5-Year-old Jhessye Shockley Still Missing *presumed deceased*

[HeatherHabilatory]

As soon as I saw she had missed school, I knew this would be the ending. :(

[crimsonsorrow]

They aren't saying much at this point but they received a tip that has lead them to the landfill.

Coombs said tips that came in following Hunter's arrest and evidence collected during search warrants led police to believe Jhessye's body was dumped in Tempe. He declined to elaborate.

Coombs did say detectives firmly believe Jhessye's body is now in a landfill south of the Phoenix area, and that detectives are deciding whether to search for it.

http://www.mail.com/926568-police-th...umped-bin.html

The teen daughter said she hadn't seen the child since September. And notes an attack on the young girl after the mom called her a "ho" when she walked in on the child hanging out, INNOCENTLY, watching t.v. with a neighborhood boy.

[AngelFire]

Called her a ho for watching TV with a neighbor boy? You mean the 5 year old or the older sister? Either way that is a vile thing to say towards your child.

[Rockin Ma]

Little Jehessye was a hoe for wearing an oversized t-shirt like a nightgown watching t.v.. This bitch needs to answer for what she did. I hope they do check the landfill. I know it will be really difficult, but if they are that confident she's in there, get her out. She don't deserve that as a final resting place.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Glendale police say there is reason to believe Jhessye's body is buried underneath months of trash at the Butterfield Landfill south of the Valley. That, from a lead and evidence that came in only in the last 30 days.

"Prior to Jhessye's reported disappearance by her mother, Jhessye was placed in a trash receptacle in the dity of Tempe," said Sgt. Brent Coombs with the Glendale Police Department.

Police say trash from that location is taken to Butterfield, but they aren't sharing any more details other than that Jhessye's mom, Jerice Hunter, is still the focus of the investigation.

Neighbors say they find it hard to connect Hunter with a trip to Tempe, starting with her mode of transportation.

"I just was wondering how because she takes cabs everywhere," said neighbor Katherine White. "Jerice takes cabs everywhere. I mean, how?"

Hunter's attorney agrees and questions if there's any truth to the tip.

"It wouldn't make sense if the information was reliable and accurate the investigation down there wouldn't commence down there immediately," Scott Maasen said.

Glendale police say they've taken their time because of how difficult it is to search a landfill. They say they may only have one shot and if she's there, they want to find her.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Attorne...136047658.html

Sgt. Brent Coombs of the Glendale Police Department said a decision on the landfill search will be made "in the coming weeks."

Coombs said, "You have to identify things like which truck picked up a trash on a certain day, what time it went to a transfer station, what truck took it out to a landfill, you have to narrow down as best you can and I'm putting it very simplistically, it's so much more than that so those are the kinds of things that take a long time to identify."

Coombs did not say what led police to determine Jhessye's body was placed in a receptacle, but did say the information was "substantive."

http://www.kpho.com/story/16370976/p...is-in-landfill

[GGsMum]

Good morning Demonites - I subscribe to a blog about missing children, etc, and thought this was worth passing along.

Law enforcement is contemplating to do a search for Jhessye Shockley in the Butterfield Station Landfill. LE received a tip back in November about a month after Jhessye went missing that she could be there. They do believe the tip is reliable!

Back in 1996, Brad Hansen 13 years old, was shot to death by his 15 year old ‘friend’ after an argument about a 12 year old girl. After the shooting, Brad was placed in a trash bin. The 15 year old went to prison for the murder, but Brad was never found.

Jerice Hunter, monster mother, had been arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse, but was not charged because the prosecution didn’t want to risk double jeopardy if they were to charge her with felony murder. Monster mother plead no contest in the charges against her of cruel and inhuman corporal punishment and injury to a child in California and spent 3+ years behind bars.

In November Jhessye’s sister said she found her unresponsive, eyes bruised and hair pulled out, inside her mother’s closet. She said that she hadn’t seen Jhessye since mid September.

http://humbleopinionforum.net/2011/1...-the-landfill/

[princessgrandma]

I cannot even comprehend the mindset that would allow a woman to kill her own child. That child came from your body. She is a part of you. How can someone do that? Why?? I don't think I want to understand b/c then I would have to get into the mind of someone this sick and that's no place I'd want to be.

