MD - Ji'Aire Lee, 3, found dead in swing pushed by mom, La Plata, 22 May 2015

[jjenny]

I am confused about the claims that she may have had him in the swing, outside , all night long. If so, then she could be and maybe should be charged with something. A three year old cannot sit in a swing for hours in cold, damp darkness. He was too fragile as any toddler would be. :rose:

She pushed him for two days. He died from dehydration and hypothermia.
He was alive when she started pushing him in the swing, and dead by the end of it.

 

[jjenny]

Sorry, I got a bit caught up from reading the comments on MSN articles and lost my point on the earlier comment.

What I was getting around to saying is we don't know if there is anything to even charge her with. I guess tampering with a corpse could apply. But I'm just not sure and I'm not going to say anything until toxicology comes back.

He wasn't a corpse when she put him into the swing.

 

[luckyseven]

She pushed him for two days. He died from dehydration and hypothermia.
He was alive when she started pushing him in the swing, and dead by the end of it.

I'm literally speechless...

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Oh my word, poor little baby.
Thirsty, cold, crying, and getting ignored by mummy.
So sad. RIP little fella.

 

[Donjeta]

Why did the mother even have custody? It seems like a homeless and mentally ill person wouldn't be in the best place dealing with a toddler.

 

[Tssiemer]

...........

That's all I got.


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[Hippononymous]

That poor baby! How could she even physically do that for 44 hours? Did she eat? Sleep? Use a bathroom?? It's so sad that no one noticed this until it was too late.

 

[tlcya]

This is awful. On every single level. My heart breaks for mother and child. So upsetting.

 

[Nocturnal 911]

I've been on here for years and just saw this post and literally lol'd at your username and tag at the end. I REMEMBER when you only had six!! Back then I was all SIX KIDS!!??? Too funny! Enjoy!

Ugh... this was a reply to mom of six? Not sure what I did- sorry.

 

[jjenny]

Something that scares me here. Who the hell discharges a woman who had a mental break and was swinging her dead toddler for hours...after FOUR days? There is no way she is all the sudden real world mentally healthy after 4 days. Especially, not dealing with grieving and all that comes with an investigation. I hope that she is not a danger to herself

Even worse than that, the child was alive when she started pushing him in the swing, and dead by the end of it. And yet she is out after 4 days?

 

[LibraStarr]

A medical examiner’s office has ruled that Ji’Aire’s death was a homicide, and the sheriff’s office said Tuesday that he died of hypothermia and dehydration during his long time on the swing. The autopsy report will be sent to the county state’s attorney’s office, which will decide whether to file charges against Ji’Aire’s mother, Romechia Simms.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/sheriffs-office-death-of-boy-found-on-park-swing-was-a-homicide/2015/06/30/782b7c92-1f5b-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html?tid=pm_pop_b

 

[concernedmother]

Im not sure how this is a homicide. Obviously something wrong with mom to stay there for all that time pushing the child. I don't see intent that she meant to harm the child. Wouldn't this be more of a negligence case?

 

[michmi]

I can't even explain why, but I just knew that they had been out there a lot longer than was originally reported. This is just heartbreaking, the way this child died.

 

[blue22]

Im not sure how this is a homicide. Obviously something wrong with mom to stay there for all that time pushing the child. I don't see intent that she meant to harm the child. Wouldn't this be more of a negligence case?

You are thinking of homicide like murder. The legal definition of homicide is simply that a person is killed by another person, or the death is caused by another person. This is homicide in the truest definition. The child was killed by the actions or inaction of another person

 

[Tssiemer]

I mean she did kill him essentially. She denied him food and shelter to avoid dehydration and hypothermia.


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[Nova]

Im not sure how this is a homicide. Obviously something wrong with mom to stay there for all that time pushing the child. I don't see intent that she meant to harm the child. Wouldn't this be more of a negligence case?

Anytime one human being kills another (even if it is justifiable), it is considered "homicide" (literally, the "killing of a human"). The other choices are "accidental" or "natural causes" or "unknown", IIRC. "Homicide" is not a synonym for "murder"; the latter is the legal charge of which you are thinking, I believe.

(Sorry. blue22 put it better. I'll leave this here in the unlikely event that somebody misses his/her post.)

 

[GGE]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/sheriffs-office-death-of-boy-found-on-park-swing-was-a-homicide/2015/06/30/782b7c92-1f5b-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html?tid=pm_pop_b

Also from your link:

"Lee, 29, told the court he was concerned about Simms’s mental stability after episodes of erratic behavior, including jumping from a moving cab, led to her hospitalization.

“I do not believe she can safely care for our son,” he wrote in his March custody petition. “I am concerned about my child’s safety and well being. I want to make sure that our son is safe.”"

<snip>

"Vontasha, 47, blamed Romechia’s problems on Lee, accusing him of being “mentally and emotionally abusive.” She was especially angry about his allegation that Romechia smoked Scooby, synthetic marijuana, before her breakdown in February — a charge he made in his custody petition and again in television interviews."

<snip>

"Two years ago, Vontasha filed a protection petition in Maryland District Court, accusing Romechia of threatening her after she asked her daughter to clean up after Ji’Aire. Instead, she wrote, Romechia began shouting obscenities at her.

