Baby Gabriel Update: Mother Points Finger at Co-Defendent
PHOENIX (CBS/KPHO) Elizabeth Johnson still isn't talking about the whereabouts of her son Gabriel, but she has apparently been pointing fingers at her co-defendent Tammi Smith.
PICTURES: Baby Gabriel Johnson Missing
Johnson disappeared with Gabriel Dec. 26, 2009, but when police picked her up Dec. 30 in Miami, Gabriel was nowhere to be found.
The 23-year-old mother told police she gave the child away to strangers in San Antonio, where her car was found. But police say she told a different story to the baby's father, Logan McQueary, in a text message, saying she had killed the baby. She said she would tell him where to find Gabriel's "little blue body" when she was "safe" adding "if the garbage don't [sic] come first."
CBS affiliate KPHO has uncovered a new version of the story that Johnson is apparently telling prosecutors: Smith set the whole exchange up.
Prosecutors reportedly met with Johnson in the Estrella County Jail recently and she said that Smith was behind arrangements in Texas to hand Gabriel to an anonymous couple. Prosecutors then convinced her to confront Smith by telephone and attempted to set up a sting to get Smith to incriminate herself, KPHO reports.
Johnson can be heard on the audio tape assuring Smith that the call is not being recorded before confronting her about statements Smith had made in the media about Johnson, according to the station.
PICTURES: Baby Gabriel Johnson Missing
"I can't hide all of this anymore. Your involvement in all of it. All the plans that you made and you are completely denying all of it," Johnson said.
"You wanted the baby and you had a million plans how to get the baby," Johnson continued.
During the call, Johnson accused Smith of calling friends in Texas and arranging for a couple to meet Johnson and Gabriel in a park for the hand-off.
"I never called them. You called them! It was all set up by you. I did everything you told me to do," Johnson said.
"You are a liar! A liar!" Smith replied.
Johnson goes on to accuse Smith of throwing her "under the bus" in her interviews with the media, Smith then tells her, "Elizabeth, you belong under the bus. You gave your baby away," KPHO reported.
At that point Johnson seems to lose her cool and exclaims that she gave Gabriel to Smith, to which Smith replies, "You said you killed the baby. So you know what America believes? Is that you killed the baby," said Smith.
Johnson tries to convince Smith to call the couple and tell them to drop Gabriel off at a church, but Smith appears unaffected.
Finally once it is apparent that whatever bond the two women had was severed, Smith seems to issue a warning to Johnson against saying anything else about the mystery couple.
"Imagine this scenario, Elizabeth. What if these people get found?," Smith said. "Or they're scared that they're gonna get found and what if they decide, 'You know what, let's kill Gabriel the way Elizabeth said she killed him. Let's put him in a bag and suffocate him, put him in a diaper bag and throw him in a dumpster. Nobody will ever know that it will be us.'"
Both women face conspiracy to commit custodial interference charges. At this point, Johnson is the only one with the added charge of kidnapping.