South Florida mother charged with killing her son 10 years ago – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – The Miami Herald reported that a South Florida mother has been charged with murder more than a decade after the death of her four-year-old son, Antwan Hope.

Destene Simmons, 34, was arrested over the weekend in connection with the 2013 death of the boy, who investigators had long considered a suspect.

The case came to light again after authorities linked Simmons to the death of her son. The tragic event occurred during an unsupervised weekend visit to Simmons' Coral Springs home. The visit was permitted despite her documented mental illness.

When Hope died, the boy's grandmother blamed the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for what she called a systematic failure, criticizing the agency for allowing unsupervised visits between Simmons and her son, even though Simmons had mental health issues and had previously attempted to harm the child.

According to previous investigations, Simmons had attempted to suffocate her son years before his death, which led the state to initially remove the child from her custody. However, after Simmons met certain conditions, she was granted unsupervised visitation rights, which tragically ended in Hope's death.

The incident sparked a DCF investigation that revealed significant failings within the agency, including the decision to allow unsupervised visits.

Simmons is currently being held without bail at the North Broward Bureau Jail in Pompano Beach.

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