Murder Charge Possible for Baby Gabriel Mom Even with No Body

Baby Gabriel's mother, Elizabeth Johnson, pleads "Not Guilty". On Monday January 25, 2010, in Phoenix Arizona, Johnson appeared before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge via video-feed from one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Maricopa County Jails- Estrella Jail. Johnson pleaded 'not guilty' to four felony charges on the disappearance of her eight-month-old baby, Gabriel Johnson- nicknamed Baby Gabriel.

Clad in prison stripes, Johnson gave her name, birth date, and 'not guilty' plea. The four felony charges are: conspiracy to commit custodial interference; custodial interference; child abuse; kidnapping. Johnson's lawyer is public defender Jon Eliason. Baby Gabriel went missing on December 27, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas, where the investigation is ongoing.

Johnson could face a murder charge. If Baby Gabriel doesn't show up alive, Johnson could be charged and prosecuted for murder. Hearst newspaper The Beaumont Enterprise reports that Texas law needs no dead body in order to charge a suspect with capital murder. A defendant can be prosecuted in a murder trial even if no body is found. In 2001, Dallas-based lawyer Geoff Henley prosecuted and won a murder case even though he had no forensic evidence and no body.

Arizona, like Texas, has 'no body' murder cases. Arizona has a few 'no body' cases that have ended in convictions for the defendants. In 2001, Reuben Zavala was found guilty and sentenced for the disappearance of his girlfriend's son. The mother testified against Zavala saying that he had confessed to dumping the sexually-abused boy in a trash bin. No body was found. Yet, Zavala was convicted.

Johnson's case, ex-boyfriend Logan McQueary, Baby Gabriel's natural father, could testify against Johnson about how she confessed to him that she had killed Baby Gabriel, stuffed his blue dead body into a diaper bag, and thrown the bag into a dumpster.

Candlelight vigil for Baby Gabriel. Last night, McQueary led a candlelight vigil of hope and prayer for his infant son, who will turn nine months on February 3, if he his alive. A turnout of about 150 folk- family, friends, and supporters- rallied for Baby Gabriel's safe return. The vigil took place at Scottsdale's Chaparral Park near McQueary's childhood neighborhood. McQueary said of Baby Gabriel, "I hope he comes back soon... I love him. I want him back more than anything else."

McQueary and Johnson. McQueary has not yet had a face-to-face confrontation with Johnson. He has not visited her in jail. He has not even spoken with her by phone. In a CBS15 interview last night, he said he believes she would not tell him the truth. After her arrest on December 30 2009, Johnson told the police that she had lied to McQueary about murdering Baby Gabriel and that she had instead handed him over to strangers in San Antonio, Texas.

Sources: 620ktar Missing Mother Pleads Not Guilty; nobodymurdercases; tdcaa Can Murder Case Be Viable Without Body; AZCentral Focus of Lost Baby; other sources are embedded