JEHESSYE SHOCKLEY - 5 yo (2011)/ Charged: Mother; Jerice Hunter - Glendale AZ

After more than three weeks since Jhessye Shockley disappeared, investigators are continuing a strenuous search to find the little girl.

• 
  (Photo: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
  Jhessye
  Shockley, 5, has been missing from her Glendale, Ariz., home since Oct.
  11, 2011, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited
  Children.
  
  

According to Phoenix, Ariz.'s New Times, Glendale police Sgt. Brent Coombs says "investigators remain optimistic that they'll find Shockley."There
has been renewed confidence of finding the 5-year-old, after the case
recently received national attention on the widely viewed missing
person's TV program "America’s Most Wanted" (AMW).
Additionally, information about the child’s disappearance has been posted on AMW's website.
Still, police have admitted to finding no new leads in the Arizona case.
Accordingly, Coombs declined to address questions on whether the child's mother, Jerice Hunter, might be implicated in the case.
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Hunter was sentenced to eight years in a California
prison in 2006 for child abuse. The charges included the torturing of
her 7-year old daughter and the infliction of physical injuries on her
other children.
Since the beginning of the investigation, the
family has expressed frustration that attention has been inordinately
placed on Hunter instead of on the missing girl. Hunter recently stated:
"We
feel that law enforcement is not active in finding Jhessye and that
they're more active in persecuting me instead of finding out where she
is," according to The Associated Press.
Little
Jahessye Shockley was reportedly last seen by Hunter when she left the
little girl in her apartment before stepping out on an errand.
Jhesseye,
who is African-American, has brown eyes with shoulder length hair, and
stands approximately 3 feet and 5 inches tall, when last seen.
Initially
more than 100 officers and a number of volunteers searched through
potential hiding places and overlooked areas, as well as focused on sex
offenders, in addition to knocking on the doors of individuals in
surrounding communities, in their effort to find the little girl.
Anyone with information on Jhessye Shockley is asked to call 623-930-HELP (4357).
http://global.christianpost.com/news/jhessye-shockley-missing-police-express-optimism-ariz-girl-will-found-60577/

November 5, 2011 11:09 am


Sources inside the family of a missing 5-year-old Glendale, Ariz. girl say
Jhessye Shockley wasn’t in school for a week and a half before she disappeared.

See also: Police Scramble To Find Arizona Girl Missing For 2 Days

This and other revelations are slowly coming to the surface as
Glendale homicide detectives are now leading the investigation three
weeks into the girls disappearance.
Family members say Jhessye’s mother, Jerice Hunter, told the school Jhessye had ringworm.

Police said Monday the girl’s mother is not a suspect.

Glendale police Det. Jeff Daukas tells CBS 5 Hunter’s polygraph test
has not yet been scheduled. Daukas says it will be conducted by the
FBI or Glendale police.
http://newsone.com/nation/newsonestaff1/jhessye-shockley-case-reaches-3-week-mark/

Glendale police announced last week they are consulting with FBI
to come up with the right time to perform a polygraph, or "lie
detector" test, on Jhessye Shockley's mother, Jerice Hunter.


Police said there has been no exact date established for the
test. Glendale Police spokesman Sergeant Brent Coombs said that at
this time, Hunter is not listed as a suspect, but the exam will be
used as investigative, which is useful to help police know where
and where not to focus their search.



Hunter was originally not considered a suspect in her 5-year-old
daughter's disappearance Oct. 11. Even though she had prior charges
of child abuse allegations from California, police said at the time
of Jhessye's disappearance, Hunter was not a suspect. Arizona State
Child Protective Services (CPS) later removed Hunter's remaining
three children from her home after Jhessye's disappearance. The
eldest is 13 years old.
Hunter had previously made a very public plea at the state's
capitol because she did not believe police were doing enough, nor
that the national media had given the case the attention it
deserved.
Hunter most recently gave birth to another child, which was
immediately placed into CPS care as well. Hunter has since had
appointments with CPS to visit with her newborn child.
All tips must be routed through either Silent Witness at
480-WITNESS, or 623-930-HELP. Coombs said it is extremely important
that all tips be documented appropriately, tracked down and routed
to investigators for follow up. Coombs said investigators, in most
cases, will not call back with what they find through their
investigation on any given tip. Most all of that information must
be kept within the investigative group responsible for the
case.
Coombs said his department remains committed to finding
Jhessye.
http://www.glendalestar.com/news/headlines/article_692d6f9e-0a41-11e1-b315-001cc4c002e0.html

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Five-year-old Jahessye (Jesse) Shockley has been
missing one month and Glendale police say they still have no significant
leads or suspects in her disappearance.

