KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A custody hearing was held Friday in the case of two young girls who, according to Jackson County prosecutors, were nearly drowned by their mother. They remain in critical condition at a Kansas City hospital.
Johnna Green, 23, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the attempted drowning of her two children.
Friday’s custody hearing case was sealed and closed to reporters. The state of Kansas filed to take custody of the two girls, but also notified the father of one of the children.
FOX 4’s Rob Collins was at the court house and said the father of one of the children was there, but did not want to speak to reporters.
“You weren’t allowed in because we don’t want you guys to have any information yet. We don’t know what’s going on,” he said outside the court house after the hearing.
The judgments made at the custody hearing have been sealed by the court.
Johnna Green is expected to appear in court via video for her an arraignment at 1 p.m. on Friday. In an arraignment, suspects are formally read the charges against them.
Prosecutors accuse Green of holding her two children, one-year-old T.J. and four-year-old J.G., under water until they were unresponsive. The girls were found unconscious inside their KCK home on Tuesday. Both children remain in critical condition and under police protective custody at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
“I have had a lot of murder cases over the years — very few have been children,” Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman said on Thursday. “It’s very tough to handle a child case.”
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates regarding Green’s arraignment later today.
