JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the missing toddler case of Lonzie Barton becomes a murder investigation, police said they are building a case against Ruben Ebron without finding the young child's body.
With the possibility of a body not being immediately found many people are asking what that means for Ruben Ebron, the prime suspect in the disappearance of the 21-month-old.
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According to police, Ebron is at least likely going to be tried for child neglect and is sitting in the Duval County Jail on those charges. The question is, can they possibly charge Ebron with murder, without recovering Barton's body, as detectives move forward with the homicide case against him.
A spokesperson for the State Attorney's office points out that they've won several murder cases before without the body of the victim being uncovered, but former State Attorney Harry Shorstein, who is not associated with the case, admits it's not easy. But in his experience, he not only got a murder conviction, but also a death penalty sentence in a case he prosecuted.
"At some point the decision will be made, assuming that the body is not found, prosecutors will get with the police and decide, can we go forward, and that's going to be a tough decision," Shorstein said.
In 1974, Shorstein convinced a jury that Ernest Dobbert killed both of his children, without either of their bodies being found, and no witnesses.
"It's the presentation of the entire case, we often use the totality of the circumstances," Shorstein said.
Shorstein said prosecutors must first prove Lonzie is dead, before they attempt to prove who killed him. He said prosecutors then have to build a case on solid evidence, without the obvious emotion and anger surrounding the death of an innocent child.
"You know, a jury would be incensed with the idea that the child is dead or was killed, a young beautiful child, but the judges and prosecutors duty is to not base their case on the emotions, we would all be emotional under those circumstances," Shorstein said.
"Were working hand in hand with Miss Corey and her team of homicide prosecutors to work through this case, build a case, we're not in a position to act too fast with that. I want to have detectives to build a good case, but not a fast case," Chief Tom Hackney, with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, said.
Hackney said he believes Ruben Ebron knows what happened to Lonzie, but has chosen to remain silent. Police said surveillance footage has revealed some inconsistencies in Ebron's story, about what happened the night of Lonzie's disappearance.
Shorstein said multiple inconsistencies in a suspect's story, can often lead a jury to believe that he's guilty.
"Hopefully, in that investigation, they are accumulating evidence that can be presented to a jury, and because of the cumulative totality of the evidence presented to the jury, the jury would conclude that the child is dead and would be satisfied that it's been proven beyond a reasonable doubt," Shorstein said.
Local attorney Rhonda Peoples-Waters, who is not associated with the case, said that beyond first-degree murder, prosecutors could also ask a grand jury to push for a second degree murder indictment, or they may eventually only be able to prosecute him for child neglect.
At this point, Ebron has not been charged in the boy's death.
There are at least three cases currently pending in Jacksonville, where suspects are accused of murder without the body of the victim being found.