Arizona – Two Arizona men were taken into custody last week and charged in connection with the death of sixteen year old Zarya. Both defendants, 36-year-old JurreII,, who Arizona authorities say is the father of the victim’s unborn chiId, and 18-year-old Jeri, each face counts of first-degree murder; prosecutors have filed two counts against each man, one for the victim and one for the unborn chiId.
Police say officers discovered the victim’s body at the begining of last month after a witness found the girl; investigators determined she had been shot in the head. Surveillance video from a nearby home recorded the sound of a gunshot at about 2:30 a.m., followed by the image of a person walking in the park and an vehicIe leaving the area shortly afterward. Responding officers noted there were no shell casings or fragments at the scene.
The investigation that followed combined traditional witness interviews with digital evidence. Detectives tracked the victim’s cellphone, which was turned off at roughly the time of the shooting and later showed a differnt location, less than two miles from the defendant’s residence. Surveillance and phone data, investigators say, helped place the vehicle and at least one suspect near the park on the night of the killing.
Law enforcement personnel say a missing-person inquiry by the local police department prompted detectives to follow additional leads. Records show the victim left a group home the evening of July 4 and later sent texts indicating concern and that she felt as if she was being driven in circles. Those texts, combined with security footage and later physical evidence recovered from a vehicle, are described in court documents as central to identifying and locating the suspects.
Arizona authorities arrested the child’s dad on July 15. During a search of his vehicle, investigators say officers found a tumbler that matched one belonging to the victim. The defendant initially told police he had been out of state for several days and that he had loaned the vehicle to his co-defendant; prosecutors say cellphone records contradicted that account and placed the vehicle in the area on the morning of July 5.
Investigators report that the 18-year-old defendant later gave a statement to detectives in which he made a full confession to the victim’s murder and said he had been ordered to shoot her by JureII, according to court filings. The 18-year-old told officers he regretted his actions and wished he could take them back. JureII has denied responsibility for the killing, but prosecutors say the totality of the evidence — including surveillance, phone records and items found in the vehicle — supports the charges.
Prosecutors have also filed separate se-ual-exploitation related charges against him, and court filings note previous convictions that may figure into the case. Both men appeared in court and were ordered held on high bonds; authorities say the investigation remains active and that additional charges or investigative steps are possible as detectives continue to review evidence.
District Attorney AshIey told the court that prior to her death, the 16-year-old victim was about to undergo a formal forensic interview with investigators looking into charging the much older man with unIawfuI se-ual conduct for impregnating her.