Credit: Bristol Township police
“Go ahead and breathe. It’s better for you, it’s better for me.”
That is what Marcel Johnson sang in his 2010 original song “Breathe.”
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On Tuesday afternoon in Doylestown, a jury of his peers decided that Marcel Johnson should stop breathing.
The 22-year-old Bristol Township man was sentenced to death for the murder of R’mani Rankins, 4, and life in prison for the killing of five-months pregnant Ebony Talley, 22.
Johnson was found guilty last week of two counts of first degree criminal homicide, a single count of third-degree criminal homicide, arson and possession of an instrument of crime.
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Johnson, according to prosecutors, killed Ebony, her unborn child and R’Mani on November 25, 2013 in a subletted apartment at the Avalon Court complex on Bristol-Oxford Valley Road in Bristol Township before setting fire to it in an effort to try to hide the crime. Their bodies were discovered by first responders responding to the fire call.
According to articles from Calkins Media reporter Hayden Mitman, it was revealed in court that Johnson suffered mistreatment and neglect at the hands of his mother.
The Associated Press reported prosecutors told the jury during the penalty phase of the case that Johnson intended to inflict pain on the victims, while the defense pointed out Johnson’s trouble youth.
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“He didn’t just kill Ebony with evil in his heart and specific intent in his mind, but he tortured her,” Assistant District Attorney Matt Weintraub said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Both Talley and Johnson were involved in the Lower Bucks County drug trade. During the trial, it was revealed that bags similar to those used to package heroin were found near Talley’s body, and the prosecution argued Johnson wanted more of her business.
A coroner testified Talley suffered around 30 stab wounds from her knees up. Talley’s womb carrying a male fetus was punctured and the baby died from his mother’s injuries. The little girl died from a large stab wound on her upper chest and suffered third-degree burns on her stomach, according to testimony.
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R’mani was known by friends and family to be a normal little girl who was full of life. James Parrish, godfather to R’mani, said at a candlelight vigil in 2013 that Talley was all about her daughter.
With Johnson’s sentencing, he becomes the sixth person to be sentenced to death for crimes committed in Bucks County. The 22 year old joins Frank Chester (1989), Robert Diamond (2009), Robert Flor (2006), Richard Laird (1989) and Alfonso Sanchez (2008) on death row.
