Three New York City residents have been sentenced in the 2002 death of a 9-year-old girl whose burned remains were found in central New Jersey.

Monmouth County prosecutors say the girl's 39-year-old aunt, Likisha Jones of Manhattan, and 36-year-old uncle, James Jones of Brooklyn, were each sentenced Friday to two years of probation. Likisha Jones' husband, 49-year-old Godfrey Gibson of Manhattan, received probation and a 364-day county jail sentence.

All three pleaded guilty last December to conspiracy and hindering apprehension charges.

Authorities say the defendants dumped and burned the body of 9-year-old Jon-Niece Jones after she died at her aunt's Manhattan home. Prosecutors say she suffered years of abuse and neglect by her mother, who also died in 2002.

The investigation came to be known as the "Baby Bones" case.

 

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