Bianca Jones

In December 2011, the unthinkable happened in the city of Detroit. Two-year-old Bianca Jones was the victim of a carjacking. Or was she?  Listen to the story and decide if the right person was convicted of murder or if Bianca is still out there waiting to be found.

Police Dog Michael Pereckas / CC BY

On-Again-Off-Again Relationship

D’Andre Louis Lane and Banika Jones had known each other since they were kids growing up in the same area of Detroit. They had an on-again-off-again relationship. During their time together they had Bianca Lily Jones. She was born on November 26, 2009. 

In December of 2011, D’Andre and Banika were not living together. They were on good terms but D’Andre was a notorious ladies man and a cheater. Bianca Jones mainly lived with her mother but D’Andre had Bianca overnight on December 1st. On the morning of the 2nd, he was driving to Banika’s to get more clothes so he could keep Bianca longer.

Bianca’s mother was trying to work more during the day. D’Andre was helping with daytime care for a couple of weeks.

Banika describes herself saying she is a veteran, a homeowner, a volunteer… you can’t paint me as being a bad bad person that does bad bad things, I bake.

They Got Her! They Got Her!

Unfortunately, only D’Andre would make it to Banika’s house.

She was not home when he arrived, but her mother Lilia Jones-Weaver, brother Jerry, and his girlfriend Mary were. D’Andre was on foot and completely distraught, he could barely put together a sentence. He kept saying, “They got her! They got her!” He was finally able to explain that his car was hijacked and Bianca was in the vehicle.

Mary called the police and explained as much as she could. When they tried to ask for more information, where the car was stolen, what kind of car it was, he just sobbed and moaned, unable to give them the info they needed.

When police arrived he was able to give more info.

According to D’Andre, around 9:45 am he was at a red light in his silver 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. Someone started honking and yelling from a red sedan that his back brake light was out. This was on Brush and Custer Streets. D’Andre pulled over to check the car.

He got out of the car and the passenger of the other vehicle that had pulled behind/beside him exited the car with a gun. He pointed it at D’Andre and told him to get away from the car. This man was described as being an African-American male, 6’0 and 185 pounds. 

D’Andre started repeating “my baby’s in the car, my baby’s in the car.” The man got into D’Andre’s car and drove off, D’Andre tried to run after him, but could not keep up. The driver of a red sedan followed. The vehicle was found a mile from where the carjacking took place with a door open and the car running. The baby seat was left in the car, but there was no sign of Bianca Jones.

FBI Gets Involved

It was at this point that the FBI became involved. This was due to it going from a carjacking to a kidnapping case. Both Banika and her daughter Bella pleaded to the media for whoever had done this to bring Bianca Jones home. Family and friends scoured the neighborhood looking for her.

From day 1 there was suspicion about whether or not their child was truly taken.

One of the first actions Detroit Police took was to shut down all garbage pickup on the side of town where the car was taken. The thinking was that D’Andre had disposed of Bianca after murdering her.

D’Andre Has A Record

The police tracked all of his calls to pinpoint his location. Their theory was that D’Andre killed his daughter and disposed of her body in an incinerator plant or dumpster.

D’Andre had a record. At age 18 he was sentenced to 4 years probation for armed assault with intent to commit armed robbery.  He had multiple drug and firearms charges since then and had spent 3 years in prison. At the time of Bianca’s disappearance, it had been 8 years since he had been to jail. There was also a warrant out for his arrest. This was due to a violation of a protection order taken out by his ex-wife. Because of this warrant, they were able to hold D’Andre.

At this point, they begin investigating D’Andre and found that Bianca Jones was his 7^th child, to 7 different women. In speaking with the mothers of these children, they didn’t have anything negative to say about D’Andre as a father. He was actually involved with the lives of all of his children.

According to his sister, D’Andre had gone back to school in 2011 to try to get a real estate license to be able to better support his children.

Bianca Survives A Spanking?

He was a disciplinarian using timeouts and sometimes spanking. Investigators found out that the night before her disappearance D’Andre spanked Bianca Jones with a padded stick because she was having trouble potty training. Banika hadn’t sent any diapers with him because Bianca was excited about wearing new underwear but was still having accidents.

• Looks like a dowel rod wrapped in a kitchen towel with tape around it.

D’Andre’s nephew witnessed the spanking in the living room but said it was not odd or abusive. Anjali Lyons, D’Andre’s fiancée at the time, told investigators that she heard him spanking Bianca in the bedroom. Then she heard a shriek, then nothing.

The Next Morning

Retired police officer Lori Dillon talking about the next morning states that “he got her dressed.” The other kids got ready for school. He told the other kids Bianca was sleeping. He carried her to the car, put her in the car seat, drove the other kids to school, dropped them off, and came up with a plan, took some time, and got rid of Bianca’s body.

Police have a witness, Rico Blackwell, who says that when D’Andre pulled over to say hello that morning, he didn’t see Bianca Jones in the car.

The Interrogation Comes Up Empty

Police interrogate D’Andre for 2 days but come up with nothing, and they have to let him go.

