Police announced today that an arrest is in sight in the case of a missing Glendale, Ariz., 5-year-old, Arizona Family reported. Jerice Hunter told police her daughter Jhessye Shockley disappeared from her apartment Oct. 11 when she left home to run an errand. Subsequent investigation uncovered evidence that the little girl did not wander off on that date.
After being placed in foster care, two of Shockley's sisters opened up about their mother's alleged treatment of their sister. Both reported being told to lie to police by their mother about the events of Oct. 11. One sister told her foster mother that Jhessye had been kept in a closet in her mother's room, Phoenix New Times reported. She said the little girl had cuts and bruises and hair pulled out. She also told police that before Hunter reported Jhessye missing, the closet smelled like dead people, and Hunter scoured it with bleach. Police found a receipt for bleach that corroborated in part the teen's account.
Tipsters have convinced police that Shockley's body wound up at Butterfield landfill after being placed in a dumpster in Tempe. They have been developing a strategic plan for searching the landfill. That search is expected to take place later in January, Arizona Family said. But it's possible the body may never be recovered.
The Arizona Republic said bringing a murder case without a body would be difficult but not unprecedented. Prosecutors in such cases have the dual responsibility of proving there was actually a death and attributing the death to the defendant, experts told the Republic. It can take months or even years to put together the evidence necessary to prosecute such a case, they said.
The forensic report on evidence from Hunter's home has been completed, according to Arizona Family. Police, who have previously identified Hunter as the focus of their investigation, confirmed Friday their focus is still Hunter.
Hunter's attorney, Scott Massen, suggests the police are reaching. He said if police had enough evidence to make a case against Hunter, they'd have arrested her. Hunter was arrested for child abuse back in November, CNN reported, but she was released the following week when prosecutors opted not to file formal charges against her. Police suggested at that time that charges might be filed at a later date.
Police spokesman Brent Coombs told KTAR, "We're working closely with the county attorney and we both want the strongest case possible prior to making an arrest."
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