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A 37-year-old Illinois mother is now facing charges after her 10-year-old son was found dead at their residence. According to PEOPLE, the boy’s body was found in a garbage can in the mother’s garage on July 26.
According to the outlet, the mother of Zion Staples, Sushi Staples, has since been charged with “concealment of a death, failure to report the death of a child under 13, and obstruction of justice.”
Additionally, the woman is being held on a $500,000 bond and will attend a preliminary hearing on August 15.
The outlet adds that it remains unclear whether she has entered a plea in response to the charges against her.
According to the KWQC, an anonymous tip prompted The Rock Island Police Department to investigate a “suspicious death” at Staple’s residence. The outlet reports that the source made “repeated calls” to the Department of Children and Family Services. Additionally, the unnamed woman explained that Staples was making “odd comments” about her son.
Authorities arrived at the Staple’s home around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 26.
That same evening, the mother was arrested after authorities discovered that her son’s body had been concealed in a garbage bin in the garage.
Additionally, authorities revealed that the boy’s body had been placed there approximately seven months prior.
According to PEOPLE, Brian Gustafson, the Rock Island County Coroner, has conducted an autopsy on the boy’s body. The autopsy’s preliminary results reportedly reveal the child’s death to be “suspicious.” However, Gustafson has since shared that no additional information can be shared at this time.
“Due to the extreme initiation of the investigation, no further information will be available at this time.”
According to KAALTV, a neighbor of Staple’s has since shared their shock at how long the boy’s body went undiscovered.
“I had a dead raccoon in my backyard, and we put it in a garbage can, I mean, in a garbage bag and then put it in a garbage can. And I couldn’t even stand the smell waiting for garbage day. So I can’t imagine, that with the wind directions, that nobody would smell that.”
While another set of neighbors has explained that the incident is “like something out of a movie,” as per KWQC.
“It’s a little weird, because all knowing that all the time that we’ve been here, working on the house, and knowing her, knowing what was in the garage, literally like, what, like 30 feet from the house that we’ve moved into, it’s a little bit worrying, kind of scary, but, um, it was it was quite a surprise. I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
Additionally, the outlet notes that Staples, nor any additional suspects, have yet been charged with “causing the boy’s death.”
