Little Ty’mia Shantel Simpson turned 2 years old July 5. Less than three weeks later, she was dead.
The little girl who died following a Greyhound bus trip with her mother had drugs in her system, Atlanta police said Thursday. The girl's mother has now been charged with murder.
On July 21, Alexus Washington, 18, told police she and her daughter, Ty’mia, had traveled from Greenville, S.C., to Atlanta on a Greyhound bus, but missed the connecting bus to New Orleans. While at the bus stop, Washington noticed her toddler was unresponsive.
According to the police report, Washington “stated she took the child outside to cool her off and went to the store.” After walking back to the bus station, Washington noticed Ty’mia was still unresponsive and began CPR, she told police.
“The mother did not go to the hospital to seek treatment for her child and stated she made no attempt to summon help,” the report stated. “The mother also made no attempt to contact an ambulance, police, fire or 911.”
Someone noticed the mother hysterical and called police. The toddler was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, where she was pronounced dead.
After the girl’s death, Washington was charged with child cruelty and reckless conduct and booked into the Fulton County jail. A preliminary autopsy determined Ty’mia died of asphyxiation, and police said there was evidence of compression on her neck.
Toxicology testing, recently completed, revealed the girl had narcotics in her system, Major Adam Lee said Thursday.
“Based on it being a suspicious circumstance, we waited for the autopsy report to be completed before we took full action,” Lee said.
Washington remained in jail Thursday night.
About the Author
