In La Plata, MD. ~ a strange story!

[Bay_Kat]

Let this thing play out. I'll give the mom the benefit of the doubt until it does. She could have been perfectly normal until this.

So sad and tragic.

Yep

 

[Bann]

Just heard this interview on NBC4 this morning:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...Park-Swing-Wanted-Sole-Custody-304955411.html

The father of a 3-year-old boy found dead in a park swing last week, just days after the father filed for sole custody, wonders if the legal system is to blame.

James Lee said he went to court before his son Ji-Aire died, as he was concerned the child’s mother, Romechia Simms, was suffering from mental illness. He said he did not want to keep Ji-Aire’s mother out of his life forever; he just wanted her to get help. He believed he was the better parent at the time. A judge disagreed.

Cause of Death of Child in Swing Undetermined After Autopsy

“He deemed her, at that moment, a fit parent,” Lee said. “I'm not saying she isn't, but in this situation, he just didn't pay attention to the signs."

Soon after, Simms took Ji-Aire to a motel in Waldorf, near where her mother lives. Two days before Ji-Aire was found dead, Simms called Lee, telling him he needed to pick her and their son up immediately. But by the time he was done with work, Simms stopped answering Lee’s calls. On Friday, Simms’ mother called Lee, telling him his son was dead.

Woman Found Pushing Dead Son in Playground Swing

“It came out of nowhere for me,” Lee said.

On Monday, an autopsy for Ji-Aire was completed, but no cause of death was determined. Police are working to establish a timeline of the days before Ji-Aire’s death, Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson said. They believe Simms may have pushed Ji-Aire in the La Plata park swing for hours before they were discovered.

Then there's this from the grandmother of the child:
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/loc...oman-pushes-dead-son-swing-maryland/27935891/

Amid speculation and national attention, Simms' mother, Vontasha Simms, decided to speak exclusively to WUSA 9. The 47-year-old mother of four says she wants to set the record straight.

"[Romechia] would never harm my grandson in any type of way. You know, I just believe she had some type of mental illness, some type of mental break that came upon her where she wasn't able to get herself out of that situation," said Vontasha Simms.

Vontasha Simms claims her daughter was diagnosed with a mental illness about three a months ago and had been seeking help, up until police discovered her with her son at Wills Memorial Park.

The park is about a mile away from a hotel where the family is staying. Vontasha Simms told WUSA 9 they are homeless and that Romechia suffered depression trying to deal with this while still taking care of her son.

"I don't want people to look down upon her I want people to use the situation as an opportunity to grow, learn from it. Like I said, help your neighbor, if you suffer from mental issues and you need help, don't be afraid to reach out to somebody," Vontasha Simms said.

 

[Bann]

There is a gofundme page, although I would be very leery of donating to a group of people such as this. I would maybe find the funeral home handling this child's services and donate directly to them.

http://www.gofundme.com/vaxtxg

 

[MADPEBS1]

wow, no cause??????? Did she suffocate him ? How would autopsy show that, being a 3 year old, no struggle!!!

RIP little one !

 

[Hijinx]

It gets crazier. A mother with known mental illness and living in a motel given custody by a judge.
Of course we don't know much about the father, but he seemed to want to protect the child.

Cause of death unknown, cause of death suspected by me to be an error on the part of the Judge.

 

[Pushrod]

It gets crazier. A mother with known mental illness and living in a motel given custody by a judge.
Of course we don't know much about the father, but he seemed to want to protect the child.

Cause of death unknown, cause of death suspected by me to be an error on the part of the Judge.

From what I have heard, it is very rare for a judge to award custody to the father in Maryland. The circumstances against the mother have to be overwhelming. It's a shame it works that way instead of looking into which parent would actually be best for the child.

 

[Dakota]

They are reporting today that the baby died of dehydration and hypothermia and have ruled it a homicide.

 

[Bann]

They are reporting today that the baby died of dehydration and hypothermia and have ruled it a homicide.

Just heard it on the 6pm news.

Just crazy.

 

[tom88]

From what I have heard, it is very rare for a judge to award custody to the father in Maryland. The circumstances against the mother have to be overwhelming. It's a shame it works that way instead of looking into which parent would actually be best for the child.

