Missing 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones’ body has been found in a duffel bag and it was identified that she has been bruised and abused for months.
What We Know:
- Her body was found in Hacienda Heights partially stuffed inside of a duffel bag. A medical examiner drew multiple diagrams to capture all of her scars.
- The Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho ruled there was enough evidence against the girl’s mom, Taquesta Graham, and her Graham’s boyfriend, Emiel Hunt for the state to proceed to trial. Both have been charged with murder and torture but have plead not guilty.
- The evidence that was presented at the preliminary hearing included text messages between Graham and Hunt that allegedly show they had beaten and starved the girl numerous times over a long period of time. Trinity had even developed an infection on her feet that made it painful when she wore shoes.
- “It’s clear that these were intentional acts and the defendants acted with conscious disregard,” Camacho said.
- Investigators also came across another set of text messages between Hunt and Graham talking about punishing Trinity for peeing on herself. “Trinity is going to get it,” said Graham in the messages.
- Hunt and Graham apparently told police that two weeks before Trinity died that she had fallen and hit her head. L.A. County Sheriff’s Det. Marc Boisvert testified that the girl had a huge lump on her forehead and both of her eyes were swollen.
- Graham told investigators that Trinity was congested back in February 2019 so she gave her Pedialyte, soup and a bagel. Soon after this, she had a seizure.
- Furthermore, Graham and Hunt tell slightly different stories involving an incident one night after the three returned to a hotel. According to Graham, Hunt carried Trinity to her room and when she checked on her daughter later on that night, she wasn’t breathing. She also stated that she believed that Hunt had placed a pillow over the child’s face.
- According to Hunt, he told police that when he woke up late and noticed Trinity wasn’t breathing, he and Graham “freaked out” because they both have criminal histories.
Both parties believed that they apparently did nothing.
