Police: Mother Ignored Doctors' Pleas Before Two-Year-Old Died

An Ohio woman is charged after the death of her son in Switzerland County last year.

Robyn Johnson. Photo by Switzerland County Sheriff's Office.

(Switzerland County, Ind.) - A Switzerland County woman is being criminally charged after the death of her son just a day after he was released from the hospital.

Robyn Johnson, 39, of Mowrystown, Ohio, is charged with Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death (level 1 felony) in Switzerland County court.

According to an affidavit, Johnson’s two-year-old son – who is not named in the charging information – was born with short bowel syndrome. He had multiple surgeries at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He was released from the hospital on June 14, 2017.

Johnson took the child back to the hospital the evening of June 16 when his gastrointestinal feeding tube came out. Doctors determined the child was dehydrated and showing signs of a blood infection. They advised that the boy need to be admitted to intensive care for testing and treatment.

“(The child’s) condition and need for immediate treatment were conveyed by doctors and nurses to Robyn Johnson, who declined further treatment for (him) and insisted she was going to leave the hospital with (him),” investigators with the Indiana State Police wrote in the affidavit.

Presented with oral and written warnings that her son might die without the necessary treatment, Johnson allegedly signed an “Against Medical Advice” form and left the hospital with him. She said she was unhappy with the way her son was treated while at the emergency room.

In the early morning hours of June 17, the child went into cardiac arrest while at his mother's home on West Main Street in Vevay. He was flown back to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, but he died.

 Johnson was arrested September 7. She is held in the Switzerland County Jail after pleading not guilty. A judge set her bond at $50,000 cash.

A jury trial is scheduled for January 22, 2019.