Police department spokeswoman Officer Tracey Breeden
said Friday detectives continue following up on leads. Police believe
the 5-year-old wandered from her apartment in Glendale, outside Phoenix,
while her mother was running an errand on Oct. 11.

Breeden says the department is still working on
scheduling a time to bring Jahessye's mother Jerice Hunter in for a
polygraph exam.

Glendale
police spokesman Sgt. Brent Coombs says a seasoned criminal investigator
with homicide experience is now leading the case.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Phoenix television station KPHO (http://bit.ly/sho5Ev), Hunter insists she's a good mother despite her past conviction and four-year prison stint for child abuse.

Hunter says she did spank her daughter and felt afterward she did go overboard.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/4a82d400028d468b96ee77d8512de7a2/AZ--Arizona-Missing-Girl/

Police have reported that they have failed to come up with any new
leads, still, the little girl's community appears to have maintained its
search for the 5-year-old Jhessye. The community's effort is also
increasingly being aided by the glare of the media spotlight, such as
last week when the Shockley case receive national attention on the
widely viewed missing person's TV program "America’s Most Wanted" (AMW).
The increasing attention might explain why, on Nov. 1, Phoenix, Ariz. Glendale police Sgt. Brent Coombs, said "investigators remain optimistic that they'll find Shockley."
In an Interview with Phoenix KPHO TV on Wednesday night, Jerice Hunter,
the mother of little Jhessye, who has been under a great deal of
suspicion since her daughter disappeared due to a past conviction on
child abuse charges, said a police detective held off administering a
lie detector test following news of Jhessey’s disappearance because she
had been expecting a child.
According to hunter, "That same
detective contacted me a few days ago and said Jerice, you've had the
baby, are you ready to take the polygraph? I said, 'OK sure, but I'd
like my attorney to be present.' What's wrong with that?"
Hunter was sentenced to eight years in a California
prison in 2006 for child abuse. The charges included the torturing of
her 7-year-old daughter and the infliction of physical injuries on her
other children.
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The mother complained that investigators and the media had focused too much on her past instead of on finding her daughter.
"We
feel that law enforcement is not active in finding Jhessye and that
they're more active in persecuting me instead of finding out where she
is," according to The Associated Press.
With an appearance on AMW and recent television interviews, including a prayer vigil over the weekend, it appears the case is receiving the exposure the family is hoping for.
Jhessye,
who was reportedly last seen by Hunter when she left the little girl in
her apartment before stepping out on an errand on Oct. 11, is
African-American, has brown eyes with shoulder length hair, and stands
approximately 3 feet and 5 inches tall, when last seen.
Anyone with information is asked to call 623-930-HELP (4357).
http://global.christianpost.com/news/jhessye-shockley-missing-candlelight-vigil-for-5-year-old-one-month-after-disappearance-video-61696/

snipped from article above:

Hunter was sentenced to eight years in a California
prison in 2006 for child abuse. The charges included the torturing of her 7-year-old daughter and the infliction of physical injuries on her other children.

Yeah....something is very fish with this mother. With her past, I can only imagine what happened to this poor little girl.

Glendale police withholding new information on missing girl

Nov. 15, 2011

Friday marked one month since 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley was
reported missing, and authorities on Monday said there are still no new
significant leads or suspects in the case.

Sgt. Brent Coombs, a spokesman for Glendale police, said the agency
has made progress but is not ready to disclose any new information.

Coombs said police have been in contact with Jerice Hunter, the
girl’s mother, for several weeks about taking a polygraph test, but no
hard date has been set.

Police and the FBI are continuing to follow up on all tips that are received, he said.

The search for Jhessye began Oct. 11, when police said Hunter
returned to her apartment near 45th and Glendale avenues after a brief
errand and found her daughter gone.

The girl’s siblings, the oldest 13, had been left to watch her. The
family initially thought Jhessye had unlocked the front door and walked
away, but when they couldn’t find her, they called police.

