BIANCA JONES - 2 yo (12/2011) - Detroit MI

I can't help but wonder which members of her family are involved in this fundraiser. George and Cindy come to mind.

I believe her "family" ie father is responsible for her disappearance.

Is this another "missing" baby girl whose body is rotting somewhere, placed by her "family"?

JMO.

Prosecutor promises decision soon on charges in disappearance of 2-year-old Detroit girl
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

First Posted: March 13, 2012 - 11:25 am
Last Updated: March 13, 2012 - 11:26 am

DETROIT — The Wayne County prosecutor says she'll decide "very, very soon" whether to file charges in the disappearance of a 2-year-old Detroit girl who has been missing since early December.

Detroit police asked for an arrest warrant in mid-December, two weeks after Bianca Jones was reported missing by her father during a carjacking. The car was recovered but not the child.

Police have been skeptical of D'Andre Lane's version of events, but he has denied wrongdoing. Worthy briefly talked about the case Tuesday during a news conference about other matters. She says her office is giving the case a very thorough look.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/315176a6adf84968bc2b0ac73fff6691/MI--Carjacking-Missing-Child/

Detroit dad charged with murder in disappearance of daughter missing since December.

ED WHITE Associated Press

First Posted: March 14, 2012 - 6:11 am
Last Updated: March 14, 2012 - 2:19 pm

DETROIT — A Detroit dad who has pleaded with the public to find his missing 2-year-old daughter has been charged with murder.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced charges Wednesday against D'Andre Lane. He insists his daughter, Bianca Jones, was abducted during a carjacking on Dec. 2.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced charges Wednesday against D'Andre Jones.

Lane says he was carjacked while his daughter was secured in a child seat. The car was found but not Bianca.

Lane has publicly stuck to that story and denied wrongdoing, although police expressed doubt just days after he reported her missing. Volunteers have searched the city for any sign of the girl.

Lane is in the Oakland County jail in an unrelated matter. His lawyer did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/ee8fbb3ab2514acc89a1ffb3bfb3fe87/MI--Carjacking-Missing-Child/

NG's interview with Bianca Jones' father, now accused of child's murder.

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/03/14/nancy-grace-interview-bianca-jones-murder-suspect

Bianca Jones' father charged with felony murder, child abuse

3:31 PM, March 14, 2012

The father of a missing 2-year-old girl has been charged with felony murder and child abuse in connection with her disappearance, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced today.

D’Andre Lane is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Detroit’s 36th District Court on the charges. If convicted on the murder charge, Lane faces life in prison without parole.

Lane’s attorney, Terry Johnson, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bianca Jones went missing Dec. 2 and has not been found.

Worthy said cases where a body is not recovered or where one is recovered in a condition that is not helpful to police and prosecutors are difficult to prosecute.

“A human body is sometimes the best piece of evidence the prosecutor and the police can have,” she said. “It can speak to you, it can sometimes tell you what happened. It can sometimes tell you who did it and who didn’t. It can sometimes lead you in the right direction.

“But bodies, as you know, are not always found in cases that police investigate or found in a condition that … can help police and prosecutors out.”

Lane told investigators he was carjacked in Detroit while driving to the home of Bianca’s mother to get some clothing for the little girl. Police found his car about 10 minutes later and the toddler was gone.

Police have questioned his account and have searched his home several times.

A source familiar with the investigation previously told the Free Press that a cadaver dog alerted its handler to spots in a bedroom at Lane’s house, as well as in his car, on Bianca’s car seat and her blanket.

Cadaver dogs are trained to find human remains and can be capable of detecting even trace amounts of decomposition, experts say.

Lane’s attorney, though, has said his client longs for his daughter’s return.

Lane previously said he failed a police polygraph test, but blamed that on his thoughts about Bianca and the carjacking. He insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

Lane was arrested in December shortly after Bianca’s disappearance for violating conditions of a personal protection order. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews ordered Lane to take an anger management course after he violated the PPO that prohibited him from contacting his ex-wife, Rakiba Mitchell. He was later released.

When Matthews learned Monday that he had failed to attend the course, she ordered him jailed again. He is currently serving 14 days in the Oakland County jail. Lane is scheduled for release on March 23, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Wesley Beltz said.

Mitchell sought the PPO in March 2011, following the couple’s divorce, saying he was harassing her and threatening her. She accused Lane of assaulting her at a family birthday party. Mitchell and Lane share a young child, who is in Mitchell’s custody.

The PPO was granted on April 1 but according to court records, Lane continued to contact Mitchell. On July 18, Mitchell said in court records that she found a note from Lane asking to see their son. She called police and a bench warrant was issued.

In addition to this case, Worthy announced charges against another Detroit man, accused of shooting a 2-year-old during a dispute Sunday.

Ferris Desean Dixon, 35, is charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder and one count each of felonious assault and felony firearm. Worthy said toddler Tajuan Smith was shot after Dixon shot at a man he was arguing with. Tajaun suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, but is expected to survive, Worthy said.

