North Texas parents plead guilty to lesser charge less than 2 years after infant daughter's death
Less than two years after an infant girl died of apparent starvation in Mesquite, the child's parents pleaded guilty to a lesser crime and received lengthy prison sentences.
Court records reviewed by CBS News Texas showed that Destiny Avila, now about 25 years old, and Leon Johnson, now about 24 years old, pleaded guilty to injury of a child with intentional severe bodily injury. Both were sentenced on June 8, 2026, and began their prison sentences.
Avila was sentenced to 44 years in prison, with credit for 538 days of time already served in jail. Leon Johnson was handed a 45-year prison sentence with credit for 530 days served in jail.
Both were the parents of Maliyah Johnson, who was just nine months old when she died. They were arrested in December of 2024 after officials in Mesquite said first responders were called to a home along Byrd Drive for an unresponsive child.
Officials said Maliyah Johnson was found dead by first responders, and a police report about her death said she "appeared to be extremely malnourished".
Leon Johnson was first charged with capital murder of a person under 10 years of age. Avila was arrested after further investigation, also leading her to be hit with the same charge.
Mesquite police said the adults did not live together, but did share custody of the child in the weeks leading up to the child's death. An arrest affidavit for Leon Johnson said that, at the time, he told police that the baby had not been eating for a couple of days and would throw up anything she would consume. He continued to say that because of that, he was supplementing with Pedialyte, but was concerned she might overdose.
The affidavit went on to reveal that Leon Johnson told officers on the morning of his daughter's death that he said he woke up to find the baby lying in vomit. He said he picked her up, and she spit up again before making a gurgling sound and falling out of his arms.
"During this time, the child was clearly in medical distress based off her emaciated state," the report states. "The investigation revealed both individuals' inactions led to the starvation and death of the child."