Child Protective Services removed three of Hunter’s children from her
custody on Oct. 12. Hunter gave birth to another child this month, and
the newborn girl was also taken by CPS.

Hunter was previously convicted of child abuse involving her children
in California in 2005, but Glendale police have never listed her as a
suspect in her daughter’s disappearance.

Authorities offer an $11,000 reward for tips that lead them to Jhessye’s whereabouts.

Anyone with information should contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2011/11/15/glendale-police-withholding-new-information-on-missing-girl/

November 15th, 2011
*The family of missing Arizona five-year-old Jhessye Shockley are outraged because they claim that the media is not giving enough coverage of the missing girl, who disappeared on Oct. 13. Meanwhile,
white, blue-eyed Lisa Irwin has been on the news headlines and magazine
covers since her disappearance on Oct. 4, while Jhessye’s family claims
her story has been overlooked, as reported on Radar Online.
The
parents, desperate to get media attention for Jhessye, recently marched
on the Arizona state capital to draw attention to her disappearance,
according to the Arizona Republic.
Mother
Jerice Hunter said her daughter was reported missing when she went to
run an errand and came home to find her daughter had vanished without a
trace.
Police are investigating whether Jhessye unlocked the door
and walked out of the Glendale, Arizona house, or if she had been
abducted by an unknown suspect.
But news has been uncovered that Hunter pleaded no contest in California to abusing her children in 2005, according to the New York Times.
Hunter, who has several other children, served three and a half years in state prison.
According
to 2006 court documents, Hunter was “accused of torturing her
7-year-old daughter and of causing corporal injuries to three of her
other children.”
Hunter’s kids told police that their mother
would whip and punch them, sometimes beating them so badly with
extension cords she left welts.
Her 14-year-old son said that the beatings occurred multiple times a week for several years.
Family members have said that the search should focus on the child, not on the mother’s criminal past.
“I
feel like they’re (the media) covering me, instead of my daughter
because it’s a juicy story for them and they want to get ratings,” said
Hunter, who is currently eight months pregnant. “Because I wouldn’t
speak to them initially, they decided they would draw me out by
demonizing me.”
The child’s biological dad, George Shockley, is a
registered sex offender who is currently serving 12 years in a
California prison for a sex offender conviction.
Although the
police have not implicated the family in Jhessye’s disappearance, Child
Protective Services took three of Hunter’s other children into care the
day after she went missing, and refuse to say why they were taken from
the home.
Cousin Mahogany Hightower, who helped look after
Jhessye when her mom was in jail, recalls that the little girl exhibited
bizarre behavior during a family BBQ in April.
“She cried really bad, telling us she wanted to go home now,” she told the Arizona Republic.
“We told her, ‘You can’t go home with us now but you will later.’ She goes, ‘I can’t go later. I ‘ve got to go now.’”
Hunter
told news reporters that she would never hurt her daughter and became
angry when a reporter suggested she may have harmed her.
“Do I look like I hurt my daughter?” she repeated several times.
On the day of her disappearance, Jhessye was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jean shorts and pink sandals.
Glendale police are offering a $11,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to Jhessye’s return.
Glendale police told CBS 5 that no one has been ruled out in the girl’s disappearance.
“Everyone is a person of interest,” said a Glendale police officer.
Anyone with information should call 480-WITNESS.
http://www.eurweb.com/2011/11/search-for-5-year-old-missing-girl-jhessye-shockley-shrouded-in-mystery/

OMG...is the mother Jerice Hunter an ex wife of Leon Walker's father? She beats her children the same way he beat poor Leon to death.

May this child ran away or someone took her to keep her safe. With her mother's history this doesn't sound good. Did she leave the child home alone or was an older child home watching her? She looks like an adorable sweet girl.

Glendale missing girl: Mother arrested, according to family


Jerice Hunter, the mother of a missing Glendale girl has been arrested, according to her mother Shirley Johnson.Police told Johnson they have not found the missing girl, Jhessye
Shockley, and they did not immediately give Johnson a reason for her
daughter’s arrest.
“I have no answers right now,” Johnson said.

The grandmother said she still does not believe her daughter was
responsible for 5-year-old Jhessye’s disappearance. “I don’t feel it and
a mother can feel certain things,” Johnson said.

