It was a story that shocked us all.
In late May, it was reported that a three-year-old boy in the US had been found dead a local playground, with his mother still pushing him the swing.
Police were called to the playground on May 22nd after a neighbour had alerted them, commenting that the little boy, Ji’Aire, and his mother, Romechia, had been in the park for an unusually long time.
When the police came, they found the boy still strapped into the swing, cold and lifeless, with his mother blankly pushing him back and forth.
More than a month after Ji’Aire’s death, the county sheriff’s office has release the coroner’s report, which revealed that the little boy had died of dehydration, hypothermia and starvation after being pushed in the swing for more than 44 hours.
The report noted that Ji’Aire was alive when his mother placed him into the swing on the morning of May 20th, but died after two days of being strapped in.
Because of these gruesome details, the coroner’s office has confirmed its decision to rule Ji’Aire’s death a homicide, but has not yet charged his mother, Romechia, with murder.
Ji’Aire’s father at his funeral. Picture via The Washington Post.
Sadly, it was known that Ji’Aire’s mother, Romechia, suffered from severe depression and bipolar disorder before her son’s tragic death, but her family believed she was stable enough to care for Ji’Aire.
Romechia had been hospitalised twice before Ji’Aire’s death for “erratic behaviour”, including jumping out of a moving vehicle with her son in arms.
On another occasion, Ji’Aire’s father had found them in their pyjamas, wandering without coats or shoes, along the sidewalk because Romechia had “left her diaper bag behind”.
“He was walking with no socks, jacket open in his pyjamas. She left her diaper bag two blocks away,” said Ji’Aire’s father, James “Donnell” Lee.
Just before Ji’Aire’s death in the park, his father, Donnell, had appealed at the Superior Court in DC for sole custody, on the basis that he was “concerned for [his] child’s safety and wellbeing”.
In the custody dispute, Romechia had written a rebuttal, stating that although she had suffered from previous “mental breakdowns”, she was “in a much better productive space” now.
“I have done everything in my power since moving from DC to ensure that my son has the best life that he can have,” wrote Romechia in her statement.
After handing down a joint custody ruling on May 11th, which allowed Romechia custody on weekdays, and Donnell custody on weekends, the judge closed the case.
Ji’Aire was found dead eleven days later.
