
A Nevada mother is demanding justice for her toddler who fell to his death out of a window in 2024. The boy was being watched by his step-grandmother at the time of his death. Police ruled the death an accident, and declined to file any charges. Now, nearly a year after his death, the family says it’s not enough.
The mother wants the police to reopen the investigation. In her mind, there is more work they could have done. She wants to understand why police never charged the step-grandmother, even if the fall wasn’t intentional.
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Chandler Johnson, 2, was being watched by his step-grandmother, Darla McDermott. The woman told police that she left Chandler on the arm of the couch so he could look out the window and watch the big construction vehicles, KOLO-TV reported. She went to use the bathroom, and when she came back, the toddler was gone.
“I’ll never forget that day,” McDermott told KOLO-TV. “I have nightmares all the time. This guy hollered at me, asked if it was my kid. I looked down, and he was laying on the concrete.” First responders tried to save the boy’s life, but they weren’t successful.

“You don’t ever expect to hear; ‘I’m sorry, your son is deceased,‘” Chandler’s mother, Gabryelle Johnson, told the outlet. Her entire life changed when her son died on April 11, 2024.
“I immediately dropped to my knees and started screaming and crying,” she recalled.
According to KOLO-TV, Sparks Police never charged McDermott with any crime. But Johnson and her mother, Stella McDaniel, are critical of their decision. They claim that the police told them that the department can’t charge every parent whose actions lead to the death of a child.
But as Johnson and McDaniel have pointed out, not only is McDermott not the boy’s mother, she isn’t even a blood relative. Additionally, they have questions about the police investigation. The women claim they believe McDermott left Chandler alone for longer than 30 seconds.
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“I don’t understand how someone gets away with killing a child,” McDaniel said. “She was the one who was the adult in the apartment. She’s the one that left him alone with the window wide open. He wouldn’t be dead if she hadn’t done what she did.”
McDaniel has strong feelings about the whole situation. “You have to be accountable for the things you’ve done and be accountable for the pain you caused my family because you couldn’t shut your window, and you couldn’t make him safe,” she said.
The women have hired a lawyer to help force the police to do more. But Sparks Police released a statement saying “At this time, there are no pending charges, and no further information will be released at this time.”
But Johnson wants them to do “better.” She says “My son’s death is not to be pushed under the rug.” There is a GoFundMe to support the family as they continue their fight.