By the age of 22, Martha Ann Johnson had been married three times. Her first marriage resulted in a daughter born in 1971. Her second marriage produced a son in 1975. Her third marriage, to Earl Bowen, yielded two more children: a son in 1979 and a daughter in 1980.

Between 1977 and 1982, Johnson's four children died under suspicious circumstances, each death occurring during or shortly after periods of marital discord between Johnson and Bowen. Initially attributed to natural causes such as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or medical complications, these deaths raised suspicions over time.​

James William Taylor (23 months old): On September 23, 1977, Johnson reported that her son, James, was unresponsive after a nap. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the cause of death initially attributed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 

Tabitha Jenelle Bowen (3 months old): On November 30, 1980, Johnson claimed that her daughter, Tabitha, appeared blue and unresponsive after a nap. Paramedics were unable to revive her, and her death was also attributed to SIDS. 

Earl Wayne Bowen (2 years old): In January 1981, Earl was found with rat poison but survived after treatment. He later developed seizures and, on February 12, 1981, went into cardiac arrest during a seizure. He was revived but declared brain dead and removed from life support on February 15, 1981. ​

Jenny Ann Wright (11 years old): On February 21, 1982, paramedics found Jenny Ann face down on Johnson's bed with foam around her mouth. An autopsy indicated she died of asphyxia.

In December 1989, an article in The Atlanta Constitution questioned the nature of these deaths, prompting authorities to reopen the cases. Investigators noted that each child's death was preceded by marital issues between Johnson and Bowen. On July 3, 1989, Johnson was arrested and confessed to suffocating two of her children by rolling her 250-pound body onto them as they slept, claiming she did so to punish her husband. She denied involvement in the deaths of her two youngest children. Before her trial began in April 1990, Johnson retracted her confession.

Nevertheless, on May 5, 1990, she was convicted of murder for the smothering death of her 11-year-old daughter, Jenny Ann Wright, and sentenced to life in prison. She was incarcerated at Pulaski State Prison until her parole on March 23, 2020.