Armani Cotton

Armani Cotton was a bright-eyed 2-year-old African-American girl from Chicago’s South Side who was already learning to count to 10 and say the alphabet. Her family, including her 19-year-old mother, Brittany Cotton, and grandmother, Denise Cotton, adored her. Her grandmother later recalled their final moment together, when the little girl waved and said, "bye-bye," a memory that would become a permanent farewell.

On the morning of Saturday, April 14, 2012, Brittany dropped Armani off at the Englewood home of her boyfriend, Devell M. Johnson, before heading to work. She described Johnson as a long-time friend she loved and trusted, and she had left her daughter in his care several times before without any problems. Later that day, however, police responded to a call about an unresponsive child at Johnson's residence in the 5500 block of South Emerald Avenue. Armani was rushed to Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:42 p.m.

Brittany first learned something was wrong when she received a voicemail from Johnson telling her that he had been unable to wake Armani and that the toddler had been taken to the hospital. When she arrived, she was horrified to find her daughter had already died. Armani’s body was covered in bruises, scratches, and bite marks. An autopsy performed the following day confirmed that her death was a homicide caused by multiple injuries from a beating.

The family was left stunned and devastated. Brittany struggled to understand how her only child could have met such a violent end while in the care of someone she trusted. "Babies fall all the time. They don’t get cuts and bruises and bites," she said, convinced the injuries were not accidental. She expressed her shock, stating that Johnson had never harmed or even disciplined Armani before. "This was someone I loved and trusted to protect her, not harm her," she said. "I don’t understand why this happened to her."

Police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services immediately began investigating. DCFS confirmed it had no previous contact with the family. Authorities took Devell M. Johnson, 23, into custody. On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office charged him with one count of first-degree murder. As of April 2012, the case was proceeding to court.