The home and vehicle were searched and tested. No blood or other physical evidence is found, not even on the paddling stick, the police believed he used to beat Bianca Jones to death. The only physical evidence was saliva and mucus with trace amounts of blood on the child’s blanket.

D’Andrea’s lawyer described the situation as understanding that “if they really want you, they’re going to get you.” The home and all vehicles were searched and there was no evidence.

Cadaver Dogs Are Brought In

Banika was told that dogs were being brought in to help search for her daughter. The fact that these were cadaver dogs was never mentioned.

The decision was made to bring in two dogs from England along with their handler Martin Grime. According to this cadaver dog expert, it is very difficult to transport a body anywhere without leaving a residual odor of decomposition. The dog, Morse, handled by Martin Grime, responded to Bianca’s bedroom, D’Andre’s vehicle, the child’s blanket in the vehicle, and the car seat.

The dog had not given a response to the clothing D’Andre was wearing.

The car seat had been given to him by his sister. According to Banika and the photos, it was filthy.

D’Andre’s Trial Produces No Physical Evidence

With the only evidence being the cadaver dog, charges were pressed against him in March 2012. In Oct 2012, the trial began.

During the initial police interview, D’Andre spoke of a man with a mask hijacking the car. A Detroit search dog, not a cadaver dog, found a ski mask in proximity, less than a block, to where the carjacking took place.

During the trial, there was testimony from Banika insisting that she did not believe that D’Andre’s methods of discipline were abusive or that he killed their daughter but that her daughter was still out there. His fiancée testified to hearing the spanking and Bianca going silent afterward.  No physical evidence, aside from the cadaver dog barking, was brought forth to support the prosecution’s theory. 

These Are Lies, Nothing Proves My Daughter Is Dead

D’Andre Lewis Lane was found guilty of homicide/felony murder as well as a count of Child Abuse against Bianca Lily Jones. For the murder conviction, he was sentenced to mandatory life without parole. He received no less than 11, no more than 30 years in prison. D’Andre was credited with 246 days as time served for the count of child abuse in the first degree.  He was also served with a habitual offender notice.

D’Andre left the courtroom still saying, “these are lies, nothing proves my daughter is dead.”

Bianca Sightings

There are 3 witnesses that state that they saw Bianca Jones after the prosecution’s supposed time of death.

The morning of the carjacking D’Andre drove his nephew Treveon Lane (15) to school because he had stayed over the night before. Treveon says that Bianca Jones was in her car seat alive.

Detroit Officer Niki Gibbs – She answered a domestic disturbance call 8 days after Bianca went missing in Detroit in the 20000 block of Holden St on the West side of town. While there a toddler came out of the bedroom. Niki knew there was a child missing but didn’t know what she looked like. Two days later Niki was looking at the news on a webpage and Bianca’s photo appeared. Niki is convinced that the toddler she saw in the house was Bianca Jones. She took this information to the Detective on the case but was dismissed.

The lead prosecutor, Qiana Lillard says this, “just doesn’t make sense. You are a Detroit police officer. This is the biggest thing that happened in the city of Detroit. Everyone is looking for this little girl.”

Private Investigator Michael Salisbury was appointed by the court to assist in D’Andre’s defense. He followed up on what Officer Gibbs had seen and he says that he recognized Bianca Jones in the home. He said she was disguised as a boy and that her once bushy eyebrows had been shaved. Upon leaving he contacted D’Andre’s attorney who requested police visit the home. The child he had seen was not there.

D’Andre’s lawyer Terry Johnson dug into the owner of the home where Bianca Jones was sighted. He found the owner to be Patrice Hall who is related to Banika Jones. D’Andre’s legal team believes that Banika is involved and is hiding Bianca. 

D’Andre’s Fiance Changes Her Story

Anjali, D’Andre’s fiancee now says that while she originally testified that after the spanking Bianca fell silent, truthfully she was answering questions afterward.

I also saw an article that indicated D’Andre stated that at 1:00 a.m. after the paddling, Bianca fell out of bed and hit her head. He said he was unable to sleep that night and after Bianca woke up at 1:00 a.m., she stayed awake with him until 3:00 a.m. In the morning, he said that Bianca seemed “a bit out of it” and was stumbling around and kept “nodding out.” He repeatedly tapped the paddle against her buttocks to keep her awake.

D’Andre left the house with his nephew and daughters between 7:45 and 8:00 a.m. Bianca Jones was in her car seat and completely covered with a blanket. Bella said her sister never tried to pull the blanket off her face while D’Andre was driving her and her cousin to school and she never made a sound. However, none of this testimony was given in court and I could not find a viable source for this info. 

Judge is Surprised By Verdict

The judge who presided over the case, Judge Vonda Evans, says she was surprised at the guilty verdict based solely on circumstantial evidence and no body.

D’Andre has lost an appeal but his lawyer, Terry Johnson, holds out hope that they will find Bianca Jones. 

Resources

• Bianca Lily Jones 
• Motor City Mystery: Where is Baby Bianca? 
• Exhibit A – season 1 episode 3 Cadaver Dogs 
• https://youtu.be/Ykapi-47ZJk

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