She expressed concern over the epidemic of children being shot.

In February, 9-month-old Delric Waymon Miller IV was fatally shot when someone sprayed his home with bullets using an assault rifle. And in late January, 12-year-old Kade’jah Davis was killed the same way.

Tuesday night, 12-year-old Michael Green II was shot in the arm on the city’s west side while playing basketball.

“It’s disgusting and ridiculous and I don’t know who does that,” Worthy said. “Who shoots off guns when children are around?”

http://www.freep.com/article/20120314/NEWS01/120314029/Bianca-Jones-father-charged-with-felony-murder-child-abuse

$3-million bond for Bianca Jones' dad

D'Andre Lane was arraigned on charges of first-degree felony murder,
first-degree child abuse and being a habitual fourth offender in
connection with the Dec. 2 disappearance of his daughter, Bianca Jones.
If convicted on the murder charge, Lane faces life in prison without parole. He is due back in court April 17.
Lane,
32, told police he was carjacked at gunpoint by two men that day. When
police found his car a short time later, Bianca was gone.
She is presumed dead by authorities, but her body has not been found.
Lane has denied involvement in his daughter's disappearance, but police have questioned his account.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday that authorities believe Bianca was abused before her disappearance.
A
source familiar with the investigation previously told the Free Press
that Lane's roommate told police that on the night before Bianca
disappeared, she wet the bed and was reprimanded by her father, who the
roommate said was strict about potty training.
Wayne County
Assistant Prosecutor Carin Goldfarb indicated in court Thursday that
Lane implicated himself in statements regarding the child abuse.
Lane's attorney, Terry Johnson, said there has never been a child abuse report against his client.
Goldfarb said "there is considerable, compelling evidence" pointing to Lane's involvement in his daughter's death.
A
source told the Free Press that a cadaver dog, trained to detect human
decomposition, alerted its handler to spots in a bedroom at Lane's
house, as well as in his car, on Bianca's car seat and her blanket.
Johnson said his client is innocent.
"He's
not guilty," Johnson said, adding that he believes the charges are a
reaction to public outcry. "The public wanted something; the public has
something now."
http://www.freep.com/article/20120316/NEWS01/203160345/-36-3-million-bond-for-Bianca-Jones-dad

D'Andre Lane, father of Bianca Jones, has pleaded not guilty in
regards to the murder charge against him. Although the two-year old
missing Detroit child hasn't been found, detectives must have enough
reason to believe this man killed the little girl via child abuse.
Still, D'Andre Lane is sticking to his story, and is refusing to admit
that he had anything to do with his daughter's disappearance.
It's
going to be a bumpy road for prosecutors since there isn't a body.
Bianca Jones has not been found, but there is cadaver dog evidence that
human decomposition was found in D'Andre's bedroom as well as in his car
and on some of Bianca's belongings.
This may be enough, if used in conjunction with whatever other evidence
they have. However, if the Casey Anthony case has taught anybody
anything, it's that even this kind of evidence may not always lead to a
guilty verdict.
Prosecutors say the child was abused before she
vanished the day D'Andre Lane reported an alleged car-jacking and
kidnapping. However, the level of "abuse" is not being clarified upon,
although it's rather obvious that they believe it ended in the death of
the two-year old missing girl. D'Andre's 17-year-old son supports the
man and claims that he'd never hurt the girl, but it appears that
detectives truly feel that they have their man.
What kind of evidence do they have?
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981202990

CBS) DETROIT - A judge set bond at $3 million for D'Andre Lane, the
father of missing 2-year-old Detroit girl Bianca Jones, saying he's
disturbed by evidence submitted that indicates cadaver dogs detected
signs of a dead body at the man's home. Lane appeared in a Detroit court Thursday via video monitor, where he was arraigned on murder and child abuse charges, reports CBS Detroit. The 32-year-old pleaded not guilty in connection with Bianca's disappearance.
Wayne
County Prosecutor Kim Worthy announced the murder charges Wednesday.
The prosecutor said Bianca, whose body was never recovered, was abused
on the day of her disappearance but refused to elaborate.
An attorney for Lane, Terry Johnson, told reporters Thursday that his client has done nothing wrong.
"This is a public outcry. The public wanted something. The public has something now," said Johnson, CBS Detroit reports.
According
to the station, Lane's 17-year-old son, also named D'Andre, said he
doesn't believe his father would abuse his 2-year-old sister.
"He
not gonna harm none of his children, especially over discipline," he
said. "He disciplined all of us in the right way ... my cousins, you
know, all of us. So ... it's just hard to believe that he'd hurt my
sister. But I know he didn't."
Lane claims he was carjacked
on Dec. 2, 2011 while his daughter was secured in a child seat. The car
was recovered but Bianca was never found. Worthy said Lane's story is
"totally inconsistent with the facts."
A preliminary exam in the case is set for mid-April, CBS Detroit reports.
Complete coverage of Bianca Jones on Crimesider
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57398806-504083/bianca-jones-father-dandre-lane-held-on-$3-million-bond-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder/

