Florida mother charged with murder of her four-year-old son in 2013

A Florida mother is accused of murdering her four-year-old son, who died eleven years ago.

Destene Simmons, currently in custody in Broward County, Florida, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, according to online jail records.

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

Simmons allegedly made several 911 calls the day Antwan was found, requesting emergency services, but would not say why she needed them, the affidavit states. When police arrived, she allegedly said she needed someone to check on her son at the apartment where he was found dead. His body was already showing signs of rigor mortis.

During the investigation, police interviewed Simmons' mother, who said her daughter had lost custody of Antwan and that she had seen Simmons holding a pillow over his head as early as 2011, the affidavit states.

After an autopsy in 2013, Antwan's cause and manner of death were considered undetermined 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 eviction, police allege in the lawsuit.

In the years that followed, forensic experts offered differing opinions on Antwan's manner of death. However, in November 2023, the chief medical examiner for Broward County told the investigator in charge of the case that she believed the four-year-old had suffocated and that the manner of death would be changed to homicide, according to the affidavit.

Want to stay up to date with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter to get breaking crime news, ongoing court coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Police found that Simmons lived in an apartment complex in Redmond, Washington. After obtaining her phone number, they began tracking her whereabouts. In July, police applied for an arrest warrant.

According to jail records, Simmons was arrested in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on August 2 before being extradited to Broward County.

It is not immediately clear whether she has hired a lawyer 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 visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in more than 170 languages.