She continues to believe the girl was taken by someone who knew her.

Hunter’s father, Jesse Johnson, said he talked to his daughter on the
phone about 8 a.m. Monday but that reporters had informed him of her
possible arrest.

He defended his daughter, his voice rising as reporters questioned him about Hunter’s reported arrest.
“I’m
going to stand by her because I know my daughter hasn’t done anything,”
he said. “My daughter loves her kids and is worried about Jhessye like
everyone else.”

Johnson and other family members were briefly at the apartment, which has crime scene tape around its perimeter.

Sgt. Brent Coombs, a spokesman for Glendale police, confirmed that
police are on the scene but would not confirm Hunter’s arrest or provide
any other information.

The FBI said they are assisting police as they have been since the Jhessye went missing.

Crews in white gear were visible, but few details on the latest development are known at this time.

Police have scheduled a news conference regarding the case for 2 p.m.

Jhessye was reported missing Oct. 11. Hunter said she returned home
from running errands and found the 5-year-old missing from their
apartment near 45th and Glendale avenues. Older siblings were supposed
to be watching the girl.

Child Protective Services removed Hunter’s other children the
following day. Hunter later gave birth and that child was removed from
the home as well.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2011/11/21/glendale-missing-girl-mother-arrested-according-to-family/

Mother of missing girl arrested on child abuse charges
by KTAR Newsroom (November 21st, 2011 @ 1:23pm)

Glendale police have arrested Jerice Hunter, mother of missing Glendale girl Jhessye Shockley, on charges of child abuse related directly to her daughter.

"We have not located Jhessye yet. Today Jerice Hunter was arrested by the Glendale PD directly related to her daughter Jhessye," said Sergeant Brent Coombs with the Glendale Police Department during a press conference.

The information that was used to make the arrest on Hunter was obtained within the past few days, Coombs said, adding that many leads received by police have pointed to Hunter.

Hunter is currently the "number one focus" of the investigation and police believe she "played a key role" in her daughter's disappearance, said Coombs.

A polygraph test has been offered to Hunter on multiple occasions, but Hunter has not been cooperative, Coombs said.

Hunter's apartment was surrounded by police tape Monday as investigators in white jumpsuits searched inside. Police declined to say what investigators were doing.

State Child Protective Services removed Hunter's four other children, including a newborn, from her home last month but declined to say why, and police said they had no involvement in the decision to take them away.

Investigators said they have not found the young girl and the hope of rescuing her is fading.

"We do not believe it will be likely we will find Jhessye alive," said Coombs, adding that an increased reward of $25,000 is still being offered so they can find the young girl or her remains.

Coombs refused to give details on how close investigators were to finding the girl's body.

Glendale police will continue to search for Jhessye, Coombs confirmed.

"It is our mission to do the very best that we can in order to find Jhessye and bring those people or that person to justice."

The girl has been missing since Oct. 11.

Police have said they believed Jhessye wandered from her Glendale apartment while Hunter was running an errand. The girl's three older siblings were the last to see her.

Hunter came under scrutiny during the investigation for an October 2005 arrest with her then-husband George Shockley in California on child abuse charges. Hunter pleaded no contest to corporal punishment and served about four years in prison before she was released on parole in May 2010.

Hunter's oldest child, 14 at the time, told police that his mother routinely beat the children.

George Shockley is a convicted sex offender and is still in a California prison. Hunter has told reporters she didn't know about his past until they were arrested and now has nothing to do with him.

Hunter's mother, Shirley Johnson, said her daughter is a changed woman since she got out of prison and is a good mother to her children.

Hunter was eight months pregnant at the time of Jhessye's disappearance. While still pregnant, she demonstrated at the state capitol in Phoenix, saying her daughter's case wasn't getting the attention it deserved because she is black.

At the Oct. 24 demonstration, Hunter condemned members of the media for focusing too much on her past and said she had nothing to hide.

``I have been forthcoming with law enforcement from day one. I let them turn my home into a crime scene hours after I reported that I couldn't find my daughter,'' she said. ``They didn't find anything, but they're holding my children hostage.''

She also criticized the Glendale police department's investigation.

``We feel that law enforcement is not active in finding Jhessye and that they're more active in persecuting me instead of finding out where she is,'' Hunter said.