The filing of murder charges last month against the father of
2-year-old Bianca Jones raised eyebrows and questions: Since the Detroit
toddler is still missing, how can D'Andre Lane be prosecuted in her
death?
"(Prosecutors) are making the assumption that Mr. Lane's
daughter is dead," Terry L. Johnson, the attorney for Bianca's father,
said when Lane was arraigned March 15. "But there's no body, or even
parts of a body. We still believe she's somewhere ... kidnapped or
abducted."
Legal experts say in a murder case, the lack of a body
makes gaining a conviction more difficult, but not impossible. They say
prosecutors have won guilty verdicts in hundreds of similar cases
nationwide, including several convictions in the past two decades in
Michigan.
"These do present special challenges," said Donna
Pendergast, a Michigan assistant attorney general. "It can be a battle
when you don't have a body in today's 'CSI'-oriented world and juries
demanding to know what your evidence is … but it's not the perfect
crime."
Pendergast has the convictions to prove it. She has won
two cases without a victim's body, resulting in prison terms for five
defendants.
"It is not insurmountable," she said. "You need to
take every scrap of evidence and weave it into a tapestry for the jury
which shows why you don't have a body. And explain to them why a
defendant shouldn't be rewarded because they disposed of the body in a
tidy manner."
In some instances, prosecutors have won convictions many years after a victim disappeared, despite the lack of a body.
In
one especially prominent case in Macomb County, Arthur Ream was
convicted in 2008 of kidnapping and murdering 13-year-old Cindy
Zarzycki, who disappeared in 1986.
A month after a jury found him guilty, Ream led investigators to a Macomb Township site where Cindy's remains were buried.
The
prosecutor in that case, Steven Kaplan, also won a first-degree murder
conviction in 2001 against Robert William Pann in the Dec. 26, 1991,
disappearance of his girlfriend, Bernice Gray, whose body has not been
found.
Gray disappeared after dropping off her daughter at a day
care center. A resident living near the center heard gunshots and four
days later, Gray's car was found with her blood and shell casings
inside. Pann told family members that night he had been "digging all
day."
Despite the conviction, there has been no relief for Gray's
family, said her stepfather, Julian "Sandy" Ulmer of Warren. Pann's
efforts to win a new trial have been denied in Michigan courts, but an
appeal in federal court is pending. The family has yet to obtain
restitution under the Michigan Crime Victims Act, Ulmer said.
"He
(Pann) is still trying to get out of prison," Ulmer said. "We've spent
thousands of dollars on legal work because we are afraid if we don't
stop pushing issues, it will give him a better chance of federal appeal
and getting his conviction reversed. We would love to put it all to
rest, but it seems to go on and on.
"Relief?" Ulmer continued. "It's like an emotional dagger stuck in the family."
Pendergast
said one of the biggest hurdles for prosecutors in such cases is
convincing jurors that guilt can be proven without a victim's body.
Pendergast said much of the work must be done before a case goes to trial, during the voir direprocess
in which prospective jurors are questioned by prosecutors and defense
attorneys to any prejudices or predispositions they might have toward a
particular case or law.
"You sometimes have to lay out to
prospective jurors that your case does not include the discovery of a
body — and get a commitment from them that should that happen, can they
still decide a case based on other evidence," the prosecutor said. "Or,
would they be unable to find guilt for a defendant because of their
strong belief that there must be a body."
The law does not require
a victim's body to charge someone with murder, but strong
circumstantial evidence — witnesses, motivation and opportunity — is
generally needed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, said Thomas
DiBase, a former U.S. attorney in Washington.
"Today's technology —
not just DNA, but computer records, cellphones, electronic trails —
provides prosecutors with tools that didn't exist years ago," said
DiBase, who acts as a consultant to police and attorneys in cases
involving missing victims.
DNA helped Pendergast win murder
convictions against three men in the February 2001 slaying of Larry
Nelson, who had hired them to do some remodeling work for him in a
Detroit house. Junious Maurice Hall and Jeffrey Holmes are serving life
terms, and Michael Monford, convicted of second-degree murder in the
case, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years.
"They beat Larry Nelson
with two-by-fours, a shovel, shot him and then put him in a garbage can
for pickup," Pendergast said. "In that case, we had DNA and blood, but
no body. Police sat on a dump for a week, but we never found it. But we
got a conviction."
In 2003, Pendergast also successfully
prosecuted brothers Donald "Coco" Duvall of Monroe and Raymond "J.R."
Duvall of South Branch in the 1985 slayings of Brian Ognjan, 27, of St.
Clair Shores and David Tyll, 27, of Troy. The two Metro Detroit men
disappeared while on a hunting trip in northern Michigan. The brothers
killed the pair following an argument in Oscoda County, chopped up their
bodies and fed their remains to pigs, according to court records.
Evidence,
including a witness to the slayings who came forward years later,
provided a chain of strong circumstantial evidence that could not be
ignored by jurors, who returned guilty verdicts after deliberating for
just two hours, Pendergast said. Both men are serving life terms.
DiBase
became interested in cases with missing victims after successfully
prosecuting one in 2006 (the second such case in D.C., he said). He has
compiled a database of 300 trials involving missing victims in the
United States dating to the 1800s.
"Even taking into account 35
dismissals, acquittals or reversals on appeal, as of this January, there
was a 90 percent conviction rate in no-body trials," he said.


