A public memorial service will be held Monday for Trinity Love Jones, the 9-year-old girl whose body was found partially inside a duffel bag alongside a Hacienda Heights equestrian trail.
The service will begin at noon with a bell-tolling ceremony outside St. John Vianney Church, 1345 Turnbull Canyon Road in Hacienda Heights, along with a 75-candle procession escorting the casket into the church.
Although it is being held at a Catholic church, the service will be interfaith, jointly celebrated by associate church pastor the Rev. Egren Gomez, along with a protestant pastor and Buddhist monk, according to the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Trinity’s father, Antonio Jones, posted a message on Facebook asking that attendees “feel free to wear bright, cheerful colors, as we are celebrating a young and vibrant life.”
“We sincerely appreciate all of the prayers and kind acts of love and generosity shown to our family,” he wrote.
He asked that people sending flowers choose shades of lavender — “Trinity’s favorite color” — along with pink and white.
“If you would prefer, please bring a new children’s book. All books collected will be donated, in memory of Trinity, to children in need,” Jones wrote.
A private burial will be held after the service at Queen of Heaven Cemetery/Mortuary, 2161 S. Fullerton Road in Rowland Heights, followed by a 3 p.m. gathering at Hacienda Heights Community Center, 1234 Valencia Ave.
Trinity’s body was found about 10 a.m. March 5 at the bottom of an embankment close to Colima Road and the 3400 block of Hacienda Boulevard, near the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple. County workers clearing some brush came upon the body, which was partially inside a black rollaway-type duffel, with her head and upper body protruding from the partially zipped bag.
Investigators believe that the girl had been left at the scene during the afternoon of March 1. The criminal complaint alleges that the girl was killed on or about that date.
The girl’s mother, 28-year-old Taquesta Graham, and her boyfriend, 38-year-old Emiel Lamar Hunt, have been charged with her murder. Authorities have not specified how the girl died or a possible motive for the killing.