More than two decades after 3-year-old Lenoria Jones was reported missing in Tacoma, her disappearance eats at police detectives and the girl's mother, who says she has never stopped looking for the truth about what happened to her daughter.
Lenoria was reported missing July 20, 1995, when her great-aunt, Berlean Williams, called 911 to report the toddler disappeared while they were shopping at a Target store in Central Tacoma. Lenoria shuffled between several different homes in the first years of her life. She was born with cocaine in her system, according to previous reporting from The News Tribune, and her mother relinquished parental rights. The girl was placed in Williams' custody in 1994, and she had been trying to adopt Lenoria when she went missing.
Detectives organized a news conference Thursday morning at TPD headquarters to present the case to the public once again in the hopes that someone who knows what happened to the child will come forward. Detective Julie Dier said police have received several tips indicating that Lenoria's family was involved in her disappearance and that the girl's body was disposed of, but she said no evidence has confirmed that.
A body has never been found, but Dier said detectives don't believe Lenoria is still alive. She said it's also unknown how the girl might have died, or whether she was killed intentionally. The last time the girl was seen by someone outside the family was at church four days before she was reported missing.
"We don't know what actually happened in this scenario," Dier said. "It could have been accidental, it could have been something malicious, but it could have been also a child hides in the fridge and they don't realize it until it's too late. It could have been too much medication, so it could have been completely accidental, but we just need to find out what exactly happened."
Tacoma Police Department detectives point to a lack of cooperation from the child's family as one of the greatest obstacles to solving the case. Police said Lenoria's mother, Deidre Jones, has also been shut out by family who won't tell her what happened. In a phone call Thursday, Jones said it's specifically Williams and her children who won't tell her how Lenoria died or what happened to her body.
Jones and Williams now both live in Spokane. Jones said Williams won't even talk to her if she sees her at the store. Before Lenoria's disappearance in July 1995, the two were in contact every day, Jones said. They haven't communicated since. She said not knowing the truth of what happened has left her with no sense of closure.
"Berlean and her children doesn't have anything to do with me," Jones told The News Tribune. "It's like a slow-eating cancer. It's torture, torture, constant torture."
Williams' account of Lenoria's disappearance changed several times in the days after it was reported. Dier said when police first contacted her, Williams said she was in Target's toy department when Lenoria went missing, then claimed she had been near the bathing suits when they became separated. Surveillance video from the store later showed the woman had gone into the store alone.
Dier said Williams told investigators she stopped at a 7-Eleven, a car wash and a Top Foods before going to Target. Police dogs were deployed and officers scoured the businesses, along with the great aunt's residence and her van, but there was no sign of Lenoria.
The day after she was reported missing, Dier said, Williams told police she knew Lenoria's whereabouts but could not tell them. Later, she said she was confronted by two men in an alley behind her Hilltop house who kidnapped the girl.
"She then said this was another lie, and she did not know where Lenoria was," Dier said.
Williams' attorney then served paperwork to law enforcement that prohibited them from contacting her again, according to Dier. She said Tacoma police haven't been in touch with Williams in the decades since because of that legal issue. The News Tribune was not able to reach Williams for comment. Multiple phone calls to a number for Williams provided by Jones and her family went unanswered Friday.
Jones said she believes one of her cousins killed her daughter. She said when it happened, a neighbor of Williams heard someone say, "Oh my God, you killed her," but the neighbor couldn't recognize the voice.
At the time of the disappearance, police said Williams was running a day care out of her home and had two adult daughters, ages 20 and 19, a 16-year-old daughter, a 9-year-old son and a 13-month old grandson staying with her. Jones said if she could have a conversation with Williams, she'd ask her to tell her what happened.
The pain of Lenoria's disappearance seems to have never left the girl's mother. Jones said because she's had no closure, it feels like it happened yesterday. She said it's like an open story in her family that can never be ignored.
"I believe they know they are guilty," Jones said. "That's why they're not talking about it. That's why there's been no communication. They know that they're guilty. They know that they killed my baby. They know it."
Anyone with information about Lenoria Jones' disappearance is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.