From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120403/METRO/204030370#ixzz1raVg3v4F

DETROIT — A Detroit man faces a key court hearing in the death of his 2-year-old daughter.

D'Andre Lane is charged with murder. He's to be in 36th District Court in Detroit on Tuesday for a preliminary examination.

Defense lawyer Terry Johnson says Lane had no role in Bianca's death and will fight the murder charge.

Lane
insists his daughter, Bianca Jones, was abducted during a carjacking on
Dec. 2. He says he was carjacked while his daughter was secured in a
child seat. The car was found but not Bianca.

Lane has publicly stuck to that story and denied
wrongdoing, although police expressed doubt just days after he reported
her missing.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says Lane's story is inconsistent with the facts of the case.

Defense lawyer Terry Johnson says Lane had no role in Bianca's death and will fight the murder charge.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/ed5c9861fb2e4189a2bcc4cf769305eb/MI--Carjacking-Missing-Child/

April 17, 2012 at 8:52 am
Father of Bianca Jones to appear in court today
By Christine Ferretti, The Detroit News

Excerpt:

Detroit— The father of Bianca Jones is due in court Tuesday afternoon for a preliminary examination on allegations he abused and killed the toddler.

D'Andre Lane of Detroit is charged with first-degree felony murder and child abuse. Bianca was last seen Dec. 2. Her body has not been found.

Lane's attorney, Terry L. Johnson, said the hearing in Detroit's 36th District Court is expected to include about 10 prosecution witnesses and could span several days.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120417/METRO01/204170375#ixzz1sKAVSygE

The father of missing two-year-old Bianca Jones will return to court Friday in connection with the murder case against him. D'Andre Lane has pleaded not guilty to First-Degree Felony Murder and First-Degree Felony Child Abuse.
The
toddler’s mother, Banika Jones is expected to take the stand in the
Preliminary Exam Friday. She says she hasn’t given up hope that her
missing daughter will come home.
She also believes Lane had nothing to do with her disappearance.
“I’ve
never seen any implication of violence in him. Never. I don’t feel
like I can comment any more at this time,” said Jones. “I’m going to let
things play out in court as they should.”
Lane claims Bianca was kidnapped back in December during a gas station carjacking. She hasn’t been seen since.
During an April 17 hearing, Bianca’s 8-year old sister testified in the case about the day her sister disappeared.
That morning, she said, her father carried a silent Bianca to the car, covered with a blanket.
He strapped the child in next to her, and the toddler didn’t move or make a sound, she said.
Prosecutors contend that there is “considerable” evidence linking Lane to the abuse and murder charges against him.
Lane is being held in a secure area of the Wayne County Jail on a $3 million bond.


Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/the-mother-of-2-year-old-bianca-jones-will-take-the-stand-friday-in-case-against-dandre-lane#ixzz1tF9L13tH

Bizarre new details in the disappearance of a two-year Detroit girl
Bianca Jones. The hearing, which continued on Tuesday, will eventually
determine whether her father will face trial for murder.
WWJ’s Sandra McNeill reports that D’Andre Lane, father of missing and
feared dead, Bianca Jones, was in a Detroit courtroom for a hearing to
determine if he will stand trial for the murder of the 2-year old.

Lane has claimed that his daughter was kidnapped during a carjacking last December.

Officer John Quincey testified that Lane told him Jones had suffered
some sort of head injury the night before she went missing from the
alleged carjacking.

Prosecutor Carin Goldfarb asked Quincy about the injury in court:

“Do you remember what he said he did in order to help Bianca? With this head injury she had,” asked the prosecutor.




“The defendant stated that he was trying to keep her up by tapping
her with a stick on the buttocks, to keep her up,” said Quincey.

“Did he tell you if he tried to get any medical attention – for this child?”, asked Goldfarb.

“No, he did not,” said Quincey. “No, he didn’t try,” he clarified.

The stick wrapped in tape was more than a foot and a half in length the court was told.

Lisa Dungy owned the home were Lane was staying and said she got a call from Lane claiming Bianca was taken during a carjacking.

“I heard pleading, crying –’someone help me please … somebody took my
baby’ he kept repeating it over and over. I was calling, like, “what’s
wrong, what’s wrong or how can I help you?” but there was no answer,”
testified Dungy.

A strange woman then came on the phone she said they took Bacon, the
name Bacon, so I wasn’t familiar with that. I said, “What happened?” and
she said, “No car, no bacon, I’m hanging up, I’m calling the police
now,” and she hung up,” added Dungy.

