Defendant Errol Johnson (left) enters the courtroom before his trial for first-degree murder in perpetration of aggravated child neglect, in the death of his 12 year-old daughter, Andrea Ruth, in Judge Bobby Carter's Division 3 courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- The trial has begun in the case of a Millington father charged in the death of his 12-year-old disabled daughter, who died from gangrene and infected bedsores.
The Commercial Appeal reports that opening statements began Tuesday in 44-year-old Errol Johnson's trial.
Assistant District Attorney Carrie Bush says Johnson is responsible for the death of Andrea Ruth, who died in November 2012. An autopsy revealed she died from sepsis from gangrene. Authorities say the child's wounds were so advanced that maggots were seen crawling out of her bandages.
Johnson's public defender Nigel Lewis argued that Johnson was a loving father and the stable force in the home.
The cases of two other people, the child's mother, 37-year-old Raven Ruth, and a home-health aide, 43-year-old Chasara Jones, are pending.