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Johnson Planned Child's Party, Leaving Boyfriend Before Death

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

vkalfrin@tampatrib.com

Published: April 2, 2009

TAMPA - Jennifer Johnson wanted her daughter, Je'Neiyce, to have a fun celebration in a city park for her second birthday.

She ordered a Dora the Explorer cake from Publix, bought a pinata from Party City and made a list of hot dogs, hamburgers, cupcakes and ice cream.

But by the day of the party, she had been strangled and suffocated, according to court documents released today. Her body was found in an abandoned house in Lakeland with a plastic bag from Party City and a plastic garbage bag tied over her head.

The 700 pages of discovery documents released Wednesday outline the first-degree murder and kidnapping case against Vincent George Brown, Johnson's on-again, off-again boyfriend and Je'Neiyce's father.

The paperwork also hints that Johnson, who had complained numerous times about abuse from Brown, was finally ready to end their tumultuous relationship.

Brown, 39, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

Relatives reported Johnson, 31, missing on Nov. 15 after she didn't show up for the birthday party she had planned for weeks. Her body was found in the Lakeland house on Nov. 18.

Levery White, Johnson's aunt, said Je'Neiyce asks where her mother is all the time. "I can't tell her. I want to say, 'Mommy's in Heaven looking down on you. I can't do nothing but just cry and hug her," White said.

Brown and Johnson had a tumultuous relationship. He was arrested several times but was not prosecuted because Johnson later recanted her statements to police or would not cooperate, court records say.

Her family had warned her to stay away from Brown, her aunt said.

"She wanted them to work because Jennifer was not raised with her father," White said. "She wanted her daughter to have Mommy and Daddy."

The week before she died, Johnson might have been preparing to leave Brown for good, according to the documents. A police report states officers found under her car visor intake paperwork from the domestic-violence shelter The Spring of Tampa Bay.

The paperwork was dated Nov. 10, five days before relatives reported her missing.

A day earlier, relatives called the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to report that Brown had thrown a rock through the sliding-glass door of Johnson's apartment, court papers say. An affidavit had been prepared to file felony charges against Brown of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied dwelling.

Johnson's relatives last saw her alive the evening of Nov. 14. Receipts show she had been shopping at Party City for the birthday celebration and had ordered the cake from Publix.

Brown was upset that Johnson told him he couldn't come to the party, White said.

Johnson's sister, Rachel Johnson, told police she was with Jennifer about 10 p.m. on Nov. 14 when Brown phoned to ask Jennifer to meet him at a nightclub so he could give her $100 for the birthday party. She agreed.

The next night, Rachel Johnson reported her sister missing.

News Channel 8 reporter Krista Klaus contributed to this report. Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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