The hearing will continue on Thursday in 36th District Court in Detroit.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/05/08/hearing-will-continue-for-father-of-missing-2-year-old-bianca-jones/

D'Andre Lane told police that his 2-year-old daughter Bianca Jones
was suffering from a cold, diarrhea and had difficulty falling asleep
the night before he said he was carjacked at gunpoint and his daughter
taken.
Wayne County prosecutors introduced on Tuesday portions of a
five-hour police interview conducted with Lane in December during the
third day of testimony in his preliminary examination in 36th District
Court.
The hearing, before Judge Ruth Carter, is to determine
whether Lane will stand trial on first-degree felony murder and
first-degree child abuse.
Lane, 32, was shown in the police
interview Dec. 3 video telling officers he spanked Bianca on her
buttocks and legs with a paddle he made with a wooden stick and duct
tape as punishment for having a potty training accident on the night of
Dec. 1 -- the day before her disappearance. Lane also told police the
girl later fell out of bed about 1 a.m. that night, hitting her head.
"She nodded out and got up," Lane said.
Lane
told police he kept hitting Bianca with the wooden part of the paddle
to keep her up. Lane said he was hanging out with his nephew and at one
point hit Bianca, "popping her on the butt."
"I doubt it even hurt like that," Lane told police in the interview.
Bianca, Lane said, then had trouble falling asleep and he kept her up with him until 3:30 a.m.
Detroit
Police Officer John Quincy testified Tuesday and was shown on the video
asking Lane how Bianca was the next morning. Lane said on the video the
toddler was a bit out of it.
Quincy testified that he and a fellow officer read Lane his rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment.
Quincy
said Lane told police he left his house on Mitchell Street in Detroit
between 7:45 and 8 a.m. Dec. 2, the morning Bianca disappeared and
dropped off his nephew, then took his 8-year-old daughter to school in
Highland Park. Lane then stopped at a Marathon gas station on Woodward
and Highland.
After leaving Highland Park, Lane said, he drove
downtown to Wayne County Community College and afterward ran into a
friend near the Greyhound bus station on Howard Street.
After
talking with his friend, Lane said, he was on his way to Bianca's
mother's house when he was carjacked in the area of Brush and West Grand
Boulevard. He said he walked to the 200 block of Custer Street to
Bianca's mother's house after the carjacking, Quincy said.
Lane's
attorney, Terry Johnson, argued that the officers continued to question
Lane even after he indicated he was tired of answering questions.
"Did you ever advise Mr. Lane that he was free to go at anytime?" Johnson asked Quincy.
"No. I did not," Quincy said.
Lane's
roommate, Lisa Dungey, testified she never saw Lane physically abuse
Bianca or any of his seven children. Dungey, who said she works with
children in the Hamtramck public schools in first through eighth grades,
said she would be obligated to report child abuse had she seen any.
Dungey,
41, also testified she saw Bianca asleep on the lower bunk of a bed the
girl shared with her sister on the morning of Dec. 2. Testimony
continues this week.
http://www.freep.com/article/20120509/NEWS02/205090398/Suspect-in-missing-toddler-case-told-police-about-spanking-her-the-night-before-she-disappeared

Her child still missing, a mother soldiers on



By Mitch Albom | Posted: Saturday, May 12, 2012 6:00 am


There was a movie not too long ago, based on a book called “I
Don’t Know How She Does It.” It was about a working mother juggling a
high-powered job, a demanding family and endless obligations.
I
don’t know how she does it. I found myself thinking about that phrase –
but in a whole different context – while standing next to Banika Jones
on the porch of her decaying home in Detroit.
If Jones’ name
sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because her 2-year-old daughter, Bianca
Jones, was a headline for several months this past winter. And not the
way you want to be a headline.
Young Bianca was first believed to
be inside a car when it was stolen. After weeks of exhaustive searching,
authorities charged her father, D’Andre Lane, with her murder.
To this day, there is no body.
To this day, Banika believes her baby is still alive, somewhere.
And
meanwhile, there we were, on the porch, talking about how Banika had
been a day away from losing her house, due to missed payments on a
reverse mortgage.
Your baby daughter goes missing. You don’t know if she’s dead or alive. And they’re about to put you in the street.
How does she do it?
“I
lost a job last year, and I was actively looking for a new one when my
daughter disappeared,” Jones said. “And, as you can imagine, that
derailed my job search.”
Banika and her other daughter, Bella, 7,
were living in the Custer Street house, which was given to them by
Banika’s grandmother. Unbeknown to Banika, her grandmother had a reverse
mortgage, and missed payments led to the house’s imminent foreclosure.
She was one day from being homeless.
“I was devastated,” she said. “I really didn’t know what I was going to do.”
As
she spoke, I glanced at the front of her house. Taped on the window
pane was a flyer with a picture of her missing daughter, and a phone
number to call if anyone had any information.
I saw that flyer,
then I saw Banika, and I couldn’t get that phrase out of my head. I
don’t know how she does it. If my child were missing, I doubt I could
stand up, much less uphold a conversation. If I thought my baby had been
murdered, no amount of comfort could bring me to my feet – let alone to
deal with foreclosure or imminent homelessness.
But I realized,
especially in Detroit, how often I have been alongside victims of awful
things, a murdered spouse or sibling, a child lost to war, a parent
taken by drunken driving, a terminal prognosis, an eviction.
And yet these brave people speak, they serve you coffee, they say, “Thank you.” They soldier on. They face the day.
I don’t know how they do it.
In
Banika Jones’ case, one crisis was averted. We were able to save her
house through our charity Working Homes/Working Families and fix it up. A
job was arranged thanks to the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, which
now employs Banika – who spent several years in the Army – in working
with homeless veterans.
“It puts me in a place where I can move
forward,” she said, “where I can help people too, to make sure that no
one ends up where I was about to end up.”
She still has no news on
her missing daughter. The flyer remains on her window. There are more
court dates involving the accused father.
Yet Banika Jones cares
for Bella, she works five days a week, she straightens her salvaged
home, she is even planting a garden across the street with neighbors who
want to help feed the community.
If you stood next to Banika
Jones, you might have no idea the private torture she is going through,
the monumental issues she’s had to deal with this year alone.
But
that could be true of anyone you see today. So many people carry private
burdens, yet push up a smile and drag through the everyday hours of
life. That’s worth remembering the next time we think a person is rude
or aloof. We never know what they might be wrestling with – especially
in these difficult times. I don’t know how she does it. Or some days,
how any of us do.
http://www.bgdailynews.com/opinion/commentary/her-child-still-missing-a-mother-soldiers-on/article_0429e722-9bd6-11e1-9af5-001a4bcf887a.html

