TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – Authorities in Ohio found the body of missing 13-year-old Keimani Latigue on Monday.
Her father, who was initially charged with abduction, is now charged with murder.
Toledo police said they found a body during the investigation into the 13-year-old girl’s disappearance.
The Lucas County Coroner’s Office confirmed the body found on the second floor of an abandoned Miami Street house is that of the teen.
Keimani was reported missing last week.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday to determine how the girl died.
Emotions ran high as dozens of people gathered at the intersection near the abandoned home, demanding answers as investigators recovered evidence from the building.
The missing girl’s mother, Tiara Kasten, was at the scene and expressed her frustration with the situation before the coroner confirmed the body was Keimani’s.
“I just want to know if it’s my baby. They’re still not telling me nothing,” Kasten said. “It’s nothing to take a picture. It’s nothing to let me know when the coroner’s bringing her out so I can see if that’s indeed my baby. You’re not saying nothing.”
Kasten went on to say there’s no reason her daughter would ever be in the area of the abandoned home. She said Keimani would only ever go to school, play basketball and go home. She recounted the last time she talked to her daughter.
“I seen her on the 15th. Her dad brought her down to my house. Apparently, my mother gave him permission and honestly, it was just loving on my kid. We play video games,” Kasten said.
The new developments came just hours after news that the teen’s father, 33-year-old Darnell Jones, was initially charged with abduction on Sunday.
Then, around 8:40 p.m. Monday, Toledo police announced Jones is being charged with murder in the teen’s death.
Court dockets show that as of late Monday night, there was an open warrant for his arrest.
The affidavit alleges Jones was the last person with Keimani before she went missing. He has allegedly given inconsistent statements about his activity with the victim and her whereabouts.
The complaint said phone and surveillance video were also factors in filing the charges.
The girl’s father told WTVG last week he saw Keimani late at night on March 16 after she called to say she was afraid to be home alone.
“I came over here because she said that it seemed like somebody was trying to break into the house. Me and my cousin sat over here for an hour and we left around 12:30ish,” Jones said.
The girl’s grandmother spoke with WTVG last week after Keimani was first reported missing.
Dorothy Latigue said she lived alone with Keimani. When she came home on March 17, she noticed the house was in disarray. She added that the stove was on and she could smell gas. Keimani’s keys and glasses, which she can’t see without, were at the house, according to the grandmother.
“Other than her and I, it’s just two dogs in the house, so who cut it on? So, that was kind of suspicious. Her glasses and her underclothes were by the couch in the front. Her pajamas were on the dining room floor,” Dorothy Latigue said.
“Until we’re done doing the whole investigation, I can’t tell you how many people are involved,” Lt. Dan Gerken, with Toledo police, said when asked if others could be involved.
Family members organized a search party Friday night and handed out flyers to residents multiple times during the search.
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