One cannot help but be captivated by the bright blue eyes and innocent smile in photographs of Lonzie Barton.

At just under two years old, Lonzie was like any other toddler—full of playfulness and trust, completely reliant on the adults around him for care and safety.

Yet, the events that unfolded in his life were almost unimaginable.

In the early morning of July 24, 2015, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office initiated an extensive search for Lonzie. This effort began after William Ruben Ebron, 42, the boyfriend of Lonzie’s mother, called 911, reporting that his car had been stolen with the young boy inside.

The case quickly captured national attention as images of the blond-haired, blue-eyed child were broadcasted on television and splashed across newspaper headlines.

Ground and aerial crews, K-9 units and dive teams went looking for the youngster in the woods and waterways. Volunteer groups even started popping up to help out.

For months, Ebron stood by his account – until surveillance footage revealed the supposed car theft had been staged.

When confronted with the evidence, he offered a new and equally disturbing account: Lonzie had drowned in a bathtub while he and the boy’s mother, Lonna Lauramore Barton, 35, were having sex before she went to work. Barton’s lawyer at the time has since told the Daily Mail that she never corroborated that story, and instead maintained that her child was alive when when she left for her shift as a dancer.

Lonzie Barton (pictured) was known as the ‘blue-eyed little boy’ when he died under mysterious circumstances in the summer of 2015

Lonna Lauramore Barton, Lonzie’s mother, was never charged in her son’s death because there was never adequate evidence to prove her involvement. She pleaded guilty to child neglect and to lying to police 

In January 2016 – roughly six months after Lonzie disappeared – the toddler’s decomposed remains were discovered concealed beneath debris and a tire off a highway in rural Jacksonville, Florida. The body was so decomposed that officials were never able to determine an official cause of death.

Investigators eventually concluded that Lonzie died while in Ebron’s care. Barton and Ebron were both arrested on charges related to the little boy’s death. 

Members of Lonzie’s surviving family told the Daily Mail they have never believed either explanation – and are convinced the truth is far darker.

Now, as Barton is released on parole after serving just a fraction of her sentence, they spoke to the Daily Mail and called for her to be locked up for life.

According to Lonzie’s father, Ransom Barefoot, the medical examiner told him his son had suffered serious injuries inconsistent with an accident.

‘The medical examiner’s report said that he had blunt force trauma to the skull and broken ribs, so where does that come from?’ Barefoot said.

He also rejected claims that the toddler drowned.

According to news reports, Ebron had been watching Lonzie – along with Barton’s five-year-old daughter, Lily – on the night of his death while Barton, a dancer at Jacksonville adult entertainment club Wacko’s, worked a late night shift.

Barton claimed that her son was alive when she went to work. Her now former attorney, Kevin Carlisle, recently told the Daily Mail she was aware of the stolen car story, and believed it at the time. She was never charged for her son’s death, though she was charged on accounts related to it.

Ebron pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, for which he is serving 20 years in prison, along with concurrent sentences for child neglect, tampering with evidence and lying to police.

As part of the plea agreement, he led investigators to the wooded area along Interstate 295 where he had disposed of Lonzie’s body.

Prosecutors said they were unable to pursue a first-degree murder charge because no one could conclusively establish a precise cause of death due to the state of Lonzie’s remains.

Ruben Ebron (pictured), Barton’s boyfriend, is serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated manslaughter

Lonzie’s father, Ransom Barefoot, (pictured with his two daughters from a prior relationship) told the Daily Mail he was outraged that his child’s mother was out on parole and said she ‘deserves a life sentence’ for what happened to their son 

Prosecutors claim Barton lied repeatedly during the search for her son, but they did not have adequate evidence to prove her direct involvement in Lonzie’s death. 

She accepted a plea deal in early 2016 and testified against her boyfriend.

Prosecutors secured convictions on child neglect and lying to police, for which she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison, plus an additional seven years for unrelated drug offenses.

In November 2025, after completing nearly 10 years in prison, she was released on supervised parole. 

Barefoot told the Daily Mail he was shocked to learn she was free, and he questioned why she should ever be allowed to live outside prison walls.

‘She needs to go back to jail,’ he told the Daily Mail, adding that he believes ‘she deserves life in prison.’

Nearly a decade on, he said he is still searching for answers and remains perplexed by the story.

‘If it was an accident, why did they cover it up?’ he said.

Lonzie’s grandmother, Judy Barefoot, said that as those early days dragged on, she and her son prayed desperately that the toddler would somehow be found alive.

The Amber Alert was issued showing a photo of Lonzie and the alleged stolen vehicle

Lonzie being silly as he wears an oversized pair of cowboy boots 

She told the Daily Mail she believes Barton knew Lonzie was dead – ‘whether Lonna helped hide the baby or not’ – and failed to call for help.

There have been numerous theories on what led to Lonzie’s death that fateful night, but what is undisputed, Judy said, is what they did with Lonzie’s remains: ‘They threw that baby away like a piece of trash underneath those tires.’

Judy was stunned when Barton was released on parole, and she questioned the disparity in sentencing.

‘I don’t think that’s fair that Ruben’s pulling 20 years and she only got 12 (including two years on parole),’ she said.

The conditions of Barton’s parole remain unclear. She has two other children with another man – including Lily – whom she is expected to help care for. 

Barefoot, meanwhile, has two teenage daughters from a previous relationship and said he remains close to them.

He acknowledged the anger he carried for years but told the Daily Mail he eventually turned to faith to help him move forward.

Wacko’s, an adult entertainment club on Emerson Street in Jacksonville, is where Barton worked as a dancer and was the night her son died 

Judy Barefoot told Daily Mail was shocked that Barton got out on parole and believes she should be serving the same amount of time as Ebron 

Lonna smiling holding her little son Lonzie 

Lonzie was a carefree toddler who was nearly two before his untimely death 

Every Christmas, Judy hangs an ornament of her grandson on the Christmas tree to remember him by 

This past year marked a decade since Lonzie’s body was found, and the circumstances surrounding his final moments remain unresolved.

In Judy’s home, reminders of her grandson are everywhere.

Photographs of Lonzie line the walls, and during the holidays, a stocking bearing his name and an ornament with his picture hang from the Christmas tree.

More than 10 years on, she said, the loss has never faded.