GENESIS SIMS - 9 yo (2010) - Monument (N of Colorado Springs) CO

Monument CO ---- What could be the town's first homicide ever, has police and
sheriff's deputies trying to find out who left the body of a youngster
in the basement of a vacant home at 764 Century Place, Unit A.

"We are taking this crime very hard, both police and members of this
small foothills community," said Monument Police Chief, Jake Shirk. "Any
murder is tough to take, but the death of a child is even worse."

Police say a couple of workmen found the body and called police late
Friday afternoon. The Coroner is trying to come up with a cause of
death, sex and age of the child, and how long the body has been in the home.

Sheriff's investigators are searching both the county and state missing
children reports to see if those filings might help find out who the child might belong to.

The death of a small child whose body was
discovered Friday in the basement of a Monument home is being
investigated as a homicide, authorities say.
"The homicide of a child is one of the most difficult and horrific
crimes that law enforcement responds to," Monument Police Chief Jacob
Shirk said. "We are all parents and are deeply saddened by this event."

Two construction workers working in a vacant duplex called police at 4
p.m. Friday to report they found the body of a young child in the
basement of a home at 764 Century Place, Unit A.
The identity, sex, race and age of the child has not been determined,
Shirk said. The child could have been anywhere from 1 to 7 years old,
he said.
"It was evident that the body had been there for a while," Shirk
said.
Based on the circumstances of where the body was discovered the
child's death was being investigated as a homicide.
The home has been up for sale and several people may have gone into
the home without seeing the child, because the body was not in plain
sight, Shirk said.
It wasn't until the construction workers began working that they
uncovered the remains, he said.
Authorities are trying to determine who the last person to live in
the home was. They will see whether that person had a child.
Shirk said that the town of Monument, which has a population of about
18,000, does not have a missing-child case.
"If it's ruled as a homicide, it would be the first homicide in the
history of Monument," Shirk said.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is working with Monument police
officers in the investigation, Shirk said.
An autopsy was scheduled for this morning by the El Paso County
Coroner's Office.
"We are waiting for the results," Shirk said.
Anyone with information about the case can call the Monument Police
Department at 719-481-3253 or the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at
719-390-5555.

Prospective buyers interested in a duplex
in Monument may have walked a few feet above the decaying body of a
dead child in a flooded crawl space.
The child's death is being investigated as the first homicide in the
history of Monument, Police Chief Jacob Shirk said Saturday.
"The homicide of a child is one of the most difficult and horrific
crimes that law enforcement responds to," Shirk said. "We are all
parents and are deeply saddened by this event."
A construction worker who was part of a crew draining the crawl space
to install a new sump pump discovered the body Friday afternoon,
according to Marilyn Longfield, who along with her husband, Robert, owns
the duplex at 764 Century Place.
"It's just absolutely the worst thing that could happen," said
Longfield, who lives in Mesa, Ariz., and contracts with a property
manager to manage the rental property.
When two workers discovered the body, they called police at 4 p.m.
Friday, Shirk said.
The identity, sex, race and age of the child have not been
determined, Shirk said. The child could have been anywhere from 1 to 7
years old, he said.
"It was evident that the body had been there for a while," Shirk
said.
The apartment where the body was found has been vacant since
November, when the couple evicted two men who failed to pay their rent. A
woman may have been living with one of the men, Marilyn Longfield said.
Authorities are trying to determine past occupants of the duplex. They
will see whether any of them had a child.
Shirk said that the town of Monument, which has a population of about
18,000, does not have a missing-child case.
"How in the world could a child be down there?" Longfield said. "If
there is a missing child, someone would report it. Children don't go
missing without someone saying something."
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is working with Monument police
in the investigation, Shirk said.
An autopsy was completed Saturday morning by the El Paso County
Coroner's Office.
"We are waiting for the results," Shirk said.
Anyone with information about the case can call the Monument Police
Department at 719-481-3253 or the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at
719-390-5555.