“She said that she was going to hurt me. She was very angry and out of control,” wrote Vontasha, who asked her daughter to leave the house that night. “But she refused. .&#8201;.&#8201;. I felt threatened for my safety.”"

<snip>

"But the couple began drifting apart in late 2014, around the time he said she was fired from her job at a candy shop in Chinatown.

Then one day in February, she called him while he was at work. She sounded incoherent.

“She was telling me that someone tried to kill me when I got home from work the other day, and that someone had been hiding out in the bushes and shot at me, but the gun was jammed,” Lee said. “I was completely lost. She was hallucinating with fear and anxiety.”"


<snip>

"Simms got a cab, he said, but in the middle of the ride, she jumped out of the car with their son. Lee said he eventually found her and Ji’Aire walking on the side of Branch Avenue in Southern Maryland well past midnight.

“He was walking with no socks, jacket open in his pajamas. She left her diaper bag two blocks away,” Lee said. “I asked her, ‘What are you doing?’ She gave me a look like she didn’t know who I was.”"

There's' so much more I can't possibly snip enough to adhere to copyright without just letting you all read the rest at the link yourselves.

It would seem there were YEARS of signs that this mother might not be the best choice to raise this boy. Heartbreaking.

 

[Nece]

Also from your link:

"Lee, 29, told the court he was concerned about Simms&#8217;s mental stability after episodes of erratic behavior, including jumping from a moving cab, led to her hospitalization.

&#8220;I do not believe she can safely care for our son,&#8221; he wrote in his March custody petition. &#8220;I am concerned about my child&#8217;s safety and well being. I want to make sure that our son is safe.&#8221;"

<snip>

"Vontasha, 47, blamed Romechia&#8217;s problems on Lee, accusing him of being &#8220;mentally and emotionally abusive.&#8221; She was especially angry about his allegation that Romechia smoked Scooby, synthetic marijuana, before her breakdown in February &#8212; a charge he made in his custody petition and again in television interviews."

<snip>

"Two years ago, Vontasha filed a protection petition in Maryland District Court, accusing Romechia of threatening her after she asked her daughter to clean up after Ji&#8217;Aire. Instead, she wrote, Romechia began shouting obscenities at her.

&#8220;She said that she was going to hurt me. She was very angry and out of control,&#8221; wrote Vontasha, who asked her daughter to leave the house that night. &#8220;But she refused. .&#8201;.&#8201;. I felt threatened for my safety.&#8221;"

<snip>

"But the couple began drifting apart in late 2014, around the time he said she was fired from her job at a candy shop in Chinatown.

Then one day in February, she called him while he was at work. She sounded incoherent.

&#8220;She was telling me that someone tried to kill me when I got home from work the other day, and that someone had been hiding out in the bushes and shot at me, but the gun was jammed,&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;I was completely lost. She was hallucinating with fear and anxiety.&#8221;"


<snip>

"Simms got a cab, he said, but in the middle of the ride, she jumped out of the car with their son. Lee said he eventually found her and Ji&#8217;Aire walking on the side of Branch Avenue in Southern Maryland well past midnight.

&#8220;He was walking with no socks, jacket open in his pajamas. She left her diaper bag two blocks away,&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;I asked her, &#8216;What are you doing?&#8217; She gave me a look like she didn&#8217;t know who I was.&#8221;"

There's' so much more I can't possibly snip enough to adhere to copyright without just letting you all read the rest at the link yourselves.

It would seem there were YEARS of signs that this mother might not be the best choice to raise this boy. Heartbreaking.

This is another mind boggling sad sad sad case. Poor baby.

 

[cocomod]

Can you imagine the confusion this poor baby felt during this time? At first, I though how scared he must have been. But after seeing this latest article, his mom has done many, many crazy things during his short life. Now, I have to believe that he had a comforter with him during this last episode. I do believe in a higher power, and I believe that children (especially small children) are the closest to this power.

This case is all around tragic. Mental illness - as long as it has been studied - is still so varied, misunderstood, and sometimes (like this one) still underestimated!

May this be a case that brings about positive changes. Children should not suffer! Courts need to make informed decisions.

:cry:

 

[kimi_SFC]

I've written and deleted so many posts about the latest turn of events regarding Ji'Aire's case. As I've followed along here, my fellow WSers have so eloquently stated the emotions I've felt in my heart, the absolute pain I've been feeling at his terror, and the disbelief that this was allowed to occur. :no:

I've read the WaPo article GGE posted upthread, and all I can say is it's a total heartbreaker. Have your Kleenex ready. :tears:

I wanted to bring the image forward from the article. Ji'Aire's smile is beautifully beaming, and although he is with his eventual killer, I didn't crop her out. If the Mods choose to edit, so be it.

I will always remember him smiling - as the #ForeverAngel he will always be. But this photo should be a reminder that looks can be fatally deceiving. You'd never know what lies beneath by this image:

She fooled enough people to get away with having custody. I hope real change becomes part of Little Ji'Aire's legacy. This must never happen again. :moo:

:rose:
:floating:
:angel:

Image via
http://wpo.st/Q57P0
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