Jaceion Simms

A St. Louis woman was charged with second-degree murder Friday in last year's death of a toddler who police believe died of blunt force trauma after a child's birthday party. Shimeka J. Wilson, 29, of St. Louis, was charged with felony child abuse resulting in death along with the murder count Friday in the death of 18-month-old Jaceion Simms. Charges allege that Wilson was close friends with Jaceion's mother and offered to pick up the boy and his two siblings so they could attend her child's birthday party on May 14, 2022. The three children then spent the night at Wilson's home in the 5500 block of Partridge Avenue in Walnut Park East where all three kids slept in Wilson's bed, charges say. Police believe all adults except for Wilson left the home by 1 a.m. May 15, leaving her watching eight children, ages 1 to 8, including Jaceion, charging documents say. At about 8:40 a.m. the next morning, Wilson dialed 911 and called Jaceion's mother to report finding the toddler "out of it" with purplish lips, according to charging documents. The child was pronounced dead at a hospital within the next 30 minutes. A medical examiner autopsy concluded Jaceion died of blunt force injuries to the chest that examiners believed too significant to be related to an accidental fall or injury caused by another small child. The autopsy determined the toddler's heart ruptured and he would have died within minutes of the injury, charging documents say.