DNA tests prove that the child whose remains were found in the crawl space of a Monument home in May was Genesis Sims, as had been suspected, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs said a couple claiming to be the child’s father, Hanif Sims, and his girlfriend, Monique Lynch, called the television station and said they did not kill the child but found her dead on the floor of the shower and hid her body.
“We put flowers, we prayed, everything. The only thing is, what society says we (should) have to inform or call the police and tell them something happened to our child,” the woman claiming to be Lynch said.
The male caller said: “We don’t know what the (heck) happened to her. I didn’t kill her.”
The couple told the TV station they wanted their side of the story told before they turned themselves in.
Sims and Lynch, both 29, have eluded authorities since the child’s body was discovered two months ago. Investigators have searched for them in New Jersey, where they are from, and Southern California, their presumed destination after they left Colorado.
The couple, Genesis and Lynch’s 13-year-old son, Davon, lived in the townhome at 764 Century Place in Monument until early last year.
Though investigators aren’t sure when Genesis died, she would now be 9 years old. Workers remodeling the rental property found her remains May 14.
El Paso County officials have said publicly that the couple are wanted for questioning and classified the case as a “suspicious death.” Anyone with information on their whereabouts can call 719-390-5555.
