(LOS ANGELES) — The boyfriend of the mother of a 9-year-old girl whose body was found in a duffel bag on a horse trail was charged Tuesday with one count of murder.
Emiel Hunt, 38, allegedly killed Trinity Love Jones about March 1, according to charges filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The dead girl was found March 5 by a park worker who spotted part of her upper body, wearing a pink shirt that said, “Future Princess Hero,” sticking out of a black duffel bag at the bottom of an embankment in Hacienda Heights, just southeast of Los Angeles.
There were no obvious signs of trauma on her body. Authorities have not revealed a cause of death or motive.
Hunt, who has a record of felony child abuse, was arrested Saturday when he was found sleeping in his vehicle near San Diego International Airport.
Hunt was one of two people detained in the ongoing investigation. The Los Angeles sheriff did not name the so-called person of interest in the ongoing investigation.
Hunt faces arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pomona.
If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 50 years to life in state prison, prosecutors said.
Hunt was being held on $2 million bail and could not be reached for comment.