Autopsy results are expected
on Monday in the case of a toddler's body found in the crawl space of a
home in Monument.
The property owner spoke with reporters about the case. He says he hasn't been there in about a year, and
he's working with investigators to help track down anyone who may have
had access to the house.He said that a number
of different tenants and owners have lived in the house. It's changed
hands at least once, and with all the work done on the place, many
people have been in and out of the home over the years.
A homicide investigation in
Monument is unusual.
"It's very troubling," said
Monument Police Chief Jacob Shirk. "Anytime a child is involved in a
death or seriously being hurt, it has an impact not only on the
community, but also on the officers and law enforcement professionals
that handle these cases."
The Monument Police Department and
the El Paso County Sheriff's Office are gathering as much information
as they can about why a toddler's body was found in a home on Century
Place.
The owner of the property reported that contract workers uncovered the body while they were digging
to fix a sump pump in the home's crawl space
As news of the discovery spreads,
neighbors say they're shocked.
"We bought our house here in
Monument because it's a small community, close-knit schools," said
Julie, who lives just a block away from the crime scene. "You don't hear
about things like that in Monument."
By Sunday evening, a small
memorial for the unknown toddler had been placed on the doorstep of the
vacant house.
Dede Laugesen brought plush toys
for a child who will never play with them. "I know it's a sentimental
act, this child is no longer here," said Dede. "But it's a statement
that says this child's life should be honored." She added, "To think
about what that child last saw as it walked in through that door, and
was it with somebody who loved him?"
While neighbors like Dede wrestle
with their own questions, authorities are meticulously investigating one
of the most shocking crimes the small town has ever seen.
Authorities are asking the
community for help. If you have any information about this case, you're
asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at 390-5555, or the
Monument Police Department at 481-3253.

An autopsy on the remains of a child's body found in the crawl space of
an empty home in Monument revealed it was that of a 7- to 10-year-old
girl of unknown race.The El Paso County Coroner's Office said
Monday the remains were so badly decomposed that the girl's cause of
death and identity could not be determined. It's also unclear how long
the remains had been in the crawl space before they were discovered.The
vacant home at 764 Century Place was undergoing renovation when
construction workers made the grisly discovery on Friday.
Neighbors remember a family with a
little girl living in the house about a year and half ago. They said
the 6-year-old girl disappeared one day and the family told them she had
moved back to New Jersey to live with her aunt.Another neighbor
said others had called police before about possible abuse at the home."I
was even there when police were called. At one point, we talked to (the
parents) and they said she was fine," said neighbor Kristin McCollam.
"I have four kids so to me it's heartbreaking that anyone could even do
that to a child."Monument police Chief Jacob Shirk said he can't
say yet whether police visited the home in the past, but a spokeswoman
with the Department of Human Services confirmed that department
officials had contacted that particular family before.Gabrielle
Bearsheart's daughter used to play with the girl who lived in the house.
She said she too thinks the body belongs to the girl her daughter
played with, but she's hoping it's not."I want to know and I want
them caught," Bearsheart said.She said she's having a hard time
explaining to her daughter what is happening."Right now she's
asking questions and I try to come up with an excuse, 'Well, let's kind
of wait until we find out more details,'" Bearsheart said.Monument
police confirmed they have not received any missing children reports.If
this death is ruled a homicide it would be the first in the town’s
history.

Neighbors held a candlelight vigil Monday night for the little girl whose
body was found inside the crawlspace of a home in Monument.
Mourners brought candles, flowers,
stuffed animals and balloons.They said prayers and released
the balloons, with messages on them, and sang on the doorstep of the
home where her body was found.Children from the neighborhood
also read messages to the little girl, telling her they missed her, and
they loved her.The Monument Police Department is
investigating the case as a homicide.
The body, which Monument Police say is believed to be that of a girl between
the ages of seven and ten, was found in a crawlspace of the home on
Friday, May 14th by construction workers who were fixing a sump pump.
The victim's identity and cause of death have not yet been released.

