NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – A man accused of killing his eight-month-old daughter and the child’s mother was arraigned on murder charges in a Newport News courtroom Tuesday.
46-year-old Carlos Johnson is charged with killing Keir Johnson and her infant daughter Chloe. Police arrested Carlos Johnson during a traffic stop in Newport News last Friday.
The Hampton mother and daughter were last seen on April 30, 2017. Keir was 34 years old at the time; Chloe was eight months old.
Their bodies were never found, but new court paperwork reveals a timeline of events and evidence suggesting they could be dead, and that Carlos could have been involved.
According to the documents, on the day Keir disappeared, Carlos was seen driving Keir’s car, and their cell phones had both pinged near his house on 35th Street in Newport News — before hers was turned off.
Police also found, through a search warrant for his web history, that he’d searched for information related to poison that kills people and accidental baby deaths, months prior.
“On January 23, 2017, Mr. Johnson searched, “Is forced fatherhood fair; should men be forced to pay for children they didn’t want; if a man was tricked into fathering a child he did not want,” the document reads. “Mr. Johnson also searched legal references about child support enforcement, and how to avoid paying child support.”
“On February 9, 2017, Mr. Johnson searched “If you give a woman abortion money in she take it but don’t get the abortion can she take you for child support; if a woman chooses to keep a pregnancy when her partner prefers that she have an abortion why should he have to pay child support,” it continues.
The documents also reveal that the couple — in what Carlos described to police as an on-again-off-again relationship —had gotten into a heated argument at the business where they both worked.
“Keir’s family members informed investigators that there had been previous arguments between Keir and Mr. Johnson over child support for Chloe,”
They said he’d refused to pay, and denied paternity; he told them that he didn’t intend to be a part of the girl’s life.
When police executed a search warrant at Carlos’ home on May 19, 2017, they found more evidence pointing to the worst outcome.
“[It] resulted in the collection of suspected blood from the subfloor of the living room, beneath the carpet and the carpet padding,” the document reads. “The test results revealed that blood was indicated and Keir Johnson could not be eliminated as contributor to that DNA profile.”
On the morning of the day she went missing, Keir was seen “very upset” yelling in front of her home.
She was last seen by her family, leaving their home in Hampton. She said she was bringing Chloe to Buckroe Beach. That afternoon, she told a friend she and Chloe would be coming by in 10 minutes. That was the last time anyone ever heard from her. Financial records showed that her accounts stopped making payments.
Later that night, Carlos backed Keir’s car up his driveway, before “accessing the trunk,” according to an unnamed witness in the documents.
Carlos and the witness then drove to Isle of Wight, where he, again, “accessed the trunk,” before walking away into a marshy area.
When they returned to Newport News, the witness was made to wipe down the inside of the car.
Johnson’s next court date is set for June.