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13-year-old Kei’Mani Latigue’s body was found in a burned, abandoned building — after her father, now accused of her murder, went on TV and spoke about her disappearance.
An Ohio father is behind bars following the grisly murder of his teen daughter, just one week after he went on television when she was first reported missing.
Kei’Mani Latigue, 13, was reported missing by her family in Toledo, Ohio on March 18. On Sunday, March 23, a warrant for abduction was issued for her father, Darnell Jones, and a manhunt for him began. Then, on Monday, March 24, Latigue’s body was found in a dilapidated, burned down building in Toledo.
The following day, the Lucas County Coroner’s Office said the cause of death was “multiple incised wounds of the neck” and ruled a homicide. A warrant for Murder was then issued for Jones by Toledo Police.
On Tuesday, Jones was arrested in Columbus — with Brian Steel of the Columbus Police Department telling WTOL that officers and SWAT were patrolling the area, when one SWAT officer located the suspect, leading to a “confrontation.” Per Steel, Jones had a gun and, after exchanging gunfire with officers, was shot and apprehended.
“The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital in stable condition at the time of this release,” police said in a statement. “A firearm was recovered from the suspect. No officers were injured in the incident.”
“This case is one of the most horrific cases I’ve ever heard. This is a 14-year-old that was murdered, raped, had her hands cut off, and her throat almost cut off,” Steel told press. “I’m glad our officers are OK. Our SWAT are the best of the best. We send a message: You murder somebody, do not come to this town.”
“I called my union counterpart in Toledo. I said, ‘Hey, good news; we have your guy,'” he added. “I’ll tell you right now, [this is] the wrong town to come to if you murder somebody.”
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According to family, Latigue was picked up by Jones from her grandmother, who was her legal guardian. When she disappeared, he told reporters he last saw her on March 16, claiming she told him she was afraid to be alone.
“I came over here because she said that it seemed like somebody was trying to break into the house,” Jones told WTVG, on camera, at the time. “Me and my cousin sat over here for an hour and we left around 12:30-ish.”
The grandmother claimed that when she returned home on the 17th, Kei’Mani wasn’t there. Toledo police, meanwhile, allege Jones gave them “inconsistent statements” about their time together and his whereabouts.
“I can’t even say. I feel deceived. I feel like this was pre-planned,” Kei’Mani’s grandmother told WBNS. “She was phenomenal. She was like no other kid her age.”
Her aunt called the news “devastating,” adding that she wishes she took her niece with her to Indianapolis “so this would have never happened.”
According to the Toledo Police Department, the city has begun the process of demolishing the home where her body was found.
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