WSVN — She was walking to her front door when two men forced her inside; moments later, Atavia Jones was dead. As Patrick Fraser tells us on tonight’s Out for Justice, Miami-Dade detectives are still trying to find her killer.
Wanda Jones could count on two things every day: The sun would come up, and she would hear from her daughter Atavia.
Wanda Jones: “We used to talk every morning before 8 o’clock, and I didn’t hear from her.”
A few minutes later, she found out why.
Wanda Jones: “I said, ‘Not again!’ I could not take another loss of another child.”
Sadly, two years earlier, Wanda’s other daughter, Shuneequa Jones, had been murdered in Miramar.
Now she was being told, when Atavia returned home after dropping her two daughters at school, two armed men had attacked her at the front door.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Jose Gonzalez: “They forced her into the house at some point. They’re unaware of another occupant in the residence, at which point a gun battle ensues. During the gun battle, the victim, Atavia, is killed.”
The news broke Wanda’s heart and stunned her because Atavia had become even more cautious after her sister’s murder.
Wanda: “She’s very familiar with her surroundings due to what happened to her sister, so she don’t never like to have her guard down. So I believe the perpetrator, whoever it may be, she had to know them.”
That’s very possible.
Jose Gonzalez: “We just think that the people who did this are from the area, so we do believe that some people in the vicinity probably know what’s going on and who may have done this.”
Now Atavia is gone, just like her sister.
Wanda Jones: “She was a single working mother, both of them, working hard to provide for their family. How could it happen to them?”
Shuneequa’s killer was caught, a random killing by a man in Miramar. But Atavia’s two killers are still on the loose, two black men who took off in a gray Nissan four-door sedan.
Detective Jose Gonzalez: “We have two dangerous criminals on the street, very violent, and what we’re asking is for the citizens of the community to please come forward with information and call us with whatever information they have.”
They killed a wonderful woman. They devastated this family, again.
Jerome Jones: “Someone knows something, someone saw something, but nobody has stepped forward yet to give this family closure.”
And just as certain as Atavia would call her mother each morning, it’s clear that someone does know something, someone who has not said anything, yet.
Wanda Jones: “Please, say something, do something. Don’t idly sit by. Stop the silence, for justice, ’cause we need justice, we need closure, we need peace.”
Another person murdered. Another family destroyed. And more killers roaming the streets of South Florida. You can stop them. Pick up the phone and call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-479-TIPS.
And if you have lost a loved one and want to remind people you are still out for justice, give us a call. With this Out for Justice, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT OUT FOR JUSTICE:
Miami-Dade: 305-598-HELP (4357)
Broward: 954-796-HELP (4357)