Mum stabs daughter, 3, to death and dumps body in trash bag

The close-knit community of Iosco County is shaken following news that 22-year-old Justine Johnson has brutally murdered her own daughter before dumping her body in a garbage bag.

According to reports, her brother called the police after he saw a tiny foot sticking out of a black trash bag on Friday, Sept. 17 at 4:00 a.m. But the night before the discovery, he had asked his sister where her daughter was and was told to mind his own business.

At the time of the murder, Justine and her three-year-old daughter Sutton were living with her mother Alisa in a home along Cedar Lake Road. The late child's grandmother is her primary caregiver.

Oscada Township Police believe that the mum stabbed her own daughter to death and then disposed of the body in the garbage bag. Iosco County Prosecutor James Bacarella said Sutton suffered multiple stab wounds to her chest.

It is not yet known when this alleged crime happened. But Justine was reportedly not around when her brother alerted the police. Instead, she was found four hours later walking on train tracks and was said to be unemotional when told of the tragic news.

She was later charged with homicide-felony murder and first-degree child abuse, both carry a life sentence. According to WNEM, she pleaded not guilty to both charges during a court hearing at the 81st District Court on Monday. She was also denied bond and is expected back in court on Sept. 28 for a probable cause conference.

Meanwhile, Alisa expressed her great sadness at the loss of her granddaughter. She remembered Sutton as someone "full of life."

"I wasn't grandmother, I was grandmom. That baby loved me more than anything. She was so close to me, she always waited for me to come home from work," she said.

Alisa said she was downstate when she learned of the child's death. She could not believe what she heard and simply broke down in tears.

"I broke down. I told them tell me it's not true that I needed to get to my baby, and this couldn't be happening," she revealed.

Alisa said Justine is not capable of murder because Sutton meant everything to her. She loved her daughter "with all her heart" and that she would "never let anybody hurt that baby she would always [sic] there for her she never did anything to hurt her." She believes Alisa is innocent and thus wants a "fair investigation" so her granddaughter can also have the "proper justice."