What's next in missing child case?

Missing 21-month-old case now being investigated as homicide

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – So far a major break in the search for Lonzie Barton has yet to come to light as search teams wrapped up their active search on the Southside for another night, Tuesday, though they are likely to return when the sun comes up Wednesday.

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.

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.

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Local attorney Rhonda Peoples-Waters, who is not associated with the case, said the lack of a body can certainly complicate a criminal prosecution, but it's not impossible.

"The prosecutors will have to base their case on circumstantial evidence and they will need to base it possibly on the defendant's statements and any eyewitnesses that may have seen the defendant, maybe with the child, in this case, hours before the child's death," Peoples-Waters said.

Investigators said Ebron knows something but is unwilling to share it with police.

Peoples-Waters (pictured below) adds that an element that makes prosecution difficult is that this involves a small child, because if it was an adult victim you could trace the person's patterns and show that their disappearance is unusual and indicates foul play.

But in this case, prosecutors can only point to Ebron's actions.

"But with a child, it may be more of an argument that can be made to the defense as there's no routine, we're not sure if someone came and captured or kidnapped the child, or did the child escape by mistaken means," People-Waters said.

If Ebron is ever charged in the boy's death, it's a question of whether a murder charge can hold up in court.

But one of the things that prosecutors often do is they will charge him with murder and then, as part of his defense strategy, it may be that the defendant will say, "If you take the death-penalty option off of the table, I will offer you information on where you can locate the body,"" Peoples-Waters said.

Peoples-Waters 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.

Lonzie Barton's father, Chris Barton used Facebook, Wednesday morning to reach out to the community for support. He posted a photo of Lonzie, asking people to wear blue for Lonzie's blue eyes.
 


About the Author:

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.