Trinity Love Jones case: a mother arrested in connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl in Southern California

Trinity Love Jones seen on undated photos.

CBS Los Angeles

The mother of Trinity Loves Jones – a 9-year-old girl whose body was found in a gym bag near a suburban horse trail near Los Angeles – was selected as the second suspect in the US. Monday's murder of the child, CBS reported Los Angeles. .

Authorities say Taquesta Graham, 28, was extradited from Texas on March 14 to Los Angeles. She has been on bail ever since. Charges should be filed Wednesday, followed by an indictment, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Graham's boyfriend, Emiel Hunt – whose authorities claim that he was convicted in 2005 for child abuse in San Diego – was accused of Jones's murder. Hunt was found sleeping in his vehicle near the San Diego International Airport on March 9, according to Sheriff officials.

The detention of Hunt was delayed until April 16. He is still jailed instead of a $ 2 million bail.

If he is found guilty, Hunt incurs a sentence of up to 50 years in prison in a state prison.

The body of the girl was found around 5 am on March 5, at the bottom of an embankment at Hacienda Heights, east of Los Angeles. The body, found by county workers clearing scrub, was partly in black fleece, with his head and upper body coming out of the partially zipped bag, the authorities said.

While the sheriff's homicide investigators investigated the case, Hunt and Graham were intercepted in the Hunt's off-road vehicle at about 6 pm on March 8 at a border patrol checkpoint. in Hudspeth County, Texas, officials said.

"Graham was arrested for an independent warrant and Hunt was released," according to a statement from the sheriff's department stating that Los Angeles County investigators were unaware of the arrest.

After Graham's arrest, Hunt began returning to California, officials said.

Graham, Hunt and Jones left the home of a family member in Long Beach in May 2018 and, in the last 10 months, their extended family had limited contact with them, according to the Sheriff's Department.

They were homeless just before the girl's death and lived in a motel in Santa Fe Springs or in their vehicle, officials said.

Investigators previously announced that they thought that Trinity's body had been left along the equestrian trail within 48 hours of their discovery, but since then they have come to believe that she had been left behind. on the scene in the afternoon of March 1, according to the sheriff's department.

Jones' family said that she loved to dress like a princess.

"Trinity was our princess," said Jones's cousin, Sytrice Oldham-Edmond.

Jones was found wearing a shirt bearing the inscription "FUTURE PRINCESS HERO".

"My family and I are devastated to lose her, she deserved nothing of that, she did not deserve to be thrown like a junk," said Oldham-Edmond. "Trinity will be sorely missed."

Jones' father, who did not have custody of his daughter, posted a 22-minute video on Facebook, expressing frustration.

"She can not tell me how much she loves me, she can not tell me how much I miss her," he said.