By: Laura Meyers
A mentally deranged mother took her 3-year-old son to the park and pushed him in a swing during a cold rain. When police discovered the pair 2 days later, the boy’s mother was still swinging her son’s dead body in that same swing. Officers attempted to remove the boy from the swing and perform first aid, but “it was instantaneously clear the child was dead,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Diane Richardson said.
No signs of trauma were found on the boy’s body- medical examiners ruled that he died of dehydration and hypothermia.
The investigation revealed that Ji’Aire Donnell Lee was put in the swing at Wills Memorial Park in LaPlata, Maryland around 11:15 a.m. May 20 and discovered by police at 7 a.m. May 22 after a nearby resident called authorities.
Ji’Aire’s father, James Lee, had attempted to get sole custody of his son just days before he was found dead.
Lee had been worried about Ji’Aire’s mother, Romechia Simms, was suffering from mental illness.
Lee says he didn’t want Simms permanently out of his life, but he believed he would have been a better parent at the time while Simms recovered her mental stability.
The judge disagreed and granted her custody.
