, investigators said at least two incidents were reported while the family was living in Oklahoma, per the release.
“Such a tragic event when anyone, especially a young person dies untimely and at the hands of a parent,” District Attorney Diana Luce said, per the Hobbs News-Sun. “These types of cases are never easy. We can only hope to provide some sense of closure and justice to the family.”
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