Who was Zion Staples? Mom of Illinois boy, 10, who 'shot himself' hid his body for 7 months to collect benefits
ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS: Zion Staples, 10, who was found dead in a garbage bin in the garage of his mother’s house seven months after going missing, had presumably shot himself to death.
In a horrifying discovery, Zion’s remains were found in a plastic garbage can from his mother’s four-bedroom home in Illinois on July 26, 2023.
His mother, Sushi Staples, 38, is facing charges of hiding the corpse and lying to the police.
Who shot Zion Staples?
When the boy’s body was found in July, Rock Island coroner Brian Gustafson said that Zion appeared to have died in December.
He told USA Today, “Do I know who shot him? No.”
He also added, however, “I don't believe we will ever know at this point who shot him, but the case is still an active and open investigation.”
In a twist to the case, Detective Jonathan Shappard with the Rock Island Police Department said that two of the other Staples’ children told them that prior to his death, the boy had been “playing with a handgun and accidentally shot himself.”
His dead body was found wearing only his Spiderman pants.
Detective Shappard further said that Zion died around December 21, following which his mother Sushi Staples hid the body in a plastic garbage can in the basement.
He also said that, Sushi, who is facing charges for hiding his body and lying to police, admitted moving Zion’s body to the garage as “she didn't want her other four children to locate him in the basement.”
Police also found dryer sheets stuck “in every vent of the house” which was apparently done to stop the odor from escaping, per Daily Mail.
Zion Staples's death a ‘profound tragedy’
The spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Heather Tarczan, said that the family’s children are all homeschooled, with the DCFS having no jurisdiction over that.
Tarczan said, “So we would not, of course, have any knowledge of any misdeeds taking place if students or children were, in fact, missing,” per Daily Mail.
She further added, “