The father of the 3-year-old boy who was found dead in a park swing last week says that he had filed for sole custody of the child, but was “failed” by the legal system.
James Lee said that he was concerned the boy’s mother, Romechia Simms, was suffering from mental illness. He wanted to take his son, Ji-Aire, into his care but did not want to remove Simms permanently; he just wanted her to get help. Unfortunately, a judge did not see things his way.
“He deemed her, at that moment, a fit parent,” Lee said. “I’m not saying she isn’t, but in this situation, [the judge] just didn’t pay attention to the signs.”
Watch the boy’s father describe his loss below:
Lee said that, two days before Ji-Aire was found dead, he received a call from Simms asking if he could pick her up along with their son. But when he got off work and called her, Simms would not return his calls. Then, on Friday, Simms called him to report that their son was dead.
“It came out of nowhere for me,” Lee said.
While a cause of death still has not been determined, Lee wonders if things might have turned out differently if he had been granted sole custody. He believes the system was rigged against him because he is a father, not a mother.