August 29th, 2010

A babysitter has been arrested in connection with an 11 year old cold case.  Melissa Harding-Jones has been arrested and charged with the murder of 3 year old Pilar Rodriguez.  Rodriguez went missing in 1999 after her parents allowed her to go on vacation with Harding-Jones.

Melissa Harding-Jones has been living on the West Coast for many years, and was arrested in Washington State.  She awaits extradition to Florida, where she used to babysit little Pilar.

The suspect told authorities that she and her boyfriend killed the baby and threw her body in a nearby lake.  The story went unverified for over a decade, and thanks to the efforts of retired cops they were able to issue the warrant.

No body has been found in connection to the murder.  Melissa Jones-Harding faces 30 years in prison for the aggravated manslaughter of a child charges she faces.

Her boyfriend at the time still maintains he had nothing to do with the child’s disappearance or death.

This just goes to show you that you can’t get away with things.  It could be possible to run for a few years, but now with all the advances in forensics and technology available to law enforcement, it is going to become harder and harder to run.