Supervisor Hahn’s office review to determine if the killing of Trinity Love Jones was preventable, citing ‘red flags’

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office pledged to review the homicide case of 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones to see if county agencies could have prevented her death, officials said Friday.

Jones’ body was dumped near a trail in Hacienda Heights and was discovered on March 5. With Jones’ mother facing possible charges stemming from the homicide case, and her mother’s boyfriend already charged with Jones’ murder, some residents have begun to ask questions on what could have been done.

“I have been getting asked a lot of questions about whether LA County had interacted with Trinity Love Jones and her family before her murder,” Hahn wrote in a statement released Friday.

Though it is was not immediately clear whether the Department of Children and Family Services, the Probation Department, or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had interacted with Jones and her family prior to her death, Hahn said her office would follow up on several “red flags” in Jones’ life.

“I am going to get to the bottom of what could have been done, if anything, to prevent her death and the suffering she undoubtedly endured,” Hahn said.

The mother’s boyfriend, Emiel Hunt, 38, who was charged Tuesday with murder, had a previous child abuse conviction in San Diego. He also admitted to the allegation that he inflicted great bodily injury on a child under the age of 5 while committing a felony or attempted felony.

Jones’ mother, Taquesta Graham, 28, is a registered sex offender due to a 2009 conviction where she was found guilty of trying to entice a girl for prostitution in 2009, according to the California Megan’s Law database. She was released from prison in 2016. Graham was arrested March 8 for violating her parole.

Liz Odenhal, spokeswoman for Hahn’s office, said Hunt and Graham’s criminal history are among the red flags the office is looking into. She said they are also reviewing the trio’s precarious living situation where Jones spent the last 10 months of her life living homeless with Hunt and Graham in a Santa Fe Springs motel or out of their car. Authorities said family members had only seen or heard from Jones on few occasions during this span.

Though Hahn’s office is reviewing additional concerns in Jones’ history, Odenhal declined to comment further.

The sheriff’s department confirmed Thursday that there were no open or active Department of Children and Family Services cases involving Jones.