8-year-old girl found unresponsive in Spokane bathtub; 23-year-old mother faces manslaughter charge

8-year-old girl found unresponsive in Spokane bathtub; 23-year-old mother faces manslaughter charge

A 23-year-old woman is facing a manslaughter charge after police say she left her disabled 8-year-old daughter home alone Sunday before firefighters found the girl floating unresponsive in an overflowing bathtub, according to court documents.

Travionna C. Johnson faces first- and second-degree manslaughter and first-degree abandonment of a dependent person, both felonies, for the death of her daughter, who turned 8 one week ago.

The child, identified in court records by the initials K.J.J., was in second grade at Logan Elementary School, Johnson told police in court documents.

At Johnson’s first appearance Monday in Spokane County Superior Court, Court Commissioner Tami Chavez set Johnson’s bond at $500,000, the amount Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Samantha Wright requested.

“This was a serious, violent crime,” Wright said.

Spokane County public defender Stephanie Vick did not contest bond or the additional charge of second-degree manslaughter Wright requested and Chavez approved.

Johnson appeared on a screen from the jail in lime green Spokane County Jail clothing as several of her family members appeared in the front row of the two-row court gallery.

Her mother and sister told Chavez that Johnson is not a threat to the community and needs mental health treatment.

“I know deep in my heart she loved her baby,” the mother said.

According to court documents, the Spokane Fire Department responded Sunday morning to reports of water leaking from an upstairs unit at 123 E. Baldwin Ave. in the Logan Neighborhood. The front door was locked, so firefighters entered through a window where they found a child floating face up and unresponsive in the bathtub. No one else was in the residence.

Firefighters and ambulance crews performed lifesaving measures in the apartment before the child was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.

At the scene, Johnson told a police officer she was the child’s mother and said she left for work just prior to 7 a.m. and her sister was supposed to babysit her daughter. But she never saw her sister before she left for work. She returned home via Uber and arrived after medical personnel were on scene.

When interviewed by detectives, Johnson said she got up about 6 a.m. Sunday and ordered an Uber to pick her up from her residence to go to work. She said her child, who has epilepsy, a developmental disability and is nonverbal, was still asleep in her bed when she left.

Johnson told police her daughter was recently taken off medications for the diagnosis. Johnson’s sister told police the child’s seizures had been under control since 2023 and medications were no longer prescribed. But, there was a prescribed nasal spray “as needed.”

Johnson told police her daughter operates at a 3- or 4-year-old level and acknowledged she should not be left alone and that she knew her safety would be at risk if she was by herself.

Johnson said she texted her sister while in the Uber to work asking her to take care of her child, but she knew the text didn’t go through because she sent it outside of the Wi-Fi zone of her apartment. Johnson said her phone is “Wi-Fi only” and does not have service according to court records.

Johnson said she typically communicates ahead of time with her sister about taking care of the child and wouldn’t pick up a shift at work if her sister wasn’t available.

When asked by detectives why she deviated from her usual practice of ensuring care was available for her daughter, she responded, “I don’t know how to answer that.”

When asked why she left her child alone, she became defensive, saying she already answered that and it was out of her ordinary practice to do so.

She later wrote a statement that did not fully explain her reasoning and instead indicated she was sorry for doing so. The statement said she felt “heartbroken and dumb” and she will never be at peace with her decision.

A licensed home care aide with Family Resource Home Care met the child and Johnson’s sister the day before the child’s death, the aid told police. The aide spent about three and a half hours with the child.

The aide’s notes from the visit say the child had balance issues and gait impairment, court records say. She wore braces on her legs to help her walk and needed help walking on uneven surfaces and stairs.

The aide wrote that the child needed help to complete personal hygiene tasks, get dressed and eat. The child needed to be kept “within sight at all times,” according to the aide.

Johnson’s sister also told police the child needs constant supervision and care with basic daily functions.

The aide wrote the child liked to hear water running and might go into the bathroom and turn on the faucet.

Johnson told police her daughter was fascinated with running water and she allows the child to play with the faucet in the sink because she can see her while she is in bed, but won’t allow her to play with the bathtub faucet because she cannot see her from bed. She said she recognized it’s unsafe for her child to be left unattended in the bath with running water.

The aide also reported the conditions of Johnson’s apartment to Child Protective Services because the apartment was dirty with no furniture and there was “soiled pull-up underwear,” according to court records.

Johnson told detectives she works two jobs in the in-home care industry and one of her employers is Family Resource Home Care, which cares for her child.

She said the in-home care hours for her child are nearly cut in half during the school year and the reduction in care was difficult because she works so much.

She said she is depressed because she works two jobs, seven days a week and is a single mother to a child with significant disabilities. More than a year ago, she voluntarily checked into Inland Northwest Behavioral Health whereshe was admitted while her sister took care of her daughter.

Johnson’s sister told police she didn’t believe Johnson’s weeklong stay at the facility was enough.

Johnson told police she was living with family in Arkansas when she gave birth to her daughter at age 15. She moved to Spokane in 2018 where her mother, grandparents and cousins live. Her sister moved to Spokane the following year, is her biggest support system and at one point a primary caregiver for the child, she said.

The sister told police she has provided full-time caretaking for the child since moving to Spokane.

The sister said Johnson always adjusted her schedule around the child’s and would request her help when taking additional shifts at work. She said she did not have any concerns for the child’s well-being in Johnson’s custody and that Johnson displayed a “great deal of care for her daughter,” court records say.

She told Chavez during Monday’s court appearance that her sister is an “excellent mother” and mental health issues run deep in their family.

Johnson’s mother told Chavez her daughter was not in her right mind at the time of the alleged crimes and needs help to address her mental health issues. She said she’s a young single mother working two jobs to take care of herself and her baby with multiple health issues.

“She’s been overwhelmed in life,” she said.

She said Johnson, evidenced by the family’s showing of support in the courtroom, has the support she needs.

“Please give my baby a chance,” she said. “She’s only 23.”

Chavez acknowledged the family members in the courtroom.

“I’m very, very sorry for all of your loss,” Chavez said.

Johnson is set for arraignment Thursday.