Boyfriend Charged With Homicide In 3-year-old Mattasia Bowie's Death

Mattasia A. Bowie, 3.

District Attorney's Office modified charges in childs death.

By H. Nelson Goodson
October 14, 2010

Milwaukee - On Thursday, the Milwaukee District Attorney's Office charged a boyfriend with homicide and mother with child neglect in the death of a three year old child. Mattaya Bowie, 20, was charged with child neglect, resulting in the death of her daughter Mattasia Bowie, 3, and her boyfriend Jeremy Pierre Johnson, 21, was charged with count one of child abuse and count 2 of first degree reckless homicide. The charges were modified Thursday after results of an autopsy indicated Mattasia had die of forced blunt trauma to the head. She also had an intoxicated level of methadone that contributed to her death, according to the autopsy results.

Johnson told police that on September 30th, he picked up Mattasia at a daycare and took her home. Once at home, Johnson heard Mattasia fall in a pile of toys. When he went to check on her, she was crying and wouldn't stop crying. He then slapped her to make Mattasia stop crying. She wouldn't stop, so he grabbed Mattasia and threw her against the wall, according to the criminal complaint.
When her mother came home from work, Johnson told her Mattasia had fallen on some toys.
Mattasia's grandmother told police that she saw Mattasia on Friday and she was showing some bruises and told Mattaya to take her see a doctor.
On October 2, Mattaya took Mattasia to the Aurora Sinai Samaritan Medical Center. Mattasia died a couple of hours later of head trauma and her mother was arrested at the hospital after doctors reported the death to police.
The beating incident occurred in the 1600 block of S. 20th Street in a lower basement apartment, according to the criminal complaint.
Bowie's cash bond was set at $25,000 and for Johnson was set at $100,000. Both remain in custody.

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