WTF can a little kid like that DO that would make someone, much less her own mother, abuse and kill her? I know that kids can be trying at times, but my god, you walk away and take a few deep breaths. You don't pull out their hair and beat them senseless so many times that you eventually kill them.

I hope this bitch gets what she deserves from the justice system, with a side of a little treatment by some Bubbette in prison who is separated from kids she loves madly.

[GGsMum]

I cannot even comprehend the mindset that would allow a woman to kill her own child. That child came from your body. She is a part of you. How can someone do that? Why?? I don't think I want to understand b/c then I would have to get into the mind of someone this sick and that's no place I'd want to be.

WTF can a little kid like that DO that would make someone, much less her own mother, abuse and kill her? I know that kids can be trying at times, but my god, you walk away and take a few deep breaths. You don't pull out their hair and beat them senseless so many times that you eventually kill them.

I hope this bitch gets what she deserves from the justice system, with a side of a little treatment by some Bubbette in prison who is separated from kids she loves madly.

I know - the same exact thoughts have traveled through my own mind. There have been times that my patience has been tested so badly b/c my kids seemed as though they were all on CRACK at one time and I actually thought, I want to leave for the day and just come back tomorrow, but I've never pondered the thought of hurting one of them no matter how bad things were. And you're right, I don't want to understand their mindset b/c then I'd have to think like a psycho killer cunt and that's not something I'd like to do.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Police suspect that a 5-year-old Glendale girl who went missing a few months ago is dead, her body callously disposed of and probably lying buried beneath tons of trash in a giant landfill.

If Jhessye Shockley's body is not found, bringing a killer to justice will be a daunting task. But experts say it is not impossible.

Across the nation, prosecutors have won murder convictions in dozens of cases in which there was no victim's body. In the past year, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office successfully prosecuted two such cases.

Experts say the cases come with a unique challenge: Not only must authorities convince jurors that a suspect was responsible for a murder, they also need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim is actually dead.
[...]

Police said their work and tips from the public eventually led them to suspect Jhessye's body was dumped in a Tempe trash bin, miles from her Glendale home, by someone who wanted to cover his or her tracks and keep anyone from finding the body.

Now, Glendale police are weighing a search at a landfill south of the Valley where the contents of the bin would have gone. Police will launch the search if experts can help them narrow where they might find the body among acres of trash that grows by at least 6,000 tons each day.

Jhessye's mother, Jerice Hunter, remains the pivotal figure in the investigation, although police stop short of calling her a suspect.
[...]

Detectives who have worked on similar cases caution it can take months or years to arrest a murder suspect if a body isn't located, because it takes an enormous amount of effort to build an airtight case.
[...]

In the weeks after Jhessye's disappearance, police received hundreds of tips. Detectives initially suspected the girl might have been abducted. Jhessye's family suggested a sex offender or family member might have taken her.

Police later said Jhessye's 13-year-old sister told them that she last saw the 5-year-old unresponsive, eyes bruised and hair pulled out, inside her mother's closet. The teen said their mother often kept Jhessye in the closet without food or water, according to a police probable-cause statement filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Since then, police have shifted their focus.

If prosecutors decide to pursue a murder case without Jhessye's body, police must seek details that prove death was the most plausible explanation for the disappearance. They must wade through hundreds of interviews conducted immediately after Jhessye was reported missing and home in on inconsistencies in their suspect's story.
[...]

If Jhessye's case goes to trial, prosecutors will likely call a slew of witnesses to talk about her life. They might be asked about Jhessye's relationship with the person believed to be responsible for her disappearance and Jhessye's behavior at school. They'll likely be asked about the last time they saw Jhessye.

Prosecutors also will want to show evidence that a crime scene may have existed, such as traces of blood or cleaning supplies used to wipe away evidence, as well as establish a timeline for Jhessye's disappearance.

Authorities must use multiple examples to convince jurors that death is the reason for a disappearance, said Tad DiBiase, a former federal prosecutor who has studied more than 300 homicide cases in which a body was never found.

