Aurora police believe that a 6-year-old girl reported missing this week may have been killed as long as a year and a half ago.
Interim Aurora police chief Terry Jones announced the major change in the investigation at 5:15 p.m. this evening.
“This investigation has changed from a missing child to a homicide investigation,” Baker said.
Aaroné Thompson’s father, Aaron, and his girlfriend are both “people of interest” in the case.
“We believe Aaroné is no longer alive,” Jones said.
Jones said the home where she lived was believed to be the crime scene.
Crime scene vans were parked outside the home this evening, and detectives were preparing to execute a search warrant.
“Evidence can last for a long time at the scene of an event,” he said. “We do not have a body.”
He said there were eight children in the home, ranging from 6 to 15. The other seven children, all older than Aaroné, were believed to be in danger. They’ve all been placed in protective custody with Social Services, and all will be interviewed about Aaroné’s disappearance
He said Aaroné’s father’s girlfriend was concerned about the welfare of her children. Jones said the girlfriend’s name was Shelly Lowe, 33, but he was uncertain about the spelling of her name and her age.
“The family has been less than forthright,” Jones said. “But obviously they’ve got some grave concerns ahead of them with the possibility of this investigation.”
Jones wouldn’t comment on whether neighbors have reported seeing the little girl lately.
He said the report this week that she disappeared on Monday afternoon might have been related to her upcoming birthday on the 30th of this month.
“Something triggered this, it was brought forth as a missing child case, and it doesn’t appear to be anything of the sort,” he said.
