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Arrests Made In 2006 Murder Of Mother Found Beaten, Shot In South LA

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A man and a woman have been arrested in the 2006 murder of a 35-year-old mother who had been found beaten and shot to death in a vehicle in South Los Angeles.

Taja Jones had left her job at a mortgage company in Santa Monica on April 20, 2006, but never picked up her 14-year-old son later in the day as scheduled.

Her body was found five days later in her vehicle, which had been parked in a South L.A. neighborhood. The front windshield had been smashed in, and her body was found in the back seat. Jones had been beaten and shot, according to the coroner's office.

Jones and her brother, Woodrow Hart, had inherited about $1 million from their mother, who had died the previous September. When Jones went missing, co-workers had said they last saw her heading to a bank after discovering that much of her share of the inheritance had disappeared from her account.

Police identified the suspects as Nicole Chapple, 42, and Tyranda McDaniels, 49. Chapple was arrested on Nov. 15 and is being held without bail, while McDaniels' current custody information was not available.

Detectives say they will release more information about the arrests at an 11 a.m. news conference.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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