We can’t truly ever say we know exactly what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Although there is plenty we judge, there is plenty more we can’t truly ever understand. When I hear stories of neglectful parents, especially stories that end in a child’s death, my knee-jerk instinct is to scorn the parent who allowed that to happen. But sometimes those tragic endings came at the hands of someone who had no ill intent. That seems to be the case in the story of Maryland mom Romechia Simms, who technically killed her 3-year-old boy.
In 2015, Simms pushed her son on a swing for over 40 hours straight.
In that time her little boy, Ji’Aire Donnell Lee, died from dehydration and hypothermia. When police arrived on May 22, 2015, they found the mom still pushing the swing, according to CBS Baltimore.
“It was instantaneously clear the child was dead,” county sheriff’s office spokeswoman Diane Richardson shared in a statement at the time.
In September, Simms was indicted and charged with manslaughter, first-degree child abuse, and child neglect. In 2011, she was charged with second-degree assault after a fight with her mother, Vontasha Simms, per CBS News Baltimore. An officer claimed Romechia Simms pulled a dreadlock from her mother’s head, and her mother sought a peace order requiring her daughter stay away from her. She was not found guilty in either case, due to mental health issues.
Still, Vontasha Simms was reportedly ‘flabbergasted’ when her daughter was charged.
“No one in their right mind is going to sit out there for two days in the elements,” Vontasha Simms said to WRTV of her daughter, noting that she also went without food, water, and shelter those fateful days.
She noted that her daughter had just begun taking medication for her mental health issues and wondered if the dosage was incorrect, causing her to have an “episode.”
Just weeks before, the boy’s father had petitioned for sole custody of him, saying he believed she was unfit to care for him, WRTV reported. Ultimately he agreed to share custody, even though she was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Romechia Simms originally faced up for 45 years in prison, but WMAR reported that a Charles County judge ultimately ruled she could remain free “as long as she meets certain conditions.” Those included being monitored by state psychologists, having her blood routinely tested to verify she is taking her medication, and not having contact with children.
A year after her son’s death, Romechia Simms was still grappling with the grief.
According to WMAR, she was religiously taking her medication and working through therapy to deal with the loss.
“Sometimes I find myself doing weird things, like I will grab his socks and just hold onto his socks,” she said. “Or I will grab one of his toy balls and hold onto his ball — anything that helps me to feel close — that I know was his.”
