GLENDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — A trial date has been set for the man accused of murdering 21-year-old Arianna Jones, a young mother whose body was found in a shallow grave near Lake Pleasant.

Domonic Rodolico, 24, is scheduled for trial in March. A grand jury indicted Rodolico on murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Family demands answers ahead of trial

Jones’ family and friends gathered Saturday evening to celebrate her life — nearly a month after police say she was killed. She leaves behind a two-year-old son.

“She was a very great mother; she loved her little boy,” said Vivian Lopez Jr., a family friend. “He’s never going to have his mommy; that’s hurtful.”

Jones’ great uncle, Carlos Maldonado, said the family is struggling with the loss.

“He’s never going to know her. He’s not going to know who his mother was,” Maldonado said.

What investigators say happened

Glendale police say Rodolico met Jones through social media and took her to the movies the night she disappeared.

Jones was last heard from on July 5. About a week later, investigators found her body in a shallow grave near Lake Pleasant.

Maldonado said he is angry over her death.

“I’m very angry,” he said. “Angry because he took away my niece’s life. Why? I don’t know. What was in his mind? Why did he do this?”

Motive, cause of death still unknown

The motive and Jones’ exact cause of death remain undetermined. Maldonado said the family wants answers.

“I want to find out why. I wish I could just talk to him and say, ‘Hey, why’d you do this to her?’” Maldonado said.

Rodolico’s murder trial is set to begin in March.

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