Suspects in infant’s death expecting 2nd child > State could seek custody of newborn as police investigate fatal beating of 8-month-old girl

BANGOR — A year has come and gone since 8-month-old Aisha Dickson was beaten to death in her Capehart home, and today two of the three suspects in her death are expecting another baby.

Aisha’s mother and father, Sara Johnson and DeShawn Dickson, separated briefly after Aisha’s death, but have since reunited and are expecting another child.

The couple live in an apartment on Union Street that is paid for by the city. Johnson is working for the city as part of a workfare program that allows her to work off a portion of the rent. It hasn’t been confirmed whether Dickson works in the same program.

The third suspect in Aisha’s beating death is her grandmother, June Johnson, who has moved to Honduras since the baby’s death.

Police still are actively investigating the case, but little progress has been made. All three adults who were in the home when the baby was beaten have refused to cooperate with police, and all retained attorneys immediately after the death.

On Wednesday, Bangor Police Lt. Brian Cox said he was concerned when he heard that Johnson was pregnant again.

“We are concerned that one child has died in this family as a result of injuries that someone inflicted on her, and that could be repeated, obviously,” Cox said. “We can’t, however, ban [Johnson] from having children. We are certainly hoping that DHS will monitor the situation.”

Nancy Carlson, director of the state Bureau of Child and Family Services, said DHS was aware of the situation and said that while she could not speak about the specific case, “In a situation with similar circumstances, we would most likely petition the court and ask to take custody of the child directly from the hospital.”

Ultimately it will be a judge’s decision whether the agency can take custody of the child, Carlson said. DHS will present evidence to the judge to establish why the baby might be at immediate risk of harm. Some of that information could come from the files of the Bangor Police Department.

When asked whether those files would help the agency get a clearer indication of who was responsible for Aisha’s death, Cox said he did not know.

“I don’t know if it will provide them that information to the degree that they need. To some degree, I think everyone in the household is responsible. These beatings had been going on for quite some time,” he said.

It is still not clear if the beatings were done by one person or if others in the family were involved.

“It would certainly indicate that the other members of the family let it happen. It would be hard not to know that this was going on. Some of these injuries were months old. It would be difficult to be unaware,” Cox said.

Aisha’s autopsy revealed that during her eight months of life nearly every bone in her body except her spine had been broken at one time or another. Some of the injuries reportedly could be traced to when she was 2 months old.

Aisha died on Jan. 6, 1995, shortly after being rushed by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center. She had been home that evening with her mother, father and grandmother, and there has been no indication that police are looking beyond those three family members as the search for her killer continues.

Assistant Attorney General William Stokes said Wednesday that he too was concerned about Johnson’s pregnancy, but said there was nothing legally to prevent the couple from having more children.

“Our hope has to be in the state’s ability to protect this child,” Stokes said. “I feel strongly that we have to be vigilant in protecting defenseless infants against unacceptable risk. To me, this risk is simply unacceptable.”

Johnson and Dickson have repeatedly refused to talk to the media in the past, and another attempt to contact them Tuesday was unsuccessful.

It is unknown exactly when the baby is due, though one official indicated the baby may be expected in May — the same month that Aisha was born two years ago.