Grandmother of child found dead in swing speaks out
LA PLATA, Md. — The grandmother of a 3-year-old boy found dead at a Maryland playground last week said her daughter would never do anything to hurt her son.
On Friday, Charles County (Maryland) Police found Romechia Simms swinging her deceased son for what investigators said was an "unusual amount of time" at a La Plata playground.
Simms is facing no immediate charges in connection to the incident, and is being treated at a local hospital.
Family members identified the boy as Ji'Aire Lee.
Simms' mother, Vontasha Simms, said her 24-year-old daughter wouldn't harm her grandson.
"(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, 47, 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 said 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.
An autopsy on Ji'Aire has been conducted, however, Diane Richardson, a spokeswoman with the Charles County Sheriff's Office, said the findings are incomplete because they are still waiting for toxicology reports and other information to come in.
Police will not comment on whether mental illness played a role. The man believed to be Ji'Aire's father declined to comment on the situation.
According to a GoFundMe page set up to help the family, there may have been a recent custody battle for the boy.
A GoFundMe page reads, "Donnell Lee has been trying to get Sole Physically custody of his son Ji'Aire since March 2015 (but was failed by the court system). Due to tragic unforeseen circumstances, Ji'Aire passed away on the morning of Friday, May 22nd."
Richardson said police are still putting together a timeline of events before the boy's death.
"This is a top priority for us. This is a 3-year-old boy that's deceased. We don't know the cause of death. There are no obvious signs of trauma, but he is deceased and our detectives are working around the clock trying to put information together to answer the question as to how this child died," Richardson said.