The El Paso County Sheriff has revealed that they've
narrowed their investigation into the body found in Monument.
Investigators have issued a
national BOLO bulletin to all federal, state and county law enforcement
officials, asking them to be on the lookout for Monique Lynch and Hanif
Sims. Both are 29 years old and are being called "witnesses to the
case."Sims and Lynch were former
tenants of 764 Century Place in Monument, the house in which the body of
a 7-10 year old girl was found last Friday. The couple had two
children at the time they were living at the home, a 12-year-old son and
a 7-year-old daughter. Maketa says neighbors also reported that Lynch
gave birth to another child after they moved out of the home, saying a
neighbor received a text from Lynch about her newborn.
The 7-year-old girl was a student
in School District 38. Sheriff Maketa says she was pulled out of school
to be home-schooled in October of 2008. That's the last record they
have of her.
Sheriff Terry Maketa says
investigators are in the process of talking to all other former tenants
who lived at the house, except for this couple. The El Paso County
Sheriff's Office has flown two investigators to New Jersey and two to
California to look for Sims and Lynch, and to talk to their families.
They're in the process of collecting DNA from other family members to
see if it's a match for the girl's body found.
Lynch is wanted on a drug charge
in New Jersey and Sims is wanted for a weapons violation. Maketa says
they're certain the two are not in Colorado and believe they may be
in California.
The body of the young girl was
discovered in a crawl space of the vacant home Friday by contract
workers. An autopsy of the body revealed the body was that of a 7-10
year old girl, but due to the condition of the remains, the coroner was
unable to determine the identity, the manner and cause of death or the
ethnicity.
Right now, investigators are still investigating the case as a homicide and it a "suspicious death."

Just as a husband who abuses his wife will alienate her from family and friends, some parents who abuse their children will do the same and will take their child or children out of school on the pretense that they are going to home school them. Home schooling needs to be thoroughly investigated before it is allowed and carefully monitored to ensure the child is learning at an appropriate level and is safe and well. Authorities should err on the side of caution and assume the worst until they are satisfied that all is well.

Investigators from El Paso County are searching for a couple who lived
in the Monument home where a young girl's body was found.

The body is believed to be that of Genesis Sims and was discovered by
construction workers, stuffed in the crawl space of an empty townhome on
Century Place about a week ago.

Now investigators are looking for the girl's father, 29-year-old Hanif
Sims, who is wanted on weapons charges in New Jersey and his girlfriend
Monique Lynch, also wanted in New Jersey for a drug probation violation.

So far neither the police nor the Lynch's relatives know the couple's
whereabouts.

Neighbors say they worried the girl was being abused and called the
police on more than one occasion about their suspicions.

"They should have to look at the pictures of that little girl." said
neighbor Babette Haight, "They should have to face all of that head on
because she lost her life and they're still out living theirs and that's
just not right."

The couple moved into the Monument townhome on Century Place in 2008. The couple disappeared in 2009, after the girl had
not been seen for several days.

"Find them, just find them and do something with them because this is
just wrong," said Haight.

Detectives have gone to New Jersey and California, where the couple may
be staying. Police will only say they are "persons of interest" in the
case, until it is confirmed as a homicide.

Several of the neighbors we spoke to last week told us that
investigators have now asked them not to talk to the media.

The body was so badly decomposed, the coroner still has yet to determine
the cause of death and hopes DNA from family members will confirm her
identity.

Until the coroner determines a cause of death, the police will not call
it a murder investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff's
Office at 719-390-5555.

