CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – A Myrtle Beach man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of his girlfriend’s infant daughter.
Daquan Jamal Simmons, 25, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday before Judge Steven H. John, said Mary-Ellen Walter, senior assistant solicitor. Judge John sentenced Simmons to 15 years in prison.
Simmons was originally charged with homicide by child abuse by the Myrtle Beach Police Department after an investigation was opened for a missing 8 month old child in July 2017.
Co-defendant Ladasha Harriett, the child’s biological mother, gave a number of statements detailing her daughter’s murder at the hands of Simmons, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office: Simmons left their apartment with the child in a car seat. The mother later learned Simmons had left the child’s body in a wooded field. She further told the police that she and the defendant went to that wooded field and buried the child on July 16, 2017.
Harriett helped lead the detectives to the field, where the child’s remains were recovered in September 2017. Harriett pleaded guilty to related charges on June 13, 2019 and agreed to testify against Simmons. Her sentencing was held in abeyance until Simmons’ case was resolved. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, May 21, 2020.
“Detective Paul Morrell and Detective Kerry Aiessi and the rest of the Myrtle Beach Police Department did an outstanding job on this investigation,” said Solicitor Walter. “They were, and continue to be, dedicated to achieving justice for the child victim in this case. I thank them for their tireless work,” Walter said after the sentencing.
