CJ Jackson
A grand jury has indicted Sedrick Johnson for capital murder in the case of Cedrick “CJ” Jackson, the 18-month-old nephew of Johnson’s girlfriend. The family was living in an apartment on Whitehurst in July when the couple reported CJ missing. His body was later found in a Rowlett landfill.
The capital murder indictment says Johnson intentionally caused the toddler’s death by “an unknown manner and means,” the Dallas Morning News reports. Johnson was charged with injury to a child in September.
After an Amber Alert was issued and community members searched for hours, Johnson confessed to tightly swaddling CJ in a blanket on the floor to restrict his movement after the child made a mess with ketchup packets. Johnson later left CJ in a dumpster.
Chrystal Jackson, Johnson’s girlfriend, faces charges of injury to a child.
“Were it not for the actions and omissions by Suspect Jackson,” police wrote in the affidavit, “law enforcement has every reason to believe the complainant could have been located, potentially alive, within hours of his removal from Suspect Jackson’s residence.”
Police say Jackson called 911 early on July 10 to report her nephew had been abducted. She claimed that only one child was in the apartment with the couple, and she sent “valuable witnesses” away from the search area, referring to five other children who had been in the home at the time. The police affidavit said those kids later reported hearing CJ crying before he “stopped suddenly and disappeared.”
Johnson has been in the Dallas County jail since his arrest in July. His bail was set at $1,003,000.
