Suspect in murder of girl, 8, arrested after six-month manhunt

‘In my 20 years of law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific that I’ve seen,’ Merced police lieutenant says

Police in California have arrested a suspect in the murder of an 8-year-old girl, after the alleged perpetrator had been on the run for six months.

Dhante Jackson, 34, was taken into custody in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Newark at 1.40pm on Saturday, and charged with murder and child abuse of Sophia Mason, the Merced Police Department said in a statement.

Mr Jackson had been sought by police after the young girl’s body was discovered in a bathtub, inside a locked bathroom at his Merced, central California home on 11 March.

Mr Jackson had been dating her mother Samantha Johnson, 30, who has also been charged with the girl’s murder. She has pleaded not guilty.

At a press conference on Sunday, Merced Police Department Lieutenant Joe Perez said the child had suffered continuous physical abuse, was malnourished and at times was forced to live in a shed in the backyard of Mr Jackson’s home.

There was evidence that Sophia had been sexually abused, he said.

“In my 20 years of law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific that I’ve seen,” Mr Perez said.

Dhante Jackson was arrested and charged six months after the murder of Sophia Mason (Merced Police Department)

Sophia Mason was subjected to months of continuous abuse before she was murdered, police say (Hayward Police Department)

Samantha Johnson has been charged with the murder of her daughter Sophia Mason (Merced Police Department)

Four other people have been charged with helping Mr Jackson evade arrest, he added.

Sophia was reported missing by relatives in Hayward, in the Bay Area, after not seeing the girl for several months.

That led police to arrest Ms Johnson, who had an outstanding child abuse arrest warrant in March.

Her statements led police to the gruesome discovery at Mr Jackson’s Merced home.

In a statement, Hayward police said: “Our hearts and thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of little Sophia; we cannot imagine your pain as you continue to mourn her loss.

Sophia’s cousin Melissa Harris told the Sacramento Bee the arrest had brought a sense of relief to the family.

“I am thankful, surprised honestly that justice will be served now that he has been apprehended. It has been six long months.”