Bianca Jones' father bound over for trial on murder, child abuse charges
2-year-old girl missing since Dec. 2, when D'Andre Lane says he was carjacked with her inside

Published On: May 29 2012 01:26:00 PM EDT
Updated On: May 29 2012 01:28:23 PM EDT

The father of a 2-year-old Detroit girl who has been missing since last year will now go to trial for her disappearance.

The girl, Bianca Jones, hasn’t been seen since Dec. 2, 2011, when her father said he was carjacked with her in the back seat.

Police found the car a short time later, but the girl wasn't in it.

D'Andre Lane was bound over to trial Tuesday by Judge Ruth Carter on charges of felony murder and first-degree child abuse.

Witnesses and officers have testified that Lane might have beaten and killed the girl.

However, her body has still not been found.

Carter said she made her decision based on testimony from people who were inside the house the night before the girl went missing.

Lane's own girlfriend said she awoke to hear Bianca crying and being disciplined by Lane for wetting the bed. She said he used a stick he had made by wrapping a sponge with duct tape. She said she heard Lane hit Bianca “three or four times" before everything was quiet.

Others said Bianca was never seen the following morning and that Lane carried her out to his car and covered her with a blanket once she was inside the car.

Police said there was also a 45 minute gap between when they were told about the girl's disappearance.

Lane is scheduled to be arraigned June 5.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/news/Bianca-Jones-father-bound-over-for-trial-on-murder-child-abuse-charges/-/4714498/14272714/-/i6325n/-/index.html

Murder trial for D'Andre Lane, father of missing 2-year-old Bianca Jones, set for Sept. 18

12:12 PM, June 5, 2012
By Tammy Stables Battaglia, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A Wayne County judge has scheduled the murder trial for the father of missing 2-year-old Bianca Jones for Sept. 18.

Judge Vonda Evans today ordered D’Andre Lane’s trial to commence on charges of first-degree felony murder and child abuse charges. Bianca disappeared on Dec. 2 when Lane said he was carjacked with Bianca in the back seat. The car was found minutes later, but the toddler remains missing and is presumed dead by prosecutors.

Lane, 32, faces life in prison if convicted of the crimes. He’s maintained his innocence, although he admitted to police he spanked Bianca with a homemade paddle for a potty training accident the day before she disappeared.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120605/NEWS02/120605036/1001/news

Evidence hearing Friday in Bianca Jones case
2-year-old missing since December; Father charged with murder

Published On: Aug 24 2012 08:24:17 AM EDT

DETROIT - An evidentiary hearing is Friday for a Detroit man who is charged with killing his 2-year-old daughter.

Bianca Jones hasn’t been seen since Dec. 2, 2011, when her father, D’Andre Lane, said he was carjacked with her in the back seat.

Police found Lane’s car a short time later, but the girl wasn't in it.

Witnesses and officers have testified that Lane might have beaten and killed the girl.

However, her body has still not been found.

Lane’s trial on murder and child abuse charges is set to get under way on Sept. 18.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Evidence-hearing-Friday-in-Bianca-Jones-case/-/1719418/16251738/-/ilcmyfz/-/index.html

Jury seated in Bianca Jones murder case
Opening statements set for Wednesday

Posted: 09/18/2012

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Jury has been seated and opening statements are expected to begin today in the trial of a Detroit man accused of murdering his 2-year-old daughter.

