Eight-year-old Sophia Mason had been dead for more than a month before her body was discovered at a Merced home in March, officials said Sunday, for the first time detailing some of the “horrific” cruelty they said was inflicted on the Hayward girl, leading to her death.
The fugitive suspect in her killing, Dhante Jackson, 33, was arrested Saturday in the East Bay city of Newark and later booked at the Merced County jail on charges of murder and child abuse after a nearly six-month manhunt.
Sophia’s mother, 30-year-old Samantha Johnson, was arrested in March for her suspected role in the killing, but Jackson fled when he learned police were searching his home.
Johnson, who was in custody in Dublin for previous child abuse charges from 2021, told investigators that her daughter was forced to live in a shed in Jackson’s yard and suffered from sexual and physical abuse.
At a joint news conference Sunday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Merced police officials and the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, police Lt. Joe Perez said county coroner’s officials determined that Sophia suffered malnourishment and had been dead for more than a month before her body’s discovery.
“In my 20 years of law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific I’ve seen,” Perez said. “To know what that poor little angel went through by the hands of pure evil breaks my heart.”
Investigators also revealed how Jackson, allegedly with help from various women, evaded authorities for almost six months from Merced to the Bay Area and even into Southern California.
“During the investigation, they learned that several of these females had assisted Jackson in eluding capture by providing him with money, shelter and transportation,” Perez added.
Three of the women were identified as Deburqa Johnson of San Jose, Lorona Larkins of Merced and Mayra Gutierrez of Newark, according to Perez. They have all been charged with accessory to murder after the fact.
Sophia was found dead March 11 after police searched Jackson’s Merced home on the 500 block of Barclay Way. Family members said they had last seen her in December and reported her missing March 8.
The family member who made the report told Hayward police she “received information that caused her to believe the juvenile could be missing and wanted to ascertain the child’s welfare,” police said at the time.
Police said they received information that Sophia was last seen at the Central Valley residence, which prompted a search. The next day, Merced County prosecutors issued a warrant for Jackson’s arrest for Sophia’s killing, but he went missing.
Agents from the Merced Area Gang and Narcotic Enforcement Team, Department of Justice Special Operations Unit and Merced Police Department participated in his arrest Saturday, state officials said.
“Because of every agency’s effort and persistence in this matter, an alleged murderer is off our streets from Merced to Newark and our communities are safer,” Bonta said. “The family of Sophia Mason — her real family, those who loved her — are now closer to securing justice.”
Jordan Parker (he/him), Matthias Gafni and Joel Umanzor are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jordan.parker@sfchronicle.com, matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com, joel.umanzor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jparkerwrites, @mgafni, @jr_umanzor
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'Pure evil': Details released in killing of Hayward girl, 8, after fugitive's arrest - San Francisco Chronicle
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