Broward mother headed to prison more than a decade after suffocating son with pillow
A Broward mother suspected of smothering her 4-year-old son during an unsupervised visit more than a decade ago admitted to the killing last week — and is now off to prison, according to prosecutors.
In a courtroom packed with the boy’s family, Destene Simmons, 35, detailed how she suffocated her son Antwan Hope, holding a pillow over his head while he slept on June 10, 2013. As a result of a plea deal, Simmons was sentenced to three years in prison followed by eight years of probation, during which she will have to complete mental health evaluations.
On Nov. 17, Simmons entered a no contest plea to aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse charges. When Simmons was arrested in August 2024, she was facing a murder charge, but prosecutors proceeded with the lesser charge of manslaughter.
In a 10-page document obtained by the Miami Herald, prosecutor Melissa Kelly delved into the decade-long police investigation into Simmons — and why the plea deal was needed to “provide justice for Antwan and closure to his family after almost 13 years.”
Among the case’s “legal impediments” were conflicting medical testimony related to how Antwan died, lost or destroyed evidence, and the lack of a confession to police, according to the document.
“... [T]his was a 10-year-old cold case investigation and the amount of time that has elapsed between the victim’s death and the defendant’s arrest has resulted in the loss and/or destruction of evidence,” Kelly said in the memo.
Back in 2013, an autopsy didn’t conclude Antwan’s cause of death, despite forensic medical experts finding “soft evidence” suggesting that Antwan was suffocated, according to Simmons’ arrest paperwork. Medical investigators stated that a cause of death couldn’t be determined “with any medical certainty,” though they noted that there was evidence, including blood on the boy’s lips, consistent with trauma.
In 2011, the Florida Department of Children and Families had removed Antwan from Simmons’ care after she was committed to a mental health facility. Weeks before that removal, Simmons had attempted to smother 2-year-old Antwan, placing a pillow over his face, according to the Miami Herald’s archives.
At the time of Antwan’s killing, Simmons had been approved by ChildNet — DCF’s private child welfare group in Broward — for unsupervised visitation with Antwan. Simmons had lost her job and was facing eviction, which would have put her in jeopardy of having Antwan removed from her custody permanently, according to her arrest report.
READ MORE: Mom held after 4-year-old’s death once tried to smother him
In 2014, Antwan’s father, Antwan Hope Sr., sued ChildNet and requested another evaluation of his son’s cause of death. A second medical expert concluded that the boy had been killed, likely by suffocation. The lawsuit was settled in 2017.
When the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office revisited the case in 2023, the office agreed that the boy’s cause of death was homicide by suffocation.
‘Not going to talk’
On the day of Antwan’s killing, Simmons made two 911 calls and requested that authorities come to her apartment, located at 9022 NW 28th Dr. in Coral Springs. But she refused to provide details and hung up the phone each time, according to the affidavit.
Police eventually responded to the complex, but the dispatcher had transcribed the wrong apartment number. While police were there, Simmons called 911 — and hung up — a third time.
When the authorities finally met Simmons, she said she wanted officers to check on Antwan “to make sure” he was OK, according to her arrest report. Inside the apartment, officers found the child in bed, with his head on a pillow and his body covered in a blue blanket. His eyes were open, and his face was tilted toward another nearby pillow.
During an interview with police, Simmons said no one had visited the apartment that weekend. She also stated they had only stepped out twice: to go to the library and a park.
The night before, the document states, Simmons said she fed Antwan fettuccine alfredo, bathed him and played him a movie in bed. She added that her son hadn’t been sick and was behaving normally.
When detectives asked Simmons what happened after, she said: “I’m not going to talk about that.”
READ MORE: BSO reports give chilling details of mother of dead child’s descent into mental illness
Simmons’ mental health issues were documented in calls to law enforcement, starting in the spring of 2011, according to the Herald’s previous reporting. At one point, Simmons’ mother said she had been “acting irrational” and didn’t know what had happened. Her daughter, she said, “turned into a different person and does not let anyone get near Antwan.”
The 4-year-old’s death catapulted a probe that ended with Florida’s child protection agency slammed for its failures. A report presented to the Florida Legislature assessed the deaths of several children in DCF’s care and faulted the state agency for its lack of diligence in protecting children.
