Update: 3-Year-Old Found in Park Swing Died of Dehydration and Hypothermia

In May, police in Maryland found Romechia Simms pushing her deceased son, Ji’Aire Lee, in a swing on a Friday morning. After receiving calls that she had been doing this for an “unusual amount of time,” investigators were called to the scene.

A Maryland medical examiner has ruled that Ji’Aire Lee died of dehydration and hypothermia after sitting in the swing for two days. The examiner found no signs of trauma on the boy’s body at the time he was found and his death has been ruled a homicide.

The boy's mother who had been diagnosed with depression about three months ago, was treated at a hospital for several days.


The local state’s attorney’s office will determine whether or not to file criminal charges.

The family has not hired a lawyer yet, Washington Post reports. Vontasha Simms, grandmother of Ji’Aire says, “Right now, we’re waiting to see what happens. It’s just a tough pill to swallow. I don’t know what [the prosecutors] are going to do, but our main concern is keeping [Romechia Simms] emotionally stable. She’s at a fragile point. She goes a few times a week to a mental health facility.”

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