Police in Virginia reported on Friday that Aspen Jeter, a 5-year-old South Carolina child who had been missing since her mother’s death on Thanksgiving, had been located safe and sound.
The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday that the child and her father, Antar Jeter, were found in a parking lot; Jeter was arrested and charged with the murder of the child’s mother. Aspen has been missing for two weeks, but she may have vanished earlier than that.
After not hearing from the girl’s mother, 46-year-old Crystal Jumper, since November 1, the girl’s relatives called authorities on November 24 to conduct a welfare check on their Orangeburg house, according to Jumper’s brother’s interview with WIS.
In a “advanced level of decay,” complete with a gunshot wound, police discovered the Jumper’s body. The little girl, age 5, was not present.
Apparently, Antar was also absent from the house, according to the family. Jumper’s cousin said that Antar was staying at the house temporarily while an electrical problem at his own home was rectified, and that the two men did not get along.
However, authorities did not say whether or whether they were looking at Antar as a suspect. It was about 260 miles from their South Carolina home to Danville, Virginia, where he was spotted making financial transactions, which led police to him.
At a press conference on Friday, Sheriff Leroy Ravenell revealed that Antar and Aspen had been located in a blue 2015 Mazda in the hospital parking lot. The vehicle, according to the police, was stolen.
The police said they have arrested 47-year-old Antar on murder and grand theft charges. Aspen, who has communication and mobility issues due to her disability, has been located and will be restored to her family. The state will not take Aspen into custody. “We’re going to make sure she’s with family,” Justin Bamberg, Jumper’s family attorney, told People on Friday.
