Fla. Mom Who Lost Custody of 4-Year-Old Son Charged with Murder 11 Years After His Death

Destene Simmons is accused of murdering her son, Antwan Hope, 11 years ago, according to online jail records and an arrest affidavit viewed by PEOPLE

A Florida mother is charged with the murder of her 4-year-old son, who died 11 years ago.

Destene Simmons, who is currently in custody in Broward County, Fla., is facing charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, online jail records indicate.

Police allege in an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE that Simmons fatally suffocated her son, who was found dead on June 10, 2013 in her apartment in Coral Springs, during an unsupervised visit. Her son is not named in the affidavit, but he is identified as Antwan Hope in his obituary.

Simmons allegedly made several 911 calls on the day Antwan was found, asking for emergency responders, but declined to say why she needed them, according to the affidavit. When police arrived, she allegedly said she needed someone to check on her son inside the apartment, where he was found dead. His body was already showing signs of rigor mortis.

Police interviewed Simmons’ mother during the investigation, who said her daughter had lost custody of Antwan and that she had previously seen Simmons hold a pillow over his head in 2011, the affidavit alleges.

Antwan’s cause and manner of death were listed as undetermined following an autopsy in 2013 and no charges were filed.

At the time of her son’s death, Simmons had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was on the verge of being evicted, police allege in the complaint.

Over the subsequent years, forensics experts gave differing opinions on Antwan’s manner of death. However, in November 2023, Broward County’s Chief Medical Examiner told the detective assigned to the case that she believed the 4-year-old had been asphyxiated and that the manner of death would be changed to homicide, according to the affidavit.

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Police determined that Simmons was listed as living at an apartment complex in Redmond, Wash., and after learning her phone number, began tracking her location. In July, police applied for an arrest warrant.

Simmons was arrested on Aug. 2 in Port St. Lucie, Fla., jail records indicate, before she was transferred to Broward County.

It is not immediately clear if she has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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