D'Andre Lane is charged with First-Degree Felony Murder and First-Degree Felony Child Abuse in the disappearance of Bianca Jones. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Lane claims Bianca was kidnapped in December of 2011 during a carjacking. She hasn't been seen since.

Police believe Lane killed his daughter and made up the carjacking as a cover-up.

He admitted to police he spanked Bianca with a paddle following a potty training accident the day before she went missing. However, he's maintained his innocence.

If convicted, Lane faces life in prison.

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/jury-selection-to-begin-in-bianca-jones-murder-case#ixzz27PnpDpzT

Jury deciding if Detroit man killed daughter, 2

October 11, 2012 23:11 GMT

DETROIT (AP) -- A jury in Detroit resumes deliberations Friday in
the murder trial of a man accused of fatally beating his 2-year-old
daughter for wetting herself.

The body of Bianca Jones has never been found, but prosecutors say D'Andre Lane used a stick wrapped
in a towel to beat Bianca to death Dec. 2, 2011, before disposing of her body.

Lane says carjackers took his vehicle with his daughter inside. Lawyers gave their closing arguments Wednesday.
The jury ended its first day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict. Judge Vonda Evans rejected the jury's request to
receive a transcript of testimony from Lane's nephew, Treveon Lane.

The teen originally denied to police that he saw anything but later reported seeing Bianca alive the morning she disappeared.

http://wwmt.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.mi/354b2746-www.wwmt.com.shtml

Detroit man found guilty of murder in death of daughter Bianca Jones
3:25 PM, Oct 12, 2012

DETROIT — A Wayne County jury declared a Detroit father guilty of abusing and murdering his 2-year-old daughter, disbelieving his story that she was taken in a December carjacking.

Bianca Jones, who disappeared Dec. 2, remains missing. Her father, D’Andre Lane, closed his eyes as his lawyer, Terry L. Johnson, rubbed his shoulders as the verdict was read by the jury forewoman Friday afternoon.

"We did the best we could, but we can’t bring back Bianca," Assistant Prosecutor Carin Goldfarb said after the verdict in Third District Court. "That’s the sad part about this."

Wearing the same orange dress shirt he’s had on during most of the 13 days of testimony, jury selection and court proceedings, Lane looked to the ceiling and closed his eyes as he was led out of the courtroom.

Lane is to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 16. He faces life in prison without parole on the murder charge.

“Mr. Lane still maintains his innocence,” Johnson said outside Judge Vonda Evans’ courtroom. "He was as surprised as we were by the verdict, based upon what we believe is a lack of evidence. However, we still respect the jury’s verdict.”

Johnson said he believes there were issues raised during the trial that would allow Lane to appeal the case.

Evans spoke to jurors for about 30 minutes after they rendered the verdict. The group came into the courtroom, with one woman wiping tears from her eyes, before they left through a back passageway. Jurors told Evans they did not want to speak publicly...

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121012/NEWS/310120068/Detroit-man-found-guilty-murder-death-daughter-Bianca-Jones?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Poster's note: It is so hard to imagine a man beating a baby girl to death. Well, anybody beating anybody, but especially a guy pounding on a baby. Real man, huh?

I knew from day one that this man had murdered his little baby girl. He is a disgusting POS.

Ladibug, I feel the same way. How can monsters like this continue to torture little precious babies to death.

I hope his fellow convicts teach him a few things about being beaten.

Detroit Dad Faces Sentencing Monday In Missing Child’s Death

November 29, 2012 10:38 PM

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Detroit father who prosecutors say faked a carjacking to cover up the slaying of his 2-year-old daughter faces sentencing Monday for first-degree murder and child abuse.

A jury convicted 32-year-old D’Andre Lane on Oct. 12. The law requires Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans to sentence him to life in prison without possibility of parole on the murder charge.

Lane told police that his daughter Bianca Jones was in the back seat of his car in Detroit’s North End neighborhood on Dec. 2, 2011, when the vehicle was taken at gunpoint.

The car was found less than an hour later, but Bianca was no longer inside.

Wayne County prosecutors believe Lane faked the carjacking in an elaborate story to cover up his child’s murder.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted Lane as an abusive father who was obsessed with potty training his children. Prosecutors alleged Lane beat Bianca to death after she wet herself, covered her body with a blanket and put her in her car seat. They said he then drove Bianca’s siblings to school before dumping her body.

Bianca’s body has never been found.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/11/29/detroit-dad-faces-sentencing-monday-in-missing-childs-death/

Bianca Jones’ Mother Cries Racism In Baby’s Dad’s Conviction

December 4, 2012 11:04 AM
Reporting Charlie Langton

DETROIT (Talk Radio 1270) The emotions overflowed after father D’Andre Lane was convicted Monday of child abuse leading to death of 2-year-old Bianca Jones, with him lashing out at the judge and claiming he was an innocent man railroaded into prison.

