Bulloch County family adopts three sisters; Family says girls are ‘thriving’ six years after DFACS removal

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - Three young sisters removed from a Bulloch County home following the 2020 death of their 2-year-old brother have been adopted by a local family.

The Boyd family tells us the girls are now thriving.

Sandra Boyd and her husband were foster-to-adopt parents when the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services called, asking if they would take in three of the siblings of Kaleb DaShawn Johnson, who died from a traumatic brain injury on June 14, 2020.

Last month, the girls’ birth mother, Dorothy Deshay Johnson, pleaded guilty to cruelty to children in the second degree and received five years’ probation for Kaleb’s death. Multiple charges, including two counts of murder, were dropped as part of the plea deal.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Statesboro mom walks away with probation after toddler’s 2020 death, murder charges dropped

‘They were our missing puzzle piece’

The Boyd family adopted Skylar, Faith and Hope — who were 3 years old, 14 months old, and 6 weeks old, when they arrived in 2020 after DFACS removed them from Johnson’s home.

“They’re fully adopted,” Sandra Boyd said. “They’re 110% ours. They were our missing puzzle piece to our family that we needed.”

Boyd said the girls came to them with serious needs. One of the children was initially suspected of having shaken baby syndrome but was later determined to be malnourished. All 3 girls have different forms of autism.

Faith was nonverbal when she first arrived. Skylar, the oldest, still remembers parts of her life before the adoption.

“She’s more traumatized than anything because she remembers quite a bit,” Boyd said. “Years and years of therapy to get her to where she is today. Many, many years.”

Girls described as ‘bubbly,’ bonded with siblings

Boyd said the girls have bonded closely with their other siblings in the years since the adoption and are active in dance and cheerleading.

“People said they are lucky to have you, but the truth is I’m lucky to have them,” Boyd said.

“It was a long, long, hard road, emotionally, physically, and mentally,” she said, “but they were worth every second of every trauma that we’ve endured together. They were worth every bit of it.”

Concerns remain for other children

Boyd said she remains concerned about Johnson’s other children who are still connected to her care following Kaleb’s death.

“He did not get the justice that he deserves,” Boyd said. “And highly concerned about the other siblings that are still involved in a daily routine with her.”

Under the terms of Johnson’s probation, DFACS is in charge of the parenting plan and access to her other children. Johnson is also prohibited from using alcohol or drugs, possessing firearms or ammunition, or violating any laws.

We’re told 4 children are technically in her custody. 2 are incarcerated at the YDC, and the two other children in her care are a pre-teen and a baby.

Boyd encouraged other families considering fostering or adoption to take that step like her family did, or reach out in your own community to see how you can help.

“Sometimes you just don’t know where that empty void is there until you meet the children who are in need,” she said. “And once you meet them, you just fall in love and they become a part of you.”

The Boyd family said their focus now is making sure the girls continue to feel safe and loved.

Foster care need remains high in Georgia

According to Foster Georgia, more than 11,000 children are currently in foster care statewide. Within a one-hour radius of Statesboro, roughly 600 children are in foster care.

According to the Georgia Court Improvement Program, 24 children were in foster care in Bulloch County as of September 2025. Over the previous year, 47 children spent time in foster care in the county.