A couple sought in the case of a Monument girl found dead in a
crawlspace are said to be homeless.The head of a Los Angeles
homeless shelter has acknowledged
Hanif Sims and Monique Lynch stayed there, but have since disappeared.Last
week, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office issued a nationwide "be on
the lookout" alert for the couple who lived in a Monument home where a
young girl's body was found buried in the crawl space.
Investigators do not consider Sims and Lynch suspects, said sheriff's
spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene. But investigators want to speak with the
couple, as they have with other former residents of the now-vacant
duplex where workers found the body while renovating the home at 764
Century Place.The law enforcement bulletin says the couple, who
had young children including a daughter, is sought for questioning in
the "suspicious death investigation." The couple is also wanted on
outstanding New Jersey warrants: Lynch for violating probation on a
dangerous drugs conviction and Sims for a weapons violations, Sevene
said. Hanif Sims' half-brother, Hassan Sims of New Jersey,
said the couple has moved to Long Beach, Calif. He added
that he has not spoken with Hanif in three months and does not know how
to reach him.Originally from New Jersey, Sims and Lynch moved to
Colorado in August 2008 and the next month rented the home where the
body was discovered.Neighbors reported the couple had a
7-year-old girl, Genesis, and a 12-year-old boy, Davon. Hassan Sims said
the couple also has an infant son.An autopsy on the remains
found in the basement crawl space revealed it was that of a 7- to
10-year-old girl of unknown race. The El Paso County Coroner's Office
said the remains were so badly decomposed that the girl's cause of death
and identity could not be determined. Coroner's officials may
seek the help of an anthropologist to pinpoint the dead girl's age and
race. The coroner is also awaiting the results of further tests,
including toxicology, that will take weeks to complete, she added.
Neighbors remembered the couple's daughter, Genesis, disappeared one
day and the couple told them she had moved back to New Jersey to live
with her aunt.Hassan Sims said that Genesis did not come to live
with relatives on his side of the family. But he could not rule out that
she was living with relatives of Hanif's father.A Monument
neighbor said others had called police before about possible abuse at
the home.Monument Police Chief Jacob Shirk said he can't say yet
whether police visited the home in the past, but a source confirmed
that Human Service department officials had contacted a family at the home before.

A couple who rented a town house where a girl's body was found in a
crawl space are wanted on unrelated warrants out of New Jersey.
El Paso County sheriff's officials have asked authorities
nationwide to be on the lookout for Hanif Sims and Monica Lynch. They
aren't officially calling the couple suspects in the Colorado case, but
investigators have questions about the status of their children and
their time living in Colorado.
Renovators found the body May 14 at the home in Monument, north
of Colorado Springs. Investigators say the body appears to be that of a
girl between ages 7 and 10.
Sims' daughter, Genesis, would have been 6 or 7 when the couple
lived in Monument. Investigators say they were told two children lived
with the couple there.
Andy Bales, who runs the United Rescue Mission in Los Angeles,
has said the couple lived at the shelter last year with an infant and a
teenage boy but left in December after the mission helped them get an
apartment.
Lynch is wanted in New Jersey on a warrant for a probation
violation, while Sims is wanted on an alleged weapons violation, El Paso
County sheriff's officials said.
Sheriff's investigators said they have talked with friends,
family and residents in homeless shelters in New Jersey and California
to try to find the couple. They also have taken DNA samples to try to
identify the body, but authorities said they would not release the
results or identify who gave the samples.
Jopetia Garretson of Newark, N.J., told reporters that she is Genesis' mother,
and that El Paso County officials
had told her they would return the child's cremated remains for a
memorial if the DNA matches.
Garretson, 30, said Sims gained custody of Genesis
when the child was 15 months old.

The mother of a little girl
says she is sure it's her daughter's body that was found at a Monument
home about two weeks ago. DNA results are still pending.
Right now, investigators are
searching for the girl's biological father, Hanif Sims and his
girlfriend, Monique Lynch. They once lived in the Monument home where
workmen recently discovered the body.Jopetia Garretson says El Paso
County detectives visited her New Jersey home to take DNA last week.
She says, ever since, she's been thinking about her daughter, who she
hasn't seen since October of 2007. That was the same time she lost
custody.
“She was sweet and she cared for
people before herself. She would play with friends to make them happy
and worry about herself after," says Garretson.
The search for the couple has
taken investigators to California, where the Lynch and Sims are believed
to be living. We're told they've abandoned their apartment, dropped
off their two boys at a relative’s house and are on the run.

Jopetia Garretson says she wants her daughter back — even if that
means waiting for a coffin.

