Mother of ‘Baby Gabriel’ leaves Arizona jail after parole violation

PHOENIX — A woman who went to prison in the much-publicized disappearance of her infant son has been released from an Arizona jail, where she spent nearly three weeks for a probation violation.

Elizabeth Johnson served 20 days in a Maricopa County jail for breaking terms of her parole.

Johnson covered her face and had no comment for journalists who swarmed her as she left jail Thursday morning and left in a taxi.

Johnson acknowledged in court that she traveled from her home in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, without permission to visit a friend in Arizona last July. The two had met in prison.

She was arrested in March.

Johnson spent 4 ½ years in prison for convictions in the 2009 disappearance of her 8-month-old son Gabriel. The boy, who became known as “Baby Gabriel,” has not been found.

A jury found her guilty of unlawful imprisonment, custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial interference. She was found not guilty of kidnapping.

Gabriel was last seen with his mother on Dec. 26, 2009, at a hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

Authorities said Johnson told the boy’s father that she killed Gabriel and dumped him in a trash bin in San Antonio, Texas. But they say she later recanted and told police she gave the baby to a couple at a San Antonio park. She never provided the couple’s names.

Johnson served nearly three years in county jail as she awaited trial and then a 19-month prison stint. She was released from Perryville women’s prison in July 2014.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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