In the days following Jhessye's disappearance, more than 100 officers and volunteers searched for her in pools, garbage bins and shrubs. They interviewed and searched the homes of registered sex offenders in the area, and stopped at every door to spread news about the missing girl.

Police also cordoned off an area of a local landfill where garbage from Jhessye's neighborhood would have been taken the day of and day after her disappearance, but have not searched it.

Coombs said last week that the FBI was working to schedule a lie detector test with Hunter, but it was unclear whether that occurred.

FBI spokesman Manuel Johnson declined Monday to say whether the exam was held, or comment on the case.

The telephone at Hunter's home went unanswered Monday, and Johnson did not immediately return repeated calls for comment.

http://ktar.com/6/1472232/Mother-of-missing-girl-arrested-on-child-abuse-charges

Document details abuse in Ariz. missing-girl case

By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press
–
1 hour ago



PHOENIX (AP) — A court document released Tuesday says the teenage
sister of a missing 5-year-old Arizona girl told police that her mother
instructed her to lie about the girl's disappearance, that her mother
kept the girl in a closet, and that the girl had black eyes, cuts, and
bruises before she was reported missing.
The document was released
minutes after the girl's mother, Jerice Hunter, had her first court
appearance, during which she proclaimed her innocence.
"I'd just
like to be given the chance to prove my innocence," Hunter told a judge,
who ordered that she be held on a $100,000 bond because of her history
of child abuse and the seriousness of the charge against her.
Hunter
was arrested on a felony count of child abuse Monday, more than five
weeks after she reported her daughter Jhessye Shockley missing. Police
said at a news conference that they received new information in the case
that led to her arrest and to a second search of her apartment in the
Phoenix suburb of Glendale.
Investigators declined to say what
that information was. But the court document details a recent interview
they conducted with Hunter's 13-year-old daughter, who was removed from
the home last month by state Child Protective Services.
The
document, a probable cause statement, said the teenager recently began
to talk to her foster mother about Jhessye, telling her "she was told by
her mother, Jerice, to lie to police about Jhessye being missing."
Police
then interviewed the teen, who told them she did not see Jhessye the
day she disappeared, reversing her previous story to authorities that
she had seen the girl.
She also said that several weeks ago Hunter
became angry when she returned home to find Jhessye wearing a long
T-shirt while watching TV with a neighbor boy, telling the girl that she
was a "ho" before taking her into a bedroom, according to the document.
The teen said she could hear her sister screaming and crying in the room, the document said.
She
also told police that Hunter kept Jhessye in a bedroom closet and
deprived her of food and water, and that she had seen the girl in there
with black eyes and bruises and cuts to her face and body, according to
the document.
"(She) reported that Jhessye's hair had been pulled
out and described Jhessye as not looking alive and that she looked like a
zombie," the document said. "(She) said that the closet where Jhessye
had been looked like a grave and smelled like dead people."
The
teen said that a few days before Jhessye disappeared, her mother spent
the entire day cleaning the apartment and cleaning her shoes from the
closet with soap and bleach. Police said they found a receipt that
showed Hunter bought food and a bottle of bleach two days before she
reported her daughter missing.
Jhessye was last seen Oct. 11 after
Hunter said she went out for an errand and left the girl in the care of
three older siblings at their apartment.
At a news conference
Monday, Glendale Police Sgt. Brent Coombs said authorities do not expect
to find Jhessye alive, but he didn't explain why. He also said Hunter
is the "No. 1 focus" in the investigation.
Hunter, meanwhile, has
maintained her innocence, telling The Associated Press she had nothing
to do with her daughter's disappearance. She also has criticized the
Glendale Police Department's investigation.
"We feel that law
enforcement is not active in finding Jhessye and that they're more
active in persecuting me instead of finding out where she is," Hunter
said last month.
State Child Protective Services removed Hunter's
other children, including a newborn, from her apartment last month but
declined to say why. Glendale police said they had no part in the
decision to remove the children.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j75oxbrZ2DozLPq2cyCSKmPIk-Bw?docId=e4c16b966336432d8f6c6344e493cfeb

Haven't the family got egg on their faces now? Contrary to the families accusations that the police weren't doing enough - they've done a brilliant job and one nasty cow will no doubt live the rest of her days in the slammer and there will be justice for Jhessye.

I could move this to murdered now, but will wait for the charges.

