JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Justice Coalition and its executive director have been voices for Lonzie Barton and his grandparents since the child was reported missing last July.
"We decided we would be a voice for Lonzie," said executive director Ann Dugger.
And it is a promise she has kept for the past seven months. "We knew that it was not going to be good because of all the lies that were told from the beginning," she said.
Dugger talked with the Barton family after William Ruben Ebron was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of the child. She said the plea agreement did not bring them closure.
"When I spoke with them today they were hurting, they were grieving from the bottom of their heart," said Dugger. "They felt like they needed their time to mourn again the loss of their little baby."
Lonzie Barton was reported missing July 24. Ebron, his caregiver, claimed the toddler had been kidnapped, but his story soon unraveled. In January, as part of a plea agreement, Ebron took investigators to where he hid the toddler's body.
"It was important to find this baby's remains. And he was willing to come forth. Was it right? No, it wasn't right that he would only make this agreement to do what was right," said Dugger. "He should have done what was right from the very beginning. He should have done what was right when that baby was dead."
Dugger said there's yet one more chapter left in the Lonzie Barton saga and that too will bring more pain to the family. "Now there will be a funeral and there is another grieving again," she said.
Dugger has been running the Justice Coalition 21 years and gets close to the families of victims. She held Lonzie Barton's case near and dear.
"We did pray that God would bring this baby home safely. We didn't get that prayer answered, but we did get our prayer answered, the baby is home," said Dugger.
No date has been set for Lonzie Barton's funeral service.