"It is the combination of things that's damning in these cases -- not any one single factor," he said.
Long investigations
[...]

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has said he is determined to bring Jhessye's killer to justice, no matter how long it takes.
[...]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...hout-body.html

[Whisper]

Glendale PD to search landfill for Jhessye Shockley

01/10/2012

GLENDALE, AZ - Glendale police have announced they will be launching a search at a landfill south of the Valley in an effort to locate the body of a 5-year-old girl missing since October.
During the course of their investigation into the disappearance of Jhessye Shockley, investigators from the Glendale Police Department determined a search of the landfill in Mobile, Arizona is necessary.
[...]
Glendale police Sgt. Brent Coombs said landfill searches are very time and labor intensive, and it is likely that their search will exceed several weeks in duration.
Jhessye's grandmother, Shirley Johnson, recently contacted ABC15 about the possibility of a landfill search, saying, "We had to suffer through Christmas knowing AZ has allowed GPD to let my child lay in the dump like she is trash. This confirms it. If this was a dog they would be [searching].”
Johnson also said, “The police wouldn’t let a dog stay in the trash like that this long. It just shows they are treating Jhessye like a piece of trash and they have been since day one.”
Police in December said they believed Jhessye's body had been placed in a trash receptacle in Tempe, prior to her reported disappearance on Oct. 11.
"She was taken all the way to the city of Tempe, not alive, and placed in a large trash receptacle. That is ultimately picked up and goes to a transfer station, then removed to a landfill," Coombs said.
[...]
"We do believe Jhessye is there," he said. "This is an active homicide investigation."

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...ley?hpt=ju_bn6


Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...#ixzz1jCoKSkt0

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Glendale police seized bleach, disinfecting wipes and used latex gloves nearly two months ago from the home of a missing Glendale girl's mother, according to court documents released Friday.

The Maricopa County Superior Court documents were released after a judge agreed to unseal the search warrant document.

Police had obtained the warrant to search Jerice Hunter's apartment on Nov. 21, hours before they arrested her on suspicion of child abuse involving 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley.

Hunter was later released after prosecutors said they didn't want to create a situation of double jeopardy if they later decided to pursue a felony murder case against her.
[...]

A police detective wrote in the search-warrant affidavit that police aimed to find DNA evidence at the home, although it is unclear what may have been obtained.

Among the roughly 100 items police seized during the search were cleaning supplies such as a vacuum, its filter and a mop that police suspect Hunter may have used before she reported her daughter missing on Oct. 11.

Police took a range of items, from Hunter's self-help diary to a child's drawing.

Police recovered incense, which Jhessye's 13-year-old sister told authorities had been used to cover a stench, according to police documents.

The older sister had told police that she last saw Jhessye in her mother's closet, bruised and looking like a "zombie." She said the closet "looked like a grave and smelled like dead people," according to court documents.

The 13-year-old also said her mother had cleaned her bedroom and closet, as well as the rest of the apartment, before calling police to report Jhessye's disappearance.
[...]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/g...by-police.html


Search Warrant including list of items seized: http://media2.abc15.com/html/pdf/Hun...rchWarrant.pdf

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Police say they are getting closer to making an arrest in the disappearance and presumed death of Jhessye Shockley, the 5-year-old Glendale girl who vanished in October.

Earlier this month, the Glendale Police Department announced that it is putting together an operation to search Butterfield Station Landfill for the little girl's body. That search is still in the planning phase, but it is expected to get under way later this month.

Detectives also were awaiting the forensic results on evidence collected from the Shockley home during a search in November. That analysis reportedly is now complete.

Police said their investigation continues to focus on Jerice Hunter, Jhessye's mother. Officers already arrested Hunter once in connection with Jhessye's disappearance, but she was never charged.
[...]

While Jhessye was reported missing on Oct. 11, detectives now believe she was killed before that.

