Baby Gabriel Mom Elizabeth Johnson Suicide Risk- Began Hunger Strike 7 Days Before Nutraloaf Punishment

April 15 2010. Phoenix, Ariz. The mother of missing now-eleven-month-old Gabriel Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson, has been incarcerated for three months and a week since her December 30 2009 arrest, in Florida. She had left with Gabriel from Tempe Arizona and headed for San Antonio Texas on December 18- the day after a judge awarded joint custody to her and the court-declared natural father Logan McQueary and just two days before she was to hand Gabriel over to him for parenting time.

On Thursday April 8, Johnson allegedly sprayed cleaning substance into the eyes of two inmates. "She took some cleaning material spray and sprayed two fellow inmates- female of course- in their eyes," told Sheriff Joe Arpaio, overseer of Maricopa County Jails, to Arizona Family News. There's no report of what motivated or provoked Johnson's action. The inmates were uninjured.

On the next day, as punishment, Johnson was placed on a diet of water and bread in the form of a constitutional nutraloaf- the size of a large brick-shaped burrito. She daily refused to consume the nutraloaf. She stated that it is 'full of rotten vegetables and worms'. However, when Johnson was placed on the dietary punishment, according to Sheriff Joe, she balked. "She doesn't like it. And so she refused to eat- and she refused for seven days prior to that," stated Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

When first jailed in Arizona, Johnson was placed in isolation. The date of her admittance into the inmate population is unknown. However, after the Thursday incident, Johnson was placed into isolation and further punished with the nutraloaf diet. She wrote a will in preparation for imminent death- 'My Advanced Directive & Will'. The action triggered her removal from Estrella Jail to the Lower Buckeye Jail, where she is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. "She seems to indicate that she may be a risk for suicide," stated Sheriff Joe.

Shown in a CBS5's KPHO affiliate video, Sheriff Joe Arpaio attempted to eat an unheated nutraloaf. To dissect the nutraloaf- which prisoners are expected to eat without the aid of untensils- Sheriff Joe worked hard at dissecting his hard nutraloaf with a large sharp serrated knife. Then, he took a bite and pulled a face of dislike. He tried it again and pulled another face. "You know, quite frankly, I don't think I'd eat this," said the sheriff.

Two of the Arizona Family News female correspondents- one outside the jail and one in the studio- each took a nibble and declared that the nutraloaf was bland but did leave an after-taste. They joked that there were no worms in the loaf- one said that it did need 'cream cheese or butter or something like that'. Neither one tried eating the whole thing.

Elizabeth Johnson is in jail on a $1.1 million cash-only bond. She had sent a text message to McQueary saying that she had killed Baby Gabriel. After her arrest, she told Law Enforcement- police and FBI- that she handed over the baby to a couple in a San Antonio park. She had planned to return to Arizona with baby but then became afraid of someone or something. Since being in jail, she has- according to McQueary's private investigator Ken Gamble- cooperated with Law Enforcement. "She's made full admissions to police," said Gamble.

After her alleged attack on two inmates, which has destroyed her reputation as a model inmate, Elizabeth Johnson may be charged- according to Sheriff Joe- with two felony counts. Her other charges are: Conspiracy to Commit Custodial Interference, Custodial Interference, Kidnapping and Child Abuse.

Nutraloaf ingredients: nonfat milk powder; fruits and vegetables; ground beans; chili powder.

^{Sources are embedded unless listed here: KPHO Missing Baby Gabriel Still Alive, PI Says;}

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