Missing 7-Year-old Aja Johnson's Body Found in Car in Woods, Medical Examiners Confirm
OKLAHOMA CITY The two bodies found Monday in a wooded area in rural Norman have been identified by state medical examiners as 7-year-old Aja Johnson and her 46-year-old stepfather Lester Hobbs. The cause and manner of death won't be determined until results from toxicology tests are received, which could take three to six weeks.
Police found the decomposing bodies of Hobbs and the child in her mother's Toytota Paseo off State Highway 9 near Lake Thunderbird in rural Norman.
Norman Master Police Officer Jennifer Newell said that based on the decomposition of the bodies, they were likely at the scene for more than a month.
Hobbs and the child have been missing since Aja's mother, Tonya Hobbs, was found dead Jan. 24 inside Lester Hobbs' motor home in Geronimno, about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
State lawmakers have criticized the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's search for the missing child and her alleged abductor, claiming it didn't handle the investigation well.
"I think we need a full-fledged report on this investigation, day by day, what was going on in their agency to find Hobbs. He was right under our nose," said Rep. Richard Morrissette of Oklahoma City.
Morrissette noted the car Hobbs and Johnson were in was easily visible from the air.
"Something went wrong here," Morrissette said. "I want to know, who knew about the tips and when did they know it? People around the lake...had a suspicion (Hobbs) might be in the area."
OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said she would "welcome a conversation" with Morrissette about the investigation.
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January 27, 2010 - Aja Daniell Johnson Missing: Murdered Mother Feared Husband Would Smash Daughter with Hammer
January 25, 2010 - Aja Daniell Johnson Missing, Her Mother Found Dead; Will They Find 7-Year-Old in Time? (Amber Alert)