A California man behind bars for the death of a little girl found inside a duffel bag was convicted in 2005 of beating a starving a 3-year-old boy.
According to court documents obtained by NBC 7, 38- year-old Emiel Lamar Hunt was arrested in San Diego after officers found his young son bruised, malnourished, and unresponsive inside his home. The little boy was rushed to the Rady Children’s Hospital trauma unit with “severe bloating and internal injuries to his chest, abdomen, back, arms and legs,” according to the San Diego Police Department.
While at the hospital, the boy was “intubated and had several episodes of low heart rate and required drugs to bring up the heart rate,” the police report read.
After authorities arrested Hunt for child torture and abuse, they interviewed his former girlfriend, Patecia Frazier, who reportedly admitted that they used a belt or a cord to spank the toddler boy several times per week. Frazier also admitted, according to police, that the boy didn’t get food when being punished and meat was only given out as a reward for good behavior. The child’s diet at home consisted of vegetables only.
Hunt was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while the California Superior Court of San Diego County ordered Frazier to attend a year-long child abuser’s program.
Hunt is accused of killing Trinity around March 1. Authorities found the girl on the hiking trail on March 5. She was deceased with her body partially protruding from a black duffel bag, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said last week.
On March 9, authorities found Hunt sleeping in his car and detained him. Trinity’s mother, Taquesta Graham, a convicted sex offender, has also been detained, but has not yet been charged in connection with the girl’s death.
According to court documents, Graham was convicted in 2009 of “enticing a minor female for prostitution.” She was released from jail in 2016 and is now on California’s sex offender registry.
Hunt appeared in a Pomona court on Thursday morning, but did not enter a plea, according to the Los Angeles Times. The girl’s father, Antonio Jones, was in attendance at court.
“You killed my daughter,” Jones yelled out in court on Tuesday.
The manner in which Trinity died is still unclear. If convicted, Hunt faces life in prison.
The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Emiel Hunt and Trinity Love Jones/Police Handout]
