Case solved : Tips help identify ‘Baby Bones’, 3 charged with her murder

The identity of an adolescent’s charred remains found in Upper Freehold, NJ in 2005 was a mystery until tips solved the case nearly seven years later.

New York City child welfare officers received a tip of a murdered child which pointed to the unidentified remains.

The girl has been identified as 9-year-old Jon-Niece Jones, of Harlem, N.Y., and charges were filed against three people, including the girl’s aunt and uncle, for covering up her death, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a news release.

An informant told child welfare officials an adolescent may have been killed in Manhattan in 2002 and provided a location where the body was disposed of in New Jersey, authorities said.

The baby bones case received national attention after it appeared on America’s Most Wanted.

Child welfare services contacted New Jersey state police where the identity was finally made.

In March 2005, a hunter came across a partially buried skull and jawbone in Clayton Park in Upper Freehold Township. Later, New Jersey State Police excavated the site and found a complete skeleton along with a child-size black Nike Air Force One shoe and a piece of canvas material with a print of the Warner Brothers cartoon character Sylvester the Cat, state police said in 2007.

The New Jersey State Police had developed a composite sketch of the girl and a computer-generated image based on a CAT scan of the child’s skull that was found in Upper Freehold Township. A DNA profile was also created.

“Thanks to the diligence and dedication of our Child Protective Specialist and Investigative Consultants, working collaboratively with law enforcement, this cold case has finally been solved,” New York City Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner Ronald E. Richter said in a statement issued to NJ.com. “This brings long-delayed resolution to the previously unrecognized and tragic death of Jon-Niece Jones.”

Authorities say the girl was killed at her Aunt Likisha Jones’ home in Harlem, NY on August 15, 2002 and her uncle, James Jones, and aunt’s boyfriend, Godfrey Gibson, set her body on fire before disposing of the remains in Upper Freehold Township.

Jon-Niece Jones was abused by her mother, Elisha Jones, for years, authorities said. The mother died a few months after the girl’s death from an unspecified disease.

The girl was not under the care of child services’ before her death, according to the New York City Administration for Children’s Services.

“The family members of Jon-Niece Jones turned a blind eye to the constant physical and mental abuse this young girl endured for years,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the State Police. “Because of the hard work by investigators, these three suspects will now have to answer for their alleged unthinkable actions.”

James Jones, 35, of Brooklyn, Godfrey Gibson, 48, of Manhattan, and Likisha Jones, 39, of Manhattan have been charged with third-degree hindering the apprehension of another, fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, fourth-degree obstructing the administration of justice and conspiracy to commit the aforementioned crimes. Gibson was also charged with a separate hindering count.

The aunt and uncle’s bail was set at $40,000 with no 10 percent option, and Gibson’s bail was set at $75,000 with no 10 percent option.