FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The mother of a child found dead in a Coral Springs apartment Monday appeared in a Broward courtroom on Tuesday after she was arrested on an unrelated charge.
Destene Simmons, 23, was arrested on an outstanding traffic warrant. Bond was set at $500, but Simmons left jail late Tuesday and went to a state mental hospital, where she will be held under the Baker Act.
According to police, 4-year-old Antwon Hope (pictured above right) was found dead in the apartment he shared with his mother.
The medical examiner is currently conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death. He returned to the apartment Tuesday to see where the body was found.
"It just hurts so bad. It hurts me so bad because I'm so close to my grandson and great-grandson and it hurts me bad and I never thought anything like this would happen," said a woman claiming to be Hope's great-grandmother.
Hope was placed into the care of a relative in late 2011 after an investigation began, according to the Department of Children and Families. According to published reports, Simmons drove Hope to a motel, checked in to a room, then tried suffocating him.