$3,000 reward for outstanding suspect in death of 8-year-old Sophia Mason
HAYWARD, Calif. - The second suspect wanted in the killing of his girlfriend's 8-year-old daughter, Sophia Mason, remains outstanding, and authorities are now offering a $3,000 reward.
Merced Area Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for the arrest of Dhante Jackson, 34, who is charged with murder and child abuse resulting in Mason's death.
Mason's mother, Samantha Johnson, is already in custody for the young girl's death.
Hayward mom arrested on suspicion of murder, boyfriend on loose
Samantha Johnson was arrested on suspicion of murder after a child's body was found at her boyfriend's home, Merced police said. The body is believed to be Sophia Mason's, who has been missing since December. Police said an arrest warrant has been issued for the boyfriend.
Jackson is described as 5’11" and weighs about 220 pounds, with black hair, and brown eyes.
Authorities believe he is in the Bay Area and he is known to hang out in the South and East Bay. He was also working in there prior to Mason's death.
Sophia was reported missing by relatives in Hayward earlier this month. They told police they had not had contact with the girl since December, and that she was known to stay at different locations between Hayward and Southern California.
The missing person report led Hayward police to arrest Johnson on a warrant stemming from a case of child abuse in Alameda County last year, police said.
Statements Johnson made to Hayward police prompted them to ask for assistance from the Merced Police Department, which served a search warrant at the house in Merced where Jackson resides, they said.
Merced police found Sophia’s body in a bathtub, inside a locked bathroom, according to court documents obtained by the Merced Sun-Star.
Johnson told a Merced police detective that Jackson, her boyfriend, had kept Sophia in a shed outside the Merced house and that the child was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by Jackson. The documents indicate detectives located evidence that abuse happened, the newspaper reported.