HUNTINGTON, NY — A Long Island mother told CBS News New York exclusively on Saturday, weeks after her daughter’s body was found in a suitcase, that she wants more charges filed against the man who was arrested.
The The remains of 33-year-old Seikeya Jones were found in a suitcase behind an apartment building on Nassau Road on September 2..
The man arrested by police rented an apartment in the building, but so far he has only been charged with concealing a dead body, meaning that if convicted, he could be a free man within a few years.
“I want a murder charge because she did not commit suicide,” said Yolanda Terrell, Jones’ mother.
Who Killed Jones? Police arrested a resident of the building, 41-year-old Ronald Schroeder, at Penn Station on September 6after he went to a lost and found location to retrieve his backpack, which investigators said contained illegal drugs.
A grand jury indicted him on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and concealment of a corpse. He is being held on $500,000 bond and is due back in court in Riverhead on Oct. 16.
“Then he just walks down the street and does it to someone else,” Terrell said.
How did Seikeya Jones die?
It is still unclear how Jones died, as the coroner has not yet heard anything.
Investigators found her remains partially decomposed and her wrists and ankles bound with a cord.
Adding to the pain, Terrell said her daughter struggled with mental health issues and addictions, and the last time she spoke with her was on August 16th.
“I tried to get her to go back to the hospital. I came to her and I was like, ‘Keya, you really need to take me back to the hospital.’ And she said, ‘I’m not going back to the hospital. The medication is making me crazy,'” Terrell said.
Terrell said she has not heard from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, but in a statement to the media, DA Ray Tierney wrote: “This case is deeply disturbing. Ms. Jones and her family deserve a full investigation. We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to ensure the victim and her family receive justice.”
“What would you want to happen if this was your own child and someone else did this? You would want justice and you would want a murder charge,” Terrell said.
CBS News New York is still waiting for a response from Schroeder’s attorney.