Investigators have not released any information about what led them to that conclusion, nor have they said when they believe Jhessye died.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Arrest-...137752078.html

Hunter, and her father Jesse Johnson have been critical of the Glendale Police investigation almost from the beginning and the family has also been very outspoken about their belief that the case didn't garner more significant national attention because the missing girl is African-American.

http://ktar.com/6/1490557/PD-No-arre...sing-girl-case

[Whisper]

Jhessye Shockley Disappearance: Police to Start Searching Landfill For Body February 6

Glendale police announced this morning that investigators will start searching a landfill south of the Valley for the body of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley on February 6.
[...]

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Crews are starting Day 1 of a massive landfill search for missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley.

Spokesman Brent Coombs with Glendale police says it's likely Jhessye's body was transferred to the Butterfield Landfill in Mobile, south of the Valley.

This is the largest landfill in Arizona. The search began 7 a.m. Monday.

Police have targeted a specific section. It's 180 feet by 200 feet and more than 20 feet deep. We're told there are roughly 6,000 tons of trash there.
[...]

The search team includes sworn officers, detectives, members of the FBI, and Child Abduction Response Team (CART).

Coombs said a forensic team with Glendale police are standing by in case evidence is recovered.

The search team will use equipment to pick up the trash and bring it to a sanitary search deck where it will be sifted through in smaller sections.
[...]

Police say this is an active homicide investigation. Jerice Hunter, Jhessye's mother, is a primary focus.

Scott Maasen, Hunter's attorney, questions why it took months for police to conduct a landfill search.

Police say extensive planning went into a job site analysis, gathering information and equipment.

Maasen said Hunter still believes Jhessye is alive. Meanwhile, some of Hunter's family members have said they believe Jhessye is dead and hope police will recover the body.

The search could take several weeks.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/pd-lan...uld-take-weeks

[Whisper]

I hope they at least find her to bury her with some respect
I know it seems so unlikely after all this time but I updated a FP thead of Morbids the other day
a guy that raped and cannibalized a younger guy 2 years ago and they actually found flesh recently in the landfill when they searched it
rotting but tested and it was the young guys
TMI I know

[Bohring]

I hope they at least find her to bury her with some respect
I know it seems so unlikely after all this time but I updated a FP thead of Morbids the other day
a guy that raped and cannibalized a younger guy 2 years ago and they actually found flesh recently in the landfill when they searched it
rotting but tested and it was the young guys
TMI I know

Ew.

[Rockin Ma]

Bring that baby out of there.

[AngelFire]

The older sister had told police that she last saw Jhessye in her mother's closet, bruised and looking like a "zombie." She said the closet "looked like a grave and smelled like dead people," according to court documents.

This statement broke my heart, enraged it and then creeped me the fuck out. That baby needs to be found and put to rest properly. Not left to rot in trash, her life meant more then that.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

This article is from last week. Nothing new this week.

After two weeks of sifting through tons of garbage at the Butterfield Station Landfill, Glendale police say the search teams are getting more efficient.

The landfill search for the body of Jhessye Shockley, the 5-year-old girl who was reported missing by her mother on Oct. 11, began on Feb. 6 after weeks of planning.

While they have not turned up any significant evidence, police are confident that Jhessye's body is in the landfill. When they first started, the search teams were getting through 50 tons of trash each day. Now that they've settled into the search, they're up to 100 tons per day.

Searchers have managed to keep up that pace despite recent winds in the area.

"It makes things a little more difficult because debris begins to pick and move," Glendale Police Sgt. Brent Coombs explained. "We don't want to lose any of that so we have to slow operations down a little to maintain what he have, make sure that we go through everything and nothing is missed."

Coombs said police are certain that they are looking in the right area at the landfill, but that section is about 20 feet deep and contained about 6,000 tons of trash. The search is expected to go on for several more weeks.

"As long as it takes for us to get through every last bit of that trash in that area is as long as we will be out there,” Coombs said on the first day of the search. "It's extremely important to investigators to find those remains because no 5-year old-should be left in a landfill."
[...]

The Glendale Police Department said it will be adding more search crews when the operation picks up on Tuesday.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/S...139564278.html

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The search for the body of a missing Glendale girl in a Valley landfill is now in its second month, but there is still no sign of Jhessye Shockley.
[...]

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is also helping out by lending four sets of cadaver dog teams.

"Think about how difficult it is for a person to be out here working in this type of environment. It's very physically straining, it's very difficult for a dog as well, so we know that it's not easy and we appreciate their time in assisting us throughout this operation," said Tracey Breeden with Glendale police.

A new group of searchers have also rotated in to get new feet on the ground in the search for Jhessye.

Officials told CBS 5 News they are going through 100 tons of trash each day.

http://www.kpho.com/story/17125839/l...s-second-month

[VAS1326]

http://www.kpho.com/story/17125839/l...s-second-month

What a daunting task. They seem determined to find her. I hope they do because a nasty landfill is not where this sweet child should be put rest. I hope they find her and nail the person responsible (her mother I'm certain) and give her a proper burial.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Friday marked week seven in the search for the body of 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley who Glendale police believe was killed and placed in the trash.

Meanwhile, family members have confirmed with CBS-5 News that Jerice Hunter, Jhessye's mother, is pregnant.

http://www.kpho.com/story/17243885/f...pregnant-again

Jerice Hunter was 8 months pregnant when Jhessye was reported missing. Her three other kids were taken that night. Two weeks later, she gave birth and CPS took that baby.

I bet the dictionary has a picture of her under "cumdumpster".

[princessgrandma]

I bet the dictionary has a picture of her under "cumdumpster".

Best. Line. Ever.

And I'd definitely put money on it being true. I hope they're saving these babies as soon as she pops them out or they'll be digging in the trash for another one. There are some people who should not be allowed to breed.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Glendale police confirm they have officially ended their landfill search for a missing 5-year-old girl.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, investigators were unable to recover any evidence from the Butterfield Landfill, where they believed Jhessye Shockley's body or evidence leading to her body might be found, sources close to the case told CBS 5 News.

"Despite out best efforts, the odds were against us and we were unable to locate Jhessye," said Assistant Police Chief Rick St. John. "We thought we were going to find her but that just wasn't the case."

"We believe she's there, but she wasn't where we looked," St. John said.

St. John said 43,000 man-hours went into the landfill search that began Feb. 6. He said over the course of 96 days, authorities searched through 9,500 tons of compressed trash. "That would cover two-thirds of a regulation football field, about 21 feet deep," St. John said.

"We've searched everywhere she was likely to be, but we couldn't find her," St. John said.

The search, involving 280 volunteers, has cost $750,000 to date, St. John said.

"None of us were prepared to sit here today saying we did not find Jhessye," he added.

He said not finding her body in the landfill gives investigators a new resolve to hold accountable the person or persons responsible for her disappearance.

Police said Jhessye's mother remains "our primary suspect in this case."
[...]

http://www.kpho.com/story/18894624/p...essye-shockley

[Rockin Ma]

:(

I wish they hadn't waited so long. I don't think she will be getting her justice.

[Valasca]

CBS 5 News has just learned that Jerice Hunter, the mother of 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley, has been arrested in connection to her daughter's disappearance.

Hunter's family tells CBS 5 News that Hunter was arrested in Mesa on Thursday.

We do not know at this time what charges she faces.

Soon after October 2011 when Hunter reported Jhessye missing, police announced that Hunter was the main focus in her daughter's disappearance.

Police and the FBI searched Hunter's home six weeks after Jhessye was reported missing looking for clues in the girl's disappearance.

Police believe Hunter kept Jhessye in the closet and tortured her. One of Jhessye's older sisters told police the closet where Jhessye was kept, "looked like a grave and smelled like dead people."




Hunter was arrested for child abuse the day the search warrant was served, but no charges were ever filed and she was released.



Glendale police have just announced they are holding a news conference this afternoon in regards to the investigation.

http://www.kpho.com/story/19476847/j...f-her-daughter

[Tundratot]

Just read this thread for the first time. The CPS took Hunter's children from her early on and her mother (their grandmother) said,

"What kind of message is that sending their sister?" Johnson asked, referring to Jahassye. "That they can be taken too?"

