Fierce closing arguments at trial of Bianca Jones' father

By Maurielle Lue
FOX 2 News Reporter

DETROIT -- Prosecutors claim he killed his baby girl and threw her body away with the garbage, but the father of Bianca Jones maintains his innocence and says the two-year-old was kidnapped during a carjacking.  The case is now in the hands of the jury.

"He acted link a punk.  He acted like a punk when he took this stick and he beat that baby.  That was the punk move.  And then he beat that baby until she was lifeless and bleeding, and he wasn't man enough to face what he did," said Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Carin Goldfarb.

"Just because he acted like a little punk and he got scared and screamed 'my baby' doesn't make him guilty," countered D'Andre Lane's attorney Terry L. Johnson.

There were fierce closing arguments Wednesday at Lane's trial.  The Detroit father is accused of creating an elaborate carjacking to cover-up the disappearance or death of his two-year-old daughter.  Bianca Jones has not been seen for almost a year.

Lane told police a masked man stole his car with his baby girl still inside, but they don't believe his story.  For 13 days, the prosecution built its case on the lapse of time from when the crime happened to when police were called.

However, the defense says most of the evidence is circumstantial, and the facts remain if Bianca is dead, where is her body and how could one man outsmart Detroit Police and the FBI?

"So what is this?  An abduction.  Not a carjacking," Johnson said.  "They say it's impossible.  It's crazy.  This is their evidence they're ignoring."

Even Bianca's mother says Lane is telling the truth.

"I absolutely do feel like my daughter is alive.  I have seen absolutely no evidence to demonstrate to me that my daughter was harmed in any way, shape or form. I'm familiar with science.  I worked in the military for four years as a laboratory scientist.  So I'm well-versed on all of these evidences that they've brought forth, and none of it has been the tipping point for me that would allow me to say, you know what, yeah, I see this.  It doesn't look good," said Banika Jones.

What does she think is going to happen?

"I'm really hoping and I put all of my faith in an acquittal."

She also said she is hoping the attention goes off of D'Andre Lane and on to finding her daughter.

The jury will begin deliberations at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.