A mum who lived with her 10-year-old son’s decomposing corpse stashed in a wheelie bin in her garage for seven months has been seized by the police.
Investigators found victim Zion Staples’s body after a tip-off from a neighbour in Rock Island, in the US state of Illinois, on 26th July.
His mother Sushi Staples, 37, has been charged with concealment of a death and failure to report the death of a child under 13.
She has also been charged with obstruction of justice, according to local media.
Coroner Brian Gustafson said an autopsy had revealed that Zion’s death was suspicious.
One neighbour told local media: “I had a dead raccoon in my backyard, and we put it in a garbage bag and then put it in a garbage can.
“And I couldn’t even stand the smell waiting for garbage day.
“So I can’t imagine, that with the wind directions, that nobody would smell that.”
Staples was caught when another neighbour told police she had been troubled when Zion’s mother told her: “Christmas will never be the same again.”
A third neighbour Danielle Builta said “knowing what was in the garage” just a few feet from his home was “kind of scary.”
Staples is being held on a USD 500,000 (GBP 394,000) bond, with a preliminary hearing set for 15th August.
The police said the investigation is ongoing.
It is currently unclear how the boy died.
