California police have identified the body of a girl who was found in a duffle bag on a hiking trail last Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office believes 9-year-old, Trinity Love Jones, had been left on the Hacienda Heights trail late in the evening on March 3.
As reported by Dearly, detectives have not determined if she was left in the suitcase dead or alive, reports KTLA.
The sheriff’s department statement said in a written statement:
Although the Coroner’s Office determined the death to be a homicide, the cause of death is being withheld.
Investigators have detained two persons of interest in this case and they are actively continuing their investigation.
The child’s father Antonio Jones identified her remains, reports the Daily Mail.
According to FOX 8, when police found Trinity, the girl’s “head and upper body had been protruding from the partially zipped roll-away black duffel bag.”
Trinity was the youngest daughter of Antonio Jones. On Sunday, the dad said he learned about his daughter’s death through a phone call. Jones told KTLA:
“Words can’t explain what I’m feeling right now. I just want answers. I just want justice. She was just the best. Full of character, full of life, full of joy.”
The case has been ruled a homicide but officials declined to confirm the cause of the child’s death. Deputy Tracey Koerner of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said:
Although the Coroner’s Office determined the death to be a homicide, the cause of death is being withheld.
As additional facts are established and verified, investigators anticipate that additional information will be available for release during a press conference later in the week.
Family members gathered for a vigil for the 9-year-old near the trail where she was found on Sunday.
The case has shocked the community.
Anyone with information pertaining to the case is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
