Arheel's Uncle
Senior Reporter
Mom arrested after young daughter found dead in dumpster behind Phoenix business
Sophia Simmons, 38, was booked on charges including first-degree murder, child abuse and tampering with evidence.
www.azfamily.com
Mom arrested after young daughter found dead in dumpster behind Phoenix business
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A woman is in jail facing a murder charge after her young daughter was found dead in a dumpster behind a business in Phoenix on Christmas Eve. The suspect has been identified as 38-year-old Sophia Simmons.
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Discretion is advised.
Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, Phoenix police responded to the area of 31st Avenue and Thomas Road after someone reported finding a body in a dumpster. According to court documents, officers arrived to find the body of a young girl inside a plastic tote. An investigator with the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner pulled the tote from the dumpster and found that the girl, who appeared to be about 5 to 7 years old, had multiple injuries on her body — including her arms, legs and torso. Some wounds were reportedly recent, while others were in multiple stages of healing, including scars.
On Monday, someone in New York called Phoenix police to report receiving a phone call from Simmons. The caller reported that Simmons said she had beaten her daughter and that “it went too far.” According to documents, Simmons told the person she left her house after beating the child and that when she returned, the girl wasn’t breathing. After CPR was unsuccessful, Simmons reportedly kept the girl’s body at the house for five days before going to a dumpster about 4 miles away.
Police conducted surveillance on Simmons’ townhome and saw signs that someone had been attempting to clean a crime scene. Documents say the front door was open and that a smoke alarm could be heard going off inside. There was furniture outside, and a garden hose was going through the front door. Detectives obtained a search warrant and found standing water throughout the townhome and noted that cushions were missing from the couch. No one was home.
Investigators also reviewed surveillance video from a neighbor. Officers also obtained a warrant for Simmons’ cellphone and found the device was moving toward Arizona from California. Simmons was later stopped and arrested near I-10 in Tonopah. Records also showed that Simmons’ phone was in the area of the dumpster on the morning of Dec. 24.
Police say Simmons refused to speak without a lawyer and was booked on several felony charges, including first-degree murder, child abuse and tampering with evidence. During her initial court appearance, a prosecutor pointed out that Simmons has at least one previous conviction in Minnesota for “malicious punishment of a child.”
The investigation is ongoing, and detectives are awaiting specific information on the girl’s death from the medical examiner’s office.