The body of 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones was found in a duffel bag along a hiking trail last week in California, now the boyfriend of the child’s mother has been charged with murder, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Emiel Hunt, 38, was arrested Saturday and was being held on a $2 million bond, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office said.
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Family identifies Trinity Love Jones, 9, as the girl found dead in a duffel bag on a Hacienda Heights trail last Tuesday. The coroner has ruled the death a homicide. https://t.co/323l26JOJb pic.twitter.com/vJaMAnRLRo
— KCAL News (@kcalnews) March 11, 2019
Hunt reportedly spent more than a decade in prison on a torture and child abuse conviction from 2005, according to San Diego County court records, NBCWashington reported. Upon his release, his father said he pleaded with his son to attend church and straighten out his life. But Hunt refused, so the two became estranged, the report states.
“He wanted to do what he wanted to do and we have rules and regulations here. He couldn’t abide by rules and regulations so we don’t have any contact [for years],” Hunt’s father said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that the body discovered inside a duffle bag on a Hacienda Heights hiking trail was identified as Jones. Hunt is accused of killing her on or about March 1, according to the criminal complaint.
“He needs help. If he did this, he needs help. I’ve already prayed for him,” Hunt’s father added.
“Words can’t explain what I’m feeling right now,” said the girl’s father, Anthony Jones, Sunday at the memorial site. “I just want answers. I just want justice. She was just the best— full of character, full of life, full of joy.”
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The girl’s mother, Taquesta Graham, was reportedly taken into custody over the weekend, but no charges have been filed against her.
When asked if he thought his son’s prior child abuse conviction played a role in Jones’ death, Hunt’s father replied, “It could have. I would say yes.”
“Even if it includes Emiel, justice needs to play out. Whatever justice needs to happen. I’m not the law. It’s in the hands of the law. If you do a crime you take your punishment,” he said.