Family members of a little girl found found deceased and dumped at a hiking trail in California say police arrested the child’s mother and the woman’s boyfriend in connection with the child’s death.
KTLA 5 reports that loved ones of Trinity Love Jones, 9, want to know why the girl was in the custody of her mother, Taquesta Graham, in the first place. Graham is a registered sex offender. The family also said they need to know more about Graham’s boyfriend, Emiel Hunt, who they said is also behind bars in connection with Trinity’s death.
Although the family members claim the pair are in jail on suspicion of murder, authorities have still not officially confirmed the names of the suspects. Police did confirm, however, that they detained two people in connection with Trinity’s death.
“It’s more than just the mother and the boyfriend. We have to get to the bottom of it,” a family member said. “We need justice. We need to figure it out. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this to no one. Everybody deserves an answer.”
According to court documents, Graham was convicted in 2009 of “enticing a minor female for prostitution.” She was released from jail in 2016 and is now on California’s sex offender registry.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department lists Hunt as currently incarcerated, although his exact charges are not listed. His bond amount is listed as $2 million.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Trinity’s father, Antonio Jones, identified the girl as his daughter earlier this week. Trinity was found by maintenance workers last Tuesday at around 10:30 a.m., east of Hacienda Boulevard, next to the Shan Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights.
During a press conference last week, officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said that the deceased girl’s body was partially stuffed inside a black duffel bag.
“Investigators believe that the victim was dumped at the location sometime during the late evening hours of Sunday, March 3,” Lt. Scott Hoglund said. “The victim was in fact found partially inside a black rollaway type duffel bag. The upper portion of the victim was protruding from that bag.”
Antonio reportedly said that a positive DNA match was made to Trinity through a family member. He declined to discuss details on the child’s living situation, claiming he didn’t want to say anything to compromise the case.
“She was just the best,” Jones said. “Full of character, full of life, full of joy…..I just want answers. I just want justice.”
LASD wrote that although the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner- Coroner’s Office “determined the death to be a homicide,” they are not yet saying how the little girl was killed. Authorities plan to hold a press conference with further information at some point this week.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Trinity Jones/ Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office]
