RANDALLSTOWN, Md. -- A Baltimore-area man, who police say thought his son was Jesus Christ and had to die for the sins of the world, was denied bail Monday after being charged with first-degree murder in the decapitation of his 14-month-old boy.
Baltimore County police said Stephen Johnson, 28, was charged with first-degree murder and held at police headquarters in Towson.
Johnson began arguing with his wife Carla, 26, in the kitchen of their Randallstown home Sunday evening and told her that he was God and that his son was 'Jesus Christ reborn,' said police.
Johnson then grabbed his son, Steven, picked up a butcher knife and told his wife they both had to die, officers said.
Mrs. Johnson told police her husband said, 'Steven, the two of us are going to have to die for the sins of the world.'
When Mrs. Johnson tried to grab the child from her husband, he cut her on the shoulder, police said. She then ran from the house to call police.
After authorities arrived, a paramedic tried to talk Johnson into giving up the child but the man refused.
A few hours later Johnson held the front door slightly ajar and police saw that he was holding something in his arms.
'He was holding like a sack of potatoes,' a patrolman who was at the scene said, 'and it was difficult at first to tell if it was a child or a doll.'
But police said it became obvious by the blood on Johnson's body that he was holding the child.
Officers forced their way into the home and as they grappled with Johnson, the severed head of his son fell to one side of the hallway while the body fell to another, police said.
Ms. Johnson was treated at Baltimore County General Hospital and released.
