The father of Bianca Jones, the 2-year-old Detroit girl missing since Dec. 2, has been charged with the child's murder, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy announced Wednesday.
D'andre Louis Lane, 32, was charged with felony murder and child abuse in the first degree. He is currently serving 14 days at Oakland County Jail on unrelated charges, the Detroit Free Press reports, after not attending a mandated anger management class.
Bianca Jones first went missing in early December, when Lane reported his car stolen from a Detroit gas station. Lane said his daughter was in the back seat when two men carjacked him at gunpoint. The car was recovered by the police shortly thereafter, but the child wasn't in it.
Police searched Lane's home several times, and volunteers and community groups helped police cast a wide search net near where Bianca Jones was last seen. Later, cadaver dogs caught the scent of human remains in several spots, according to CBS Detroit.
In December, Lane failed a polygraph test, doing poorly on a question about whether he had anything to do with his daughter's disappearance.
"My main concern is my daughter coming home safely," Lane told the Associated Press at the time.
On December 13, the DPD submitted a request for a warrant in the investigation. After three months, the lengthy review process was completed on Tuesday.
Worthy revealed Wednesday that Bianca Jones had been subject to child abuse on the day of her disappearance. According to the Detroit News, the prosecutor said the case against Lane is strong, despite the fact that police have not yet found the girl.
"An entire region worried, waited, and willed Bianca's safe return," Worthy said in a statement. "The facts in this case will show that she is never coming home."
Earlier on Wednesday, Bianca's mother, Banika Jones, told Local 4 WDIV she will believe her daughter is alive until she sees proof otherwise.
Lane is set to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in the 36th District Court.
Watch Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy's press conference announcing the charge of D'andre Louis Lane with Felony Murder and Child Abuse in the case of Bianca Jones: