The mother of a 9-year-old girl, whose body was found partially stuffed inside a large duffel bag, was extradited to Los Angeles from Texas this morning.
Investigators booked 28-year-old Taquesta Graham at the LA County Sheriff's Norwalk Station and she's being held without bail.
Los Angeles prosecutors charged a man in the killing of a 9-year-old girl whose body was found in a duffel bag along a suburban horse trail.
Emiel Hunt was charged Tuesday with murder in the killing of Trinity Love Jones.
The girl's body was found March 5 in the Los Angeles-area suburb of Hacienda Heights.
Hunt faces arraignment Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pomona.
Authorities have not released information on the 38-year-old's connection to the girl or information about how she was killed.
Prosecutors say Hunt has a previous child abuse conviction from 2005 in San Diego County.
If convicted, Hunt faces a sentence of up to 50 years to life in state prison.
Hunt was in custody and could not be reached for comment.
He was one of two people detained in connection with the death.
Family members who created a memorial of candles, flowers, balloons, stuffed animals and photos near where the girl's body was found, confirmed the girl's identity.
"Words can't explain what I'm feeling right now," Anthony Jones, Trinity's father, said at the memorial site. "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.
The girl's body was located about 10 a.m. Tuesday "partially inside of a black roll-away type duffel bag," with her head and upper body protruding from the partially zipped bag left at the bottom of an embankment close to Colima Road and the 3400 block of Hacienda Boulevard, near the His Lai Buddhist Temple, Lt. Scott Hoglund said.
An autopsy was completed last week on the body and determined she was between 8 and 13 years old, black, about 4 feet 5 and 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 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."
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.
Deputy Tracy Koerner is with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department:
"The victim was discovered when some city workers were cleaning along an equestrian trail," he said.
Investigators have not released the cause of death either at this point.
They would like people with information on the case to call the sheriff's department.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
-AP, KNX 1070 and CNS
