← All Cases / Episode #348
The Case of Zavion Johnson
📻 Episode #348
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Apr 13, 2023
About This Episode
In November of 2001, in Sacramento, CA, four month old Nadia was declared brain dead after being rushed to the hospital the day prior. Nadia’s father, Zavion Johnson, eventually told authorities that he had dropped Nadia by accident when giving her a bath on November 24th and that she was unusually sleepy and ultimately stopped…
Case status as carried in this site's original 2026 profiles. Independent record verification is rolling out episode by episode — statuses are being re-checked against court and registry sources and date-stamped as verified.
The Case
In November of 2001, in Sacramento, CA, four month old Nadia was declared brain dead after being rushed to the hospital the day prior. Nadia’s father, Zavion Johnson, eventually told authorities that he had dropped Nadia by accident when giving her a bath on November 24th and that she was unusually sleepy and ultimately stopped breathing following the accident. But authorities believed that Nadia died from Shaken Baby Syndrome and the prosecution presented three witnesses to attest to this in court. Despite the testimony of 13 character witnesses and a medical expert in his defense, Zavion was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. Jason talks to Zavion Johnson and Paige Kaneb, Zavion's attorney.
We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:04:07“Speaker 1: recent caretaker in this case, a parent comes under suspicion. Speaker 1: But before all of that, Zapp, let's hear about you Speaker 1: and your life. Where did you grow up and how Speaker 1: would you describe yourself as a kid? How was your childhood? Speaker 4: I grew up in Sacramento, California. We was a pretty”
00:16:09“Speaker 1: that this SBS diagnosis requires a huge leap in logic Speaker 1: that ignores all the other potential causes, which, like I Speaker 1: said before, we now know there's at least eighty one others, Speaker 1: and the whole thing seems antithetical to the scientific method. Speaker 1: I mean, do you have any theories at all as”
00:27:44“Speaker 4: stay in my hometown and Sacramento just because you know, Speaker 2: Know, paranoia, you know, living out here. Speaker 4: It just didn't sit well with me. And I was Speaker 4: fortunate enough to live in the Bay Area with one Speaker 2: Team members for about four years.”
Listen to the Episode
🎧 Listen on Omny / the podcast's platforms
🎧 Full episode page — Lava for Good
Resources & links from the episode:
Share this case, follow the organisations working on it, and support the podcast's fight for the innocent at lavaforgood.com.
← #347 Talalelei "TJ" Edwards #349 Gwen Graham →
Also on the podcast: #36 Lorenzo Johnson · #64 Calvin Johnson · #94 Messiah Johnson