And it continued Tuesday, with the toddler’s mother saying racism was at the root of the prosecution, and Lane’s attorney saying an “appeal is in the works.” Lane, who continues to claim his daughter was snatched in a carjacking, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

“I just really feel like we were misrepresented as people, as parents, as a family, people just took a snapshot of our lives as unemployed, low-income persons and made their own conclusions from that … We were involved and loving parents,” mother Banica Jones said.

Jones said she’s still searching for Bianca, believing the child she had with Lane — one of his seven kids with seven women — is out there waiting to be found.

“He doesn’t feel that he had a fair trial,” attorney Terry Johnson said of Lane.

Lane told police his toddler was in the back of his car when it was carjacked in Detroit, calling police at 9:45 a.m. December 2, 2011, and saying the assailants had driven off with his daughter. The car was found an hour later with an empty car seat inside.

Cadaver dogs allegedly sniffed out human decomposition in the seat, and in Lane’s home, though there was no blood or DNA evidence tied to the death. Lane said it was just an old house and used car seat.

“I understand this is what you all want to see, you need somebody to take the fall, take the blame,” Lane said in open court after his conviction, calling the judge a “liar.”

“I absolutely believe that it (race) played a factor in this,” Jones said. “There was even a point in the trial where the prosecutor pointed at Mr. Lane and myself and said, ‘Look at these people, and look what kind of people these people are.’”

Langton pointed out the judge and both attorneys were black, but Jones said that did not “preclude her (the prosecutor) from using these hot-button words and these strong-arm tactics to get the jury on her side,” adding, “I object to the characterization of my family that way.”

Jones and her attorney believe the cadaver dogs should not have been used in court to sway the jury into believing Bianca was dead.

“I feel there was a lot of evidence that absolutely should not have come in, I do not believe the dog evidence should have come in,” Jones said. “They were never able to prove that he did not tell the truth (about the carjacking) … There was never any real search for suspects, for this vehicle, all the attention was immediately directed at Mr. Lane.”

Jones said she felt she was on trial as a mother, and their lifestyle was on trial.

“When I was asked by the prosecutor whether or not I was on state aid, I didn’t feel like that was in any way relevant to my daughter’s kidnapping,” Jones said.”It was more of an effort to paint me as a low-income single mother and let the jury draw their own conclusions from that.”

“I was never asked about my time in the military or my veteran’s status,” Jones said adding her eldest daughter is a ‘straight A student’ and she is active in the community as president of her block club in Detroit.

Johnson said no court “in this state, this country, this county” has allowed cadaver dogs to be used as evidence of a death without corroboration by finding a body.

“I think if he was Deanna Lane from the suburbs of Detroit who happened to be a white lady, the outcome would have been different,” Johnson said.

“I think (racism) had a big part to do with it,” he added of the conviction, later saying, “The overall makeup of the jury was not the issue as much as it was the perception that here we have a man, seven kids by seven women — what does that really to do with the missing of his daughter Bianca Jones? The jury heard testimony from someone, her testimony was literally, she got up and testified to the fact Deandre wanted Bianca to have an abortion. What does that have to do with the missing 2-year-old toddler?”

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/04/bianca-jones-mother-cries-racism-in-dads-murder-convicted-dad-of-her-murder/

Detroit judge speaks out about convicted killer's outburst in her courtroom
Judge Vonda Evans speaks out about heated words with D'Andre Lane, who was sentenced to life in prison for daughter's murder

Author: Bisi Onile-Ere, Local 4 Reporter
Published On: Dec 05 2012 10:55:26 PM EST
Updated On: Dec 05 2012 11:07:07 PM EST

VIDEO AT LINK

DETROIT - Two-year-old Bianca Jones has never been found.

However, her father, D'Andre Lane, has been convicted of murdering his young daughter. He was sentenced to life in prison this week.

The crime has left a lasting impact on the judge who sent Lane away for life after his emotional outburst in court.

Judge Vonda Evans' exchange with Lane is not often seen in the courtroom. He talked back and interrupted her several times, and even addressed her by her first name as he was being hauled off to prison, calling the judge a liar.

Watch: UNCUT: D'Andre Lane sentenced to life in prison

"Excuse me. Don't address me as Vonda. Take him out of here. Take him out!," said the 36th District Court judge as Lane continued to yell.

Now that the dust has settled, Evans is opening up about the courtroom drama.

"Well, I've been a judge for 16 years and I certainly can say that was the first case impression that I've ever had like that before," she said.

It was a shock, but Evans refused to tolerate Lane's actions of disrespect.

"As a public servant I have the responsibility of upholding the decorum in my courtroom, and that's exactly what I did," she said.

Now, the case is closed.

"The judges of facts have spoken, and that is the jury. And they listened and they considered everything and they made a decision. And as the judge presiding over the case I had to respect that decision," Evans said.

Lane, who also is convicted of child abuse, is expected to appeal. Although a lot of the talk around the case has been about the courtroom drama, Evans says the experience has reminded her that life is precious and, for parents, there is nothing more important than spending time with their children.

http://1070629d.any.gs/