Mother and father of missing "Baby Gabriel" face to face in Ariz. court
(CBS/KPHO) PHOENIX - The mother of "Baby Gabriel," Elizabeth Johnson, put him in a car and drove him to Texas over a year ago, but her stories as to what happened to him once they got to San Antonio are all over the map.
PICTURES:
Baby Gabriel Johnson Missing
"It pisses me off to see her," said Logan McQueary, Gabriel's father, who broke his silence Monday for several reasons, as Johnson appeared in court for the first time in months.
She kept staring at McQueary, trying to catch his gaze. But those glances were not returned.
"I noticed that. It just angers me. I've gotten to the point that I don't know what to do so I don't want to see her," said McQueary.
Johnson's attorneys are still trying to get the case thrown out, arguing that last summer, Johnson was questioned by a San Antonio detective without her attorneys present. But while taking that motion under advisement, the judge set a preliminary trial date for Johnson for Aug. 8.
The trial of Tammi Smith, Johnson's alleged accomplice, will begin sometime in September.
McQueary stayed silent for several months because he said he feels this case, including charges of kidnapping, child abuse and conspiracy against Johnson, is the only chance for his family to get justice for Gabriel. And McQueary said he was afraid that by speaking publicly, he would somehow mess it up.
PICTURES:
Baby Gabriel Johnson Missing
But with every day that goes by, his hope for a happy outcome and a reunion with Gabriel fades.
"I've thought about it that way that I may never see him again and we may never know what happened to him and I don't know what I would do. I still have to think about that fact that I don't know if I'll ever give him a funeral or if he's out there. I didn't even get to celebrate his first birthday with him," said McQueary.
According to investigators, Johnson has twice admitted to killing Gabriel. But she now maintains that she gave the boy away to a couple in a Texas park, a couple who Johnson says her alleged accomplice, Smith, arranged for her to meet. The judge agreed Monday to try the women separately, but that doesn't mean either of them will talk.
"Will Tammi Smith testify in Elizabeth's trial?," KPHO asked Smith's attorney, Anne Phillips. "Don't know yet," Phillips answered.
PICTURES:
Baby Gabriel Johnson Missing
McQueary said he is glad the trial is finally moving forward, but he doesn't expect much from either defendant. He told KPHO he hopes the judge remembers who this case is really about.
Asked whether Elizabeth Johnson should ever see the outside of the jail again, McQueary said, "Not for what she did. No. Especially if Gabriel is out there somewhere and we don't know where he is. Why should she be able to get out of jail and live her life?"