An Ohio man who allegedly killed his 13-year-old daughter last month appeared in court on Friday.
The Toledo Blade reported that bond was set at $4 million for Darnell Jones, 33, the father of Kei’mani Latigue. Latigue vanished from her grandmother’s home on March 17, a week before she was found deceased in a burned-out house.
Latigue’s grandmother had custody of her at the time of her disappearance. Lucas County coroners believe she died from multiple incised wounds to the neck on March 24. Columbus police Lieutenant Brian Steel said she was raped, had her hands severed, and her throat nearly cut off.
Before his arrest on March 25, Jones said he last saw Latigue on March 16 after she called and said she was afraid to be home alone. However, police said Jones provided inconsistent accounts of his correspondence with his daughter or her whereabouts.
Jones was apprehended in Columbus, where he allegedly pulled a gun on arresting police officers and begged to be killed. Police shot Jones during the March 25 ordeal, which also sparked a SWAT standoff.
Prosecutors said in an affidavit filed on Friday that Jones “admitted to this affiant that he inflicted the wound that caused her [Latigue’s] death,” per the Toledo Blade.
In a second affidavit filed the same day, prosecutors claimed that Jones also stated that he “dragged her involuntarily to the vacant house where he ultimately killed her.”
Jones pleaded not guilty to Latigue’s abduction and murder in Toledo. An assault charge stemming from his arrest in Columbus was dropped so he could face the more serious charges in Toledo.
Jones is due back in court on Thursday.
[Feature Photo: Kei’mani Latigue/handout]
