Two Detained In Death Of Trinity Jones

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives arrested two people in connection with the death of 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones, whose body was dumped near a a Hacienda Heights hiking trail, police announced Monday.

Police announced the arrests just hours after Trinity's family confirmed her identity to reporters. Little is known about the pair arrested nor their relationship to Trinity, whose tragic death has gripped the community. On Sunday, they created a memorial where her body was found with candles, flowers, balloons, stuffed animals and photos. Hours after Trinity was identified as the girl in the duffle bag, her family called for justice.

"Words can't explain what I'm feeling right now," Anthony Jones, Trinity's father, said at the memorial site Sunday. "I just want answers. I just want justice. She was just the best -- full of character, full of life, full of joy."

Jones said he learned of his youngest daughter's death through a telephone call.

Authorities did not say who they arrested as "persons of interest" in the case. Detectives spent days trying to confirm the little girl's identity after county workers found her body Tuesday partially inside of a black roll-away type duffel bag with her head and upper body protruding from the bag left at the bottom of an embankment. But it didn't take long after coroner's officials identified her for police to take the pair into custody.

An autopsy was completed earlier this week on the body and determined she was between 8 and 13 years old and described as black, about 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighing about 55 pounds.

The cause of the girl's death was determined to be a homicide, the coroner's office said.

The sheriff's department had released a composite sketch of the girl on Wednesday, along with photos of a pink long-sleeve top with the words "Future Princess Hero" and gray pants with pandas on them that she was wearing when her body was found.

County workers clearing some brush in the area uncovered the youngster's remains.

"It's a sad moment for the department, for the community, and we're going to do our best to figure out what led to the suspicious death of the child involved," Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a news conference last week. "I've directed the investigators to spare no effort to find out what happened."

Lt. Scott Hoglund said investigators believe the girl was left in light brush adjacent to the equestrian trail in the late evening hours of March 3, about a day-and-a-half before her body was found.

Authorities are seeking help from anyone who saw anything suspicious on Hacienda Boulevard -- including a vehicle pulled over to the side -- during that time frame or recognizes the composite sketch of the girl or the clothing she was wearing.

Investigators do not know if the girl was alive or dead when she was placed inside the bag, Hoglund said.

"The motive at this time is unknown," Hoglund told reporters.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.