The Newark resident fears that her eldest daughter, Genesis Sims, 9,
may be the dead girl construction workers found in a basement crawl
space in a vacant house in Monument, Colo. on May 14.

“Whoever was responsible for this, I want them to pay,” Garretson
said. “I can’t believe they took her away from me.”

Authorities have launched a national manhunt for the child’s father,
Hanif Sims, and his companion, Monique Lynch, both 29 and former New
Jersey residents. The couple, who are not considered suspects, lived in
the Colorado townhouse in late 2008 and early 2009, said Lt. Lari Sevene
of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

The child’s body, which was badly decomposed, has not been identified
other than a girl aged between 7 and 10 years, Sevene said. The autopsy
could not determine the cause of death or how long the child had been
dead before she was discovered.

As a result, Sevene said, the case is considered a “suspicious
death,” and not a homicide.

Her office has dispatched investigators to California and New Jersey
to collect DNA samples from relatives, including Garretson, as they try
to ascertain the girl’s identity. Results from the tests will most
likely be available next week, said Sevene, who declined to confirm whom
her office has tested.

For now, the major objective remains tracking down Sims and Lynch,
Sevene said. Both also have warrants out on them from New Jersey on
unrelated charges. Lynch is wanted on a drug-related probation violation
and Sims on a weapons violation.

The couple had children before their relationship began. Lynch had a
son Davon, now 13, and Sims had a daughter, Genesis, who would have been
about 7 when she lived in Colorado. The pair also had a child together
early last year, Sevene said.
Sitting on the steps outside her Newark home, Garretson recalled the
difficult and volatile relationship she had with Sims, whom she met at a
Newark Super Bowl party in 2000.
She said Sims grew distant after Genesis was born and a spate of custody
battles erupted. Citing problems in her life, including a brief stint
at a homeless shelter, Garretson said she lost custody to Sims, despite
repeated visits to court.

The last time she saw Genesis was on Oct. 3, 2007, she said. A photo
from the occasion shows a smiling girl with a plump, round face.

“That girl had so much life,” Garretson said. “When I had my other
child, she was worried it would get all the clothes. But once it came,
she was such a mother to her. She cared for her.”

Garretson plans to host a memorial for Genesis on July 10 on South
9th Street across from Thirteenth Avenue School at 1 p.m.

Authorities have identified a
body found in the crawl space of a vacant home near Colorado Springs as
a girl who once lived there. The El Paso County sheriff's office
said Tuesday that tests show the girl was 9-year-old Genesis Sims.
Construction workers found the decomposed body May 14 while remodeling
the house in Monument. Sheriff's officials want to talk to
Hanif Sims and Monique Lynch, both 29, who once rented the house.
Authorities have said that Genesis, Sims' daughter, wasn't with the
couple when they arrived at a Los Angeles homeless shelter in March 2009
after moving from the house. Investigators have traveled to
New Jersey, the couple's home state, and California since the body was
found.

Two arrest warrants have been issued for Hanif Sims, the father of
the little girl whose body was found in May in the basement of a
Monument house.
Sims is being sought for second degree assault, a felony, as well as
misdemeanor child abuse, according to Lt. Lari Sevene, spokeswoman with
the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Sevene stressed, though, that she
is still awaiting word on the warrants’ relation to the discovery of the
little girl.
On May 14, construction workers renovating the basement of a townhome
in the 700 block of Century Place in Monument found the badly
decomposed body of a small girl. DNA test results released Tuesday
identified the body as that of Genesis Sims, 9.


Hanif Sims and Monique Lynch had lived in the townhome a year and a
half ago, but moved out in early 2009. It is believed the pair were
since residents of the Union Rescue Mission homeless shelter in Los
Angeles from March until December 2009.
In the weeks after the discovery of the child's body, El Paso County
sheriff’s investigators went to New Jersey, the couple’s home state, and
California searching for Hanif Sims and Lynch.
The cause and manner of the girl's death have yet to be determined,
pending further test results, Sevene said.