Who's the lyng HO now? D@mn mother killed that poor baby. I hope they find her body so they can prosecute her to the fullest.

quote="babyjustice"]Who's the lyng HO now? D@mn mother killed that poor baby. I hope they find her body so they can prosecute her to the fullest.[/quote]

According to court documents released Tuesday, Hunter's 13-year-old
daughter told their foster mom about physical abuse to Jhessye prior to
her being reported missing. The child stated that she was told by her
mother to lie to police about Jhessye being missing.

The report goes on to say the child told investigators that Hunter allegedly kept Jhessye in her mother's bedroom closet.

Police
said Hunter's children who have been in Child Protective Services since
soon after Jhessye's disappearance told police Jhessye has bruises on
her.

Glendale police said Monday that Hunter was arrested on child-abuse charges "directly related to her daughter, Jhessye."

Police are still searching for the girl but they are doubtful she'll ever reunite with her family.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, Glendale police said they do not believe it is likely they will find Jhessye alive.

Jhessye was last seen Oct. 11.

CBS 5 confirmed Hunter was booked into 4th Avenue Jail on child abuse charges around 3 p.m. Monday.

There
was a large police presence early Monday morning at the apartment
complex at 6800 N. 45th Ave., where Hunter lives, including forensics
vehicles.

Hunter recently gave birth to another child and has
been recovering at the residence. The baby and four other children are
in the custody of Child Protective Services.

In an exclusive interview with CBS 5's Donna Rossi, Hunter said she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance.

Police
had said Hunter was not a suspect nor a person of interest. But Monday
they said that changed within the past few days when they received new
information.

www.kpho.com/.../pd-to-release-new-information-in-jhessye-shockle...

She scrubbed her house with bleach for days before reporting Jahesseye "missing". Murdering bitch.

Why do these evil bitches keep breeding?

twinkletoes wrote:Why do these evil bitches keep breeding?

IMO --- for the almighty $$$ and all of US support her skanky, lazy, murdering ASS

Stuffed animals and fresh balloons, blowing in
the wind, adorned a makeshift memorial for a missing Glendale
kindergartener, who police on Monday said they no longer expect to find alive.
A break in the investigation into the disappearance of Jhessye
Shockley, missing for six weeks, led police to the apartment near 45th
and Glendale avenues to arrest the girl's mother.
Neighbors gathered, some taking cellphone photos, others shaking
their heads as white-suited police investigators walked in and out of the apartment.
Some looked on as a line of police cars drove the mother, Jerice Hunter, to the Glendale police station in a white bathrobe.

Hunter faces a child-abuse charge and police have said Jhessye was
the victim. Police had not released details about the suspected abuse at press time.
Police said Monday that Hunter is the "Number 1 focus" in the girl's disappearance.
Residents who live in the area are left with questions. They aren't sure what to think. Some didn't see Hunter's arrest coming.
"I can't really believe it," neighbor Heather White said. "I don't think she did it. I'm still going to be looking for Jhessye."
White's two girls, ages 5 and 10, often played with Jhessye before the Glendale girl was reported missing Oct. 11.
They, too, have questions.
They want to know why Jhessye hasn't been out to play and why police
and reporters have flooded their neighborhood. On Monday night, news
trucks and police cruisers remained after dark.
White is afraid to tell the girls much. The Glendale mother said she can only explain that they're all trying to find Jhessye.
"I don't want them to get their hopes up that Jhessye is going to come back," she said.
White and other neighbors were especially saddened by news that
police no longer expect to find Jhessye alive. Some have spent weeks
participating in candlelight vigils and neighborhood searches. They have
continued to pass out fliers and add balloons, photos and stuffed
animals to Jhessye's memorial at the corner of 45th and Glendale avenues.
A handful comforted Hunter's parents as they learned of their daughter's arrest. They watched as news cameras surrounded them.

Both parents defended their daughter throughout Monday.

Hunter's father said police should focus on finding Jhessye rather than accusing his daughter.

"I've never seen my daughter do anything to her kids except love them," Jesse Johnson said.

But Hunter had previously served time in California for child abuse
involving her other children. Six months before Jhessye disappeared,
Glendale police and state Child Protective Services workers investigated
allegations against Hunter of child abuse. Police reported that they
had found no evidence of abuse, noting CPS was looking into the matter.