I would respond that the message was, "You will be safe if you return, now." That message was received by her siblings, the eldest of whom did tell police about the torture her sister endured and the tomb that the closet had become.

Makes me wonder what the time frame was, though. How long had Jhessye been living in the closet? When did she die? How long did her mom take to come up with a plan of action and then report her missing?

And as to Grandma Johnson, who not only protested that her daughter was innocent and that she would "know" if Hunter had done something awful, she actually had custody of those children and returned them without CPS approval to their mom. She'd like to save her own ass, here, since she bears responsibility for their welfare while supposedly in her custody. Even greatgrandma thinks that Hunter did it.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Jerice Hunter was apprehended in Mesa following a grand jury indictment for 1st degree murder and child abuse.

Authorities would not discuss specifics about the case, but said their collection of evidence over the course of their investigation resulted in Hunter's arrest.
[...]

While investigators have yet to locate Jhessye's body, Glendale Chief of Police Debora Black believes justice will still be served in the case.

"For the past 11 months, the men and women of the Glendale Police Department and our partners from local, state and federal law enforcement worked tirelessly to accomplish two goals: to find Jhessye and to hold the person responsible for her disappearance accountable. We are confident with the indictment and arrest today, we will achieve our second goal of securing justice for Jhessye," stated Black.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Jhessye...168828266.html

Hunter's lawyer Scott Maasen said his client maintains her innocence.

"The indictment is not evidence," Maasen said. "There is no body in this case. Cases without finding bodies are very difficult cases."

County Attorney Bill Montgomery said his office "has successfully prosecuted cases in which the victim's body was never found."
[...]

Glendale Police Chief Debora Black said at a news conference that Shockley's "final resting place" likely is at the bottom of the Butterfield Landfill in Mobile, south of Phoenix, but no additional searches are scheduled.

She said 280 officers sifted through more than 9,500 tons of trash from early February to late June without success.
[...]

At the news conference, authorities said Hunter was arrested based on the collection of evidence in the case since October.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...ddd26b977e3ca0

[Dakota Valkyrie]

For most of Jhessye Shockley's short life, her mother, Jerice Hunter, was in a California prison for child abuse.

Jhessye was raised by her cousins, and while the picture of a beautiful little girl is so familiar to so many now, they were the family members who tucked her in at night, knew what her laugh sounded like and loved her like she was their own child.
[...]

Bittersweet is how Vance and Rice describe the arrest of Hunter for the alleged abuse and murder of Jhessye.

"No, we didn't find her, but are we going to get justice for Jhessye? Yes, ma'am. We are," Vance said.

Vance said she never had a doubt from day one that Hunter was responsible.

Vance and Rice helped raise Jhessye along with Vance's sister.

They were the ones police contacted throughout the investigation and they were the ones invited to the landfill the day police ended their search for Jhessye's remains.

The couple considers today the first day of their healing process though they know much more is ahead.

"When I hear guilty and all that I could really go forward with my forgiveness," Rice said. "Right now, I'm still hurting too bad to do that."

"We understand that we still got a long way to go but we got a good start this time, and I'm very confident that Jerice is going to get what's coming to her," Vance said.

They say they will finally get what they've longed for since accepting the fact that Jhessye was never coming home.

"We need a proper memorial for Jhessye, that's what we want, a proper burial for her even though we don't have her body," Vance said.

http://www.kpho.com/story/19480057/f...st-bittersweet

[Jerri Blank]

Woman pleads not guilty in girl's death

PHOENIX, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The mother of a missing 5-year-old Arizona girl pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse charges Monday, court documents said.

Jerice Hunter's attorney entered the pleas in Maricopa County, Ariz., Court after her arrest Thursday, a year after she reported her daughter, Jhessye Shockley, missing, KPHO-TV, Phoenix, reported.

Authorities say they believe Hunter killed the girl and dumped her body in a Tempe, Ariz., trash bin.

Investigators searched a landfill where they expected to find her body, but never found any remains of her, the television station said.

Hunter is being held on $500,000, and her next court date was set for Nov. 1, court records said..

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/...8751347914276/



Jerice Hunter