Sushi Staples, inset. (Booking photo from the Rock Island Police Department; Background screenshot of the crime scene from NBC affiliate KWQC)
Zion Williams, the 10-year-old boy found dead in a garbage can behind his Illinois home wearing only a pair of Spider-Man pants, is believed to have died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A detective investigating the circumstances of the boy’s death provided sworn testimony in which he stated that two of the victim’s siblings told investigators Zion was “playing” with a loaded firearm before his death, according to courtroom footage published by Rock Island, Illinois CBS affiliate WHBF.
The testimony came in court proceedings for the boy’s mother, 37-year-old Sushi Staples. She is facing multiple felonies, including obstruction of justice, failure to report the death of a child under 13, destruction of evidence, and concealment of the death — moving a body for allegedly tossing her son’s corpse in the trash and leaving him to rot for the better part of a year.
Authorities have said they believe Staples refused to report the child’s death because doing so would have prevented her from being able to collect certain state benefits.
In a preliminary hearing for Staples, Rock Island Police Department Detective Jonathan Shappard explained that Zion’s two siblings told detectives that Zion died because he was “playing with a handgun and accidentally shot himself.” The accidental shooting allegedly happened in the basement of the family’s home.
It’s not clear who owned the gun Zion was allegedly playing with or how he came into possession of the firearm.
Shappard also testified that when he interviewed Staples, she “stated several times that she did not have a son” until she finally admitted to moving the little boy’s body because she “didn’t want her other four children to locate his body in the basement.” He also noted dryer sheets “in every vent of the house,” likely placed there to conceal the smell of Zion’s decomposing body.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, police responded to the family’s home in July and opened a garbage can in the backyard garage, which is where they found Zion’s body.
Officers arrested her when they found his body. Officials said he appeared to have been inside the canister for at least eight months. Police believe the child died in December.
Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson previously told Law&Crime’s Brandi Buchman he agrees with the assessment regarding Zion’s likely time of death.
Heather Tarczan, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, called Zion’s death a “profound tragedy.”
“When DCFS receives concerns about a child’s welfare that do not meet our statutory purview for an investigation, we refer the reporter of that case to local law enforcement,” Tarczan said. “In this case, when an anonymous reporter called the DCFS hotline in July 2023 and requested a well-being check of a child, that caller was told what our capabilities as an agency are and was encouraged to report their concerns to local law enforcement. Out of genuine concern and based on what the caller reported, the DCFS hotline worker also made a call directly to law enforcement to ensure that a report was filed.”
Gustafson also told Law&Crime that when someone in Illinois dies under potentially criminal circumstances, two investigations can take place — one by the police and one by the coroner’s office. Once the coroner has finished examining the body, and police have finished investigating the crime scene, and both sides have completed their respective investigations, Gustafson said they will come together to “find the truth.”
Staples remains in detention on $500,000 bond and is set to make her next court appearance on Nov. 27.
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