Police Announce Black Boyfriend Murdered White Toddler

News4Jax
August 5, 2015

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Lonzie Barton was abducted by his mother’s Black boyfriend and has not been seen since.

Police announced late Monday the Amber Alert for 21-month-old Lonzie Barton is canceled and they are 100 percent sure the toddler who disappeared 10 days ago disappeared at the hands of the mother’s boyfriend.

“I’m cancelling the Amber Alert and not working this as an abduction anymore,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Chief of Investigations Tom Hackney said. “We are working this as a murder case. You need to know that. Ruben Ebron needs to know that.”

This comes after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office obtained surveillance video that it said shows Ebron abandoning the car he claimed was stolen with Lonzie Barton inside and running away minutes before he called 911 to report it stolen and the toddler taken.

Police said Ebron was wearing the same clothes as the man running in the video when he was taken in for police interviews after reporting the abduction. (Watch video below)

“I’m not much of a poker player. I know that you are not supposed to show your hand, but today I’m about to do just that. I have reasons to do that,” Hackney said, adding a comment directed to the suspect: “Ruben, you are building this house of cards with a losing hand. I’m stacking the deck with the truth.”

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Ruben Ebron has refused to speak to the police.

“He talked about a house of cards, Hackney’s playing cards too, and he just showed him that he does have an ace in his hand. That was the ace that he showed Ebron, letting him know, ‘I do have a lot more and we’re coming after you,’” News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said.

Hackney appealed again for Ebron or those who have information about what happened to Lonzie to come forward with any possible explanation other than that the car theft story was made up to cover up the child’s death.

“His narrative is crumbling, We have a surprising amount of physical evidence.”

Police said the point of releasing the video that contradicts Ebron’s story was to show it to his family and friends, essentially people who have access to Ebron because police don’t, since he invoked his right to remain silent.

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