Who is Naomi Aragon? Mom of missing ‘Baby Gabriel’ legally changes identity as case resurfaces
TEMPE, ARIZONA: The sudden disappearance of 'Baby Gabriel' has tormented the Tempe valley for more than a decade. The true-crime case revolves around a toddler named Gabriel who went missing from Tempe in 2009 just after Christmas, not to be seen ever again to this day. His mother, Elizabeth Johnson, was considered the prime suspect in the case and was arrested but released later due to lack of evidence. Johnson initially claimed that she killed her son and then said she gave him away to a couple at a park.
The investigation is still ongoing with no proper leads but it seems now the infant's mother is taking new steps to alienate herself completely from the 12-year-old-crime case. According to azfamily, Johnson went to court to legally change her name. The saddest part of the entire ordeal is that while Gabriel's family is desperately trying to find the answers to what happened on that particular day and is doing anything and everything they can to find out the truth, Johnson is leading a completely different life without assisting the authorities, had another baby, and now is assuming a new identity.
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There is still a glimmer of hope among Gabriel's family members that the baby is alive, probably living with another family in a different identity. He would now be 13 years old. It was the phone call that changed the entire plot of the criminal case. Elizabeth Johnson called her ex Logan McQueary in December of 2009, claiming she killed their baby Gabriel in Texas before changing her story, then telling him she gave Gabriel away to a couple at a Texas park. When she was arrested by the police in Texas, she told them that she made the claim only to get back at the father for a custody dispute.
It’s a true crime case that’s gripped AZ - ‘Baby Gabriel’ went missing in 2009. His mother, Elizabeth Johnson, first said she killed him, then said she gave him away. He’s never been found, but now she's taken legal steps to try to make the story go away by changing her identity. pic.twitter.com/YaDj8EpfBV
— Briana Whitney (@BrianaWhitney) November 2, 2022
Johnson, who later changed her name to Elizabeth Martinez, served five years in prison for custodial interference but police never found Gabriel or enough evidence to charge her with murder. The case went to trial and jurors couldn’t reach a verdict. At the time, Johnson said in court, “there are things I need to do to be a better person and be who I want to be,” according to ABC News. Martinez was granted a legal name change this year to “Naomi Aragon” after citing “stalker and harassment” as a reason for seeking the change.
Gabriel’s great aunt, Sandy Peters said, "I feel like she’s probably trying to hide from us. She’s probably…there are a lot of people who watch her or try to watch her and see what she’s up to." She also added, "If this ends up on Hulu or Netflix or Paramount+ or whatever streaming is out there, it’s got such a bigger exposure than anything we’ve been able to do so far." The case is now being investigated by Project Absentis, a nonprofit made up of former FBI agents, detectives, and intelligence officials. The official on Gabriel’s case is a former FBI special agent for 26 years.
“It’s frustrating to know that she does have this beautiful little girl, that she’s getting to be ‘Mommy’ to, and yet Logan isn’t getting a chance to be ‘Daddy’ to Gabriel,” Peters said.