Robert Letroy Howard was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Naomi Jones, a 12-year-old girl from Escambia County, after an agonizing four-year delay following her murder. Let’s delve a little deeper to learn more about the case.
Naomi Jones Pensacola
More than four years have passed since hundreds of law enforcement officers, search-and-rescue personnel, and private citizens joined forces to search Pensacola for Naomi Jones, a 12-year-old girl who went missing.
Her body was discovered by a fisherman in Ensley Creek, not far from her mother’s apartment, after a five-day search operation proved fruitless.
Naomi Jones Pensacola Murder
Naomi Jones went missing from her family’s Aspen Village Apartments home on May 31, 2017, and the entire community was horrified by her abduction.
During former Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan’s 12-year term in office, the search-and-rescue effort was one of the most significant.
Naomi’s body had been covered in duct tape, and a small piece of plastic had become entangled in her hair. A toxicology report found that the girl had evidence of ethanol in her bloodstream, as well as bruises on her right elbow and right thigh.
Despite the fact that Naomi Jones’ cause of death was first stated in a medical examiner’s report as “homicide violence of undetermined techniques,” a search warrant application submitted by the Sheriff’s Office eventually indicated suffocation as a likely cause of death.
Where Is Killer Robert Howard Now?
Howard was identified as a person of interest by deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office after Naomi’s body was discovered. On the night Naomi went missing, Howard’s truck was located by security in this place.
On the day of Jones’ arrest, June 7, 2017, he was residing at a nearby apartment.
On June 8, 2017, while in jail, he allegedly admitted to strangling Jones and throwing her body from a bridge. He will be imprisoned for the rest of his life.
The attorneys presented their final arguments on August 12, 2021. Howard confesses to choking Naomi to death and throwing her into Eight Mile Creek in an interrogation recording aired by prosecutors on August 11, 2021.
Although both attorneys agreed that Howard killed Naomi Jones, their perspectives on when and why he did so were vastly different. The trial was supposed to run four days, but it was postponed due to COVID’s intervention.