Despite the latest news, police say their top priority is still to find Jhessye.

"This is by no means the end to this investigation," police spokesman
Sgt. Brent Coombs said. "Our mission is still to find Jhessye, even
though we believe it's unlikely she's still going to be alive. We have a
commitment to do that and to bring justice to the person or persons
responsible for her disappearance."

In the hopes of doing so, police used funds from drug-investigation
seizures to increase the reward to $25,000 for information leading to
Jhessye.

Anyone with information about Jhessye's disappearance is urged to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2011/11/23/20111123glendale-neighborhood-stunned-missing-girls-mom-arrested.html#ixzz1efUQWGAz

Posters note: Maybe these family members are as delusional as the Anthony's, but maybe they're culpable too and were bystanders to the abuse. If Hunters father knows enough about how his daughter cared for her children to claim her innocence, logic says he must have seen enough of the children and witnessed the state of poor Jhessye.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/faith/group-refuses-to-stop-looking-for-jhessye-11272011

PHOENIX - More than a month has gone by, and her mother has been arrested on charges of child abuse - but 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley is still missing. And on Sunday, a group was making sure she is not forgotten.

Members of United Power of Faith said they refuse to stop searching for the little girl -- even though after her mom's arrest and allegations of severe abuse, many don't believe that Jhessye is still alive.

But church members said they won't give up until they see proof.

“It was all about Jhessye, and we believe God can do anything. So we’re going to keep our faith and keep looking, keep asking, and keep praying,” said Bishop Chris.

United Power of Faith said they hope they can inspire others to help continue the search for Jhessye.

Online:

unitedpoweroffaith.com

Jhessye's Facebook Page

The mother of a missing 5-year-old Arizona girl was released from
jail Monday morning because no charges had been filed against her.Jerice
Hunter, 38, was arrested a week ago on suspicion of felony child abuse.
However, prosecutors failed to file charges against her within the
required 48 hours of her first court appearance.
Jerry Cobb, a
spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, said Monday that
prosecutors will wait for more results of the police investigation into
Jhessye Shockley's disappearance before deciding whether to charge
Hunter.
"We thought it was best to let the investigation continue," Cobb said.
Jhessye
was last seen Oct. 11 at her family's apartment in the Phoenix suburb
of Glendale after Hunter said she went out for an errand and left the
girl in the care of three older siblings
Hunter has maintained she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance, and has been critical of investigators.
Police have said they don't believe they will find the child alive.
According
to court documents released last week, Jhessye's teenage sister told
police that Hunter had instructed her to lie about the disappearance.
She also said her mother kept Jhessye in a closet, and that the girl had
cuts, black eyes and other bruises before she was reported missing.
There was no answer at Hunter's apartment when The Associated Press called there early Monday afternoon.
Phoenix
television station KSAZ captured footage of Hunter as she was making a
call from a payphone outside a west Phoenix jail on Monday. "Leave me
alone. I am not talking to the media," said Hunter, her back turned
toward the camera.
Child welfare workers removed Hunter's other
children, including a newborn, from her apartment last month but
declined to say why.
Hunter came under scrutiny during the
investigation for an October 2005 arrest with her then-husband, George
Shockley, on child abuse charges in California. Hunter pleaded no
contest to corporal punishment and served about four years in prison
before she was released on parole in May 2010.
Hunter's oldest
child, 14 at the time, told police his mother routinely beat the
children. George Shockley is a convicted sex offender and is still in a
California prison.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g5e6KML0sZdckrJn7SEZqbohGjZw?docId=9036fea188da432ab6eea99f5b9f992d

Tom I am so sad she was freaking released!!! I have another story too. :(

Missing Glendale girl: Mother released as deadline passes

snipped:

The mother of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley has been freed because prosecutors did not bring formal charges against her before a deadline passed, authorities said.

Jerice Hunter was arrested last week and booked on a felony count of child abuse. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said Hunter was released shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2011/11/28/20111128missing-glendale-girl-mom-released.html#ixzz1f4HTtFq8

I know Verogal..this is disheartening especially for her living kids. The teenage girl that told what happened to poor Jehessye is probably scared to death. I hope those kids are NOT placed back with this violent mother. Her past history speaks for the type of person she is. I hope they find enough evidence to prosecute her.