GLENDALE, Ariz. — Police on Monday arrested the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl on child-abuse charges “directly related” to the girl and said they don’t think they’ll find the child alive.
At a news conference that offered the most detail yet about what investigators think happened to Jhessye Shockley, Glendale police said the girl’s mother, Jerice Hunter, was now the investigation’s “No. 1 focus.” Hunter was booked Monday at the Maricopa County jail.
Hunter has said she had nothing to do with Jhessye’s disappearance, and she has been highly critical of the department’s investigation. The girl was last seen Oct. 11.
Glendale police Sgt. Brent Coombs said at the news conference that new information in the past few days led police to serve another search warrant on Hunter’s Glendale apartment and arrest her Monday. He wouldn’t elaborate.
The Associated Press
