Elizabeth Johnson's Bombshell Admission to Tammi Smith About Baby Gabriel Paternity

This story has been told many times. But the news media have often told it either inaccurately or incompletely. In order to understand the pathos surrounding the Paternity Petition filed by baby Gabriel's mother, Elizabeth Johnson, the story must be retold. And to understand the compassion in the action by the woman who had once hoped to adopt Baby Gabriel, Tammi Peters Smith, the story must be read with the advantage of hindsight.

In December 2009, Logan McQueary and Elizabeth Johnson, no longer a couple, agreed to adopt out baby Gabriel Johnson- according to early reports of what Johnson told Jack and Tammi Smith. Johnson was living with Gabriel in the trailer that she had made a downpayment on with her savings. According to Johnson's statement in a KPHO video, McQueary lived with his father instead. Johnson could no longer afford her monthly lease-to-own payments.

On Friday December 11 2009, McQueary filed for custody of Baby Gabriel and with the condition that Johnson would have no visitation rights, even though she was the one supporting Gabriel- she was receiving a WIC grant and unemployment checks, according to CNN's Nancy Grace interview with the Smiths. McQueary also filed a a complaint against Johnson, as evidenced in a Family Court docket.

When Monday came-December 14- a series of significant actions were taken, including Johnson's filing for parentage testing, which came about in an unexpected way.

On Monday morning, a source close to Tammi Smith said Tammi told her that Elizabeth Johnson turned to her for help and that Smith called her attorney Ken Schutt, to discover what Johnson's rights were. Johnson also spoke with him. Smith took her to Child Protective Services (CPS) office so that CPS could see that Gabriel had not been harmed by Johnson - as McQueary's complaint had indicated.

Crying to Smith, Johnson dropped a bombshell- she said that McQueary was probably not Gabriel's father. The source gave more details. Smith again consulted with her attorney about Johnson's rights based on this news. That afternoon, she drove Johnson, with Gabriel, to the courthouse, which was soon to close. Johnson began filling out the forms. Smith watched Baby Gabriel. The courthouse doors were locked. After Johnson filled in McQueary's name as a potential father, she paused. She knew that Smith's attorney had told her that she must fill in the father's real name in order for the court to force McQueary to take a paternity test. This story is told by HLN's Nancy Grace for CNN.

Smith has repeatedly said in various interviews that Johnson was afraid to fill in the real potential father's name along with McQueary's name on the Paternity Petition. According to several videos including this KPHO one, she has also said that Johnson asked her to fill in her cousin's name Craig Cherry- Johnson knew of Cherry because remembered she and Smith talking about him and McQueary having the same DUI history. And that's when Smith hurriedly jotted down in her own handwriting her cousin's name.

Weeks later, news media questioned Smith about the Craig Cherry name. She then recalled having written his name on the Paternity Petition- something she said she had not given a thought to since having done so. Yet, Smith felt obliged to talk to the police about the name before discussing it with the media- even though she felt her action had little to do with finding missing Baby Gabriel. And so far, Law Enforcement's questioning had all been directed to finding Gabriel. Yet, Smith admitted to police that she had written a cousin's name on the Paternity Petition for parentage testing of Logan McQueary- the man whose name appears on missing Baby Gabriel's birth certificate. She was charged with Forgery on February 2 2010 for the act, according to AZ Central.

Tammi Smith has always maintained that she believes 'anyone in my position would have done the same thing to help who they believed to be a poor defenseless girl... being hurt by this guy'. Given the rushed circumstances, Johnson's panic, and gravity of Johnson possibly losing her child to a known felon and drug addict- as evidenced in the KPHO court video, Smith may be right.

Related article:
What's with Jack & Tammi Smith? All They Want to Do is Find Missing Baby Gabriel Johnson?;