This is not a case where everything that can be done, has been done. This is not a case about a dog that is lost or a cat who is missing. This is a precious 5-year-old child.
I read where Jerice Hunter’s mother Shirley Johnson said that Jhessye could be with a cousin or that a sexual predator had her. The police in the beginning said they talked with all of the sex offenders in the area. I do not think that Mahogany or Lisa would take Jhessye, knowing they would go to jail when they were caught. She said that Jerice Hunter had everything taken from her and had been vilified over and over. She believes the police are focused on Jerice. I can understand Ms. Johnson’s frustration about not finding Jhessye, but I have to disagree with her on one point.
The only person who has vilified Jerice is Jerice. No one made up the story of her beating her daughter so badly that she was charged with torture. No one made up the story about her three year old (at the time) having scars and welts. No one made up the story about her beating her son. No one did this but Jerice. If the police did not look at her, they would certainly be neglecting their duty.
I have a real hard time feeling sorry for Jerice. If she took parenting classes the four years she was in prison, that is great. I will say that I can take art classes but that does not make me an artist.
I cannot believe that Ms. Johnson sees no problem with Jhessye missing a week and a half of school right before she goes missing, or the fact that there were 3 or 4 stories of what happened just before Jerice left to run errands. It was a very short time ago that Ms. Johnson’s relatives were showing doubt about Jerice. They know her better than the public does. Are we to think that Mahogany and Lisa both lied about seeing marks on Jhessye? What would it gain them? As much as they loved Jhessye, if they did not see marks, why would they lie and take a chance that a kidnapper could get away with her forever?
There has got to be a reason we are not hearing about the polygraph. Why does it have to be the FBI, why can’t the Glendale police give Jerice the test? It is a lie detector test, not a sworn confession. It cannot be admitted into court, so I cannot see what the problem could be. As I have said before, people lose interest in missing child stories and that is not good. We need some news, good, bad, or indifferent.
I can understand Ms. Johnson wanting to protect her daughter, but her daughter is a woman, who made her own choices. This is a five year old child, who has had no choices her whole life. Its time to let whatever is going on with Jerice take its course, and its time to find Jhessye.