“BRING HIM HOME” — MISSING 15-YEAR-OLD FOUND IN LANDFILL AFTER WEEKS-LONG SEARCH

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA — For more than two months, Ja’Derrius Minnieweather’s family waited for the answer no parent ever wants to hear.

Now they know where the 15-year-old boy ended up.

Authorities have confirmed that human remains recovered from an East Baton Rouge Parish landfill belong to Ja’Derrius, who was reported missing on June 5. DNA testing by the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office, with assistance from the LSU FACES Laboratory and Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory, confirmed his identity.

A SEARCH THROUGH THOUSANDS OF TONS OF TRASH

The recovery was anything but ordinary.

Investigators had spent weeks searching the East Baton Rouge Parish North Landfill, a massive active facility where thousands of tons of waste are processed.

The search began in July after investigators developed evidence indicating Ja’Derrius’ body had likely been placed in a trash container and transported to the landfill.

Crews worked under extreme heat while attempting to narrow an enormous search area.

Authorities ultimately processed roughly 3,590 tons of landfill material and excavated more than 4,000 cubic yards during the recovery effort.

POLICE HAD ALREADY CHARGED A SUSPECT

Ja’Derrius’ disappearance had become a murder investigation weeks before his remains were found.

Maurice Parms, 51, was arrested June 20 and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the teenager’s death.

According to the arrest warrant, investigators believe Ja’Derrius was involved in a confrontation with Parms after visiting a 16-year-old longtime friend.

Witness accounts described a violent altercation, and investigators later reported finding suspected blood evidence in the area where the confrontation allegedly occurred.

Police have alleged that Ja’Derrius was beaten and that his body was subsequently concealed and disposed of.

Parms remains in custody and has not been convicted of the murder.

THE CLUE THAT HELPED NARROW THE LANDFILL SEARCH

Searching an active landfill for a missing person is like looking for a single piece of evidence inside an enormous moving puzzle.

Investigators were able to narrow the search area substantially using video from the back of a garbage truck.

That evidence helped authorities reduce the enormous landfill to a search zone of just over half an acre.

From there, crews began the painstaking process of excavating and examining waste.

The operation continued for weeks.

Then investigators finally recovered remains believed to belong to Ja’Derrius.

DNA testing provided the confirmation his family had been waiting for.

MORE CHARGES FOLLOWED

The murder case is not the only criminal investigation involving Parms.

Additional charges filed August 14 include second-degree rape, trafficking of children for sexual purposes and indecent behavior with juveniles, according to People.

Those allegations stem from a separate investigation involving a 16-year-old girl.

Parms remains in custody. The murder charge carries no bond, while the additional charges carry a combined bond of $600,000.

A FAMILY CAN FINALLY SAY GOODBYE

For Ja’Derrius’ mother, Aquarius Minnieweather, the discovery brings a devastating form of closure.

For weeks, his family had lived with uncertainty — not knowing where he was or whether they would ever be able to bring him home.

Now they have an answer.

It is an answer no family should ever have to receive.

The investigation and prosecution will continue, but Ja’Derrius can finally be returned to the people who loved him.

He was only 15. His family searched for him for weeks. Investigators searched through thousands of tons of waste. And after an extraordinary recovery effort, Ja’Derrius Minnieweather has finally been identified and brought one step closer to home.

The allegations against Maurice Parms remain unproven unless and until established in court.