Man says he killed girlfriend’s baby so ‘he could play video games’, US police say

Johnson eventually acknowledged he caused multiple injuries and used too much force on the one-year-old while trying to get her to nap ‘so that he could play video games’, police said. — Unsplash

A man admitted to killing his girlfriend’s baby while he was trying to get her to nap so “he could play video games,” Alaska police said.

Zackry Johnson, 31, the boyfriend of the baby’s mother, was caring for the one-year-old while her mother was at work, according to a Nov 5 Facebook post from the Fairbanks Police Department. He lived with the mom and her children, police said.

When the baby’s mother arrived home in the evening, Johnson told her the baby was sleeping, according to police. However, when she went to check on the baby the next day, she found the baby dead.

The mother called 911 to say her child had died, according to police. When officials arrived, they said they found the baby had “multiple injuries to her body, consistent with being assaulted.”

After speaking with the baby’s mother, Johnson was taken to the police department for questioning, police said.

Johnson initially told police the baby’s injuries were the result of the baby “‘play fighting’ with her six-year-old sister,” according to police. After being told the injuries were not consistent with “two young siblings rough-housing,” Johnson gave different accounts of how the baby was injured.

Johnson eventually acknowledged he caused multiple injuries and used too much force on the one-year-old while trying to get her to nap “so that he could play video games”, police said.

“He demonstrated several of the actions he used on the child and further acknowledged his actions likely led to the death of the girl,” police said.

Johnson was arrested and booked into jail on a murder charge, according to police. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service