A family member of Sophia Mason is speaking out after police arrested a man in connection to the Hayward girl’s death.
On Saturday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Merced police announced they arrested suspect Dhante Jackson in Newark.
At Sunday’s news conference in Merced, investigators shared details of a gruesome scene, when they found the 8-year-old's body at a home in the area last March. Officials said she had been dead for a month.
"The coroner determined that the death was a homicide and noted that Sophia’s body was malnourished. In my 20 years in law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific I’ve seen,” said Lt. Joe Perez of the Merced Police Department.
Melissa Harris, the victim's cousin spoke to NBC Bay Area Sunday following the news conference.
"She was so decomposed at the time that they found her, that even after the coroner did their exams and their forensic pathology, that all that we received back were some bones," she said.
Harris said Jackson’s arrest gives the family some closure. But the family still want answers about how Sophia died. It’s information they believe only Jackson can provide.
Now, Sophia Mason’s family is demanding answers from Alameda County's Children and Family Services about why the child was allowed to remain with her mother, Samantha Johnson.
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Johnson and her boyfriend, Jackson, are both facing murder charges in the case. Johnson was charged in March and remains in custody.
The family of Sophia Mason has started legal proceedings against Alameda County because they said that county case workers failed to respond to concerns from family members, teachers, hospital staff and even the child herself.
Carly Sanchez, the family’s attorney told NBC Bay Area Sunday that they're combing through 450 documents they just received from Alameda County.
So far, Sanchez said that she's discovered eight separate referrals over Sophia's lifetime of possible abuse and added that only three were ever investigated.
Harris said that her family was distraught when they reported signs of abuse, but didn't seem to get an adequate response from case workers.
"What they said to us, and to our family is that there was, it was unfounded. All of the complains, even Sophia’s complaints were unfounded,” Harris said. “And now that she's dead, I hope they can see that every single complaint was founded."
NBC Bay Area reached out to the Alameda County Counsel and Alameda County Administrator Sunday about the family's legal claim, which was filed Thursday.
We also have repeatedly sought comment from Alameda County's Children and Family Services about this case over the last several months. So far, we've received no response.
The county has 45 days to reply to the family's legal claim before they can continue with a formal lawsuit.