I believe the information you have been provided is incorrect. While I would agree that if all things being equal, the maternal parent is likely to get custody, that is only if all things being equal. If a paternal parent is able to demonstrate their living situation is more conducive to the children’s wellbeing, they will get custody. The more common practice today is joint legal custody, or shared custody.

 

[DoWhat]

Just heard it on the 6pm news.

Just crazy.

And the child was alive when they arrived at the park.

 

[musiclady]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/boy-3-died-pushed-swing-2-days-article-1.2276884

This says she pushed him in the swing for 43 HOURS! Poor kid.

 

[Bann]

And the child was alive when they arrived at the park.

Yep.

 

[officeguy]

I believe the information you have been provided is incorrect. While I would agree that if all things being equal, the maternal parent is likely to get custody, that is only if all things being equal. If a paternal parent is able to demonstrate their living situation is more conducive to the children’s wellbeing, they will get custody. The more common practice today is joint legal custody, or shared custody.

I wish that was correct. In this case, a DC judge decided that the kid was better off homeless with the mom in Maryland than at the dads apartment in DC.

 

[officeguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/boy-3-died-pushed-swing-2-days-article-1.2276884

This says she pushed him in the swing for 43 HOURS! Poor kid.

It seems odd that nobody noticed this until the final morning.

 

[Bann]

It seems odd that nobody noticed this until the final morning.

According to the story in the first post, it was noticed before that...
http://forums.somd.com/threads/3001...range-story!?p=5530717&viewfull=1#post5530717

 

[officeguy]

According to the story in the first post, it was noticed before that...
http://forums.somd.com/threads/3001...range-story!?p=5530717&viewfull=1#post5530717

Well, someone called in the morning that they may have been there for the night. If the information is correct, that was the second night the lady was out there with the kid. You would think that someone notices during the day that something is off.

 

[Monello]

Genovese Syndrome

Well, someone called in the morning that they may have been there for the night. If the information is correct, that was the second night the lady was out there with the kid. You would think that someone notices during the day that something is off.

1 explanation

On March 13, 1964, an event took place in New York City that had a transformative effect on the lives of many Americans, especially women. In Kew Gardens, Queens, a young woman named Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was brutally murdered. Hundreds of murders took place in New York City every year, of course, but this one was like no other. 38 neighbors had ignored Genovese’s screams for help as she was stabbed to death, it was reported, this the part of the story that made this particular murder stand out.

The event became seen as a disturbing sign of the times, a prime example of how the city and the nation were changing in the mid-1960s, and not for the better. New Yorkers, and those living in other big cities, were “apathetic,” many Americans concluded, unwilling to help neighbors or strangers in need.

To this day, the event is often cited as an essential principle of group psychology (the “Genovese syndrome”), and an unfortunate consequence of modern urban life.

 

[getbent]

And the child was alive when they arrived at the park.

I'm betting the child was already dehydrated prior to them going to the park. Awful to think that the child was suffering for days prior to his/her death. Heartbreaking.

 

[musiclady]

My guess as to why people didn't call is that they didn't pay attention. If you lived by a park, do you always look to see who's there? You go about your life. Maybe they noticed her pushing the child, then went to work or sleep or whatever. When they noticed again, she was there. But wouldn't you think she came back, not that she was there for days? Only if it was noticed that she was there in the middle of the night would it seem terribly strange. That's probably why it was eventually called in. The person noticed before bed that she was there and noticed again when they woke up that she was still there. Maybe the person who called didn't see her the first day. I'd bet the boy never cried. If he was already dehydrated before they got to the park, maybe he was too weak/exhausted and the swinging just made him sleep. She must have been dehydrated, too, if she didn't even stop to pee or sleep.

 

[Bann]

1 explanation

Quite possibly.

In the end, it really doesn't matter why people didn't notice this going on at the park. The problem began BEFORE this very disturbed woman took her child to the park.

She was known to have psychiatric problems, her own mother knew it and the baby's father knew it, because he tried to gain custody of that child.(So there is a public record that this woman had psychiatric issues) There seems to be a lot of people at fault prior to this woman even taking the child to the park.