‘Horrific’ details emerge in 13-year-old’s brutal killing, Ohio cops say. Dad is charged
This story has been updated to include details from a March 25 news conference.
An Ohio man wanted in connection with the death of his 13-year-old daughter was shot by police as new details about the case begin to emerge, officers said.
Darnell Jones is charged with murder, felonious assault and abduction, according to court records.
Attorney information for Jones was not immediately available.
Jones is charged in connection with the disappearance and death of his daughter, 13-year-old Keimani Latigue, according to a news release from the Toledo Police Department.
New details about Keimani’s death emerged when Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Steel said at a March 25 news conference streamed by WTVG that Keimani was found “murdered, raped, had her hands cut off and her throat almost cut off.”
“This case is one of the most horrific cases I’ve ever heard,” Steel said.
Keimani was reported missing on March 18, police said.
Jones previously told WTVG he last saw Keimani the night of March 16 when she called him and said she was scared 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 12:30-ish,” Jones said, according to the outlet.
Keimani’s grandmother, whom she lived with, told the outlet when she got home on March 17, the house was in disarray and the stove was on.
“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 in her underclothes were by the couch in the front. Her pajamas were on the dining room floor,” Dorothy Latigue told WTVG.
Jones was the last person with Keimani, according to a warrant.
On March 24, the Lucas County Coroner’s Office confirmed that a body found inside an abandoned home was Keimani, WTOL reported.
Police said she was found dead with “apparent fatal injuries.”
A warrant said Jones removed Keimani from her home without her guardian’s consent and gave inconsistent statements to authorities. Phone records and surveillance footage led to Jones being charged, according to the court documents.
Steel said Jones was located by authorities March 25 in Columbus and a confrontation ensued, during which Jones had a gun on him and was shot by police.
“The wrong town to come to if you murdered somebody,” Steel said. “This is an absolute animal that came into our town. … We send a message, you murder somebody, do not come to this town.”
Jones was taken to a local hospital. His condition is unknown.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 12:13 PM with the headline "‘Horrific’ details emerge in 13-year-old’s brutal killing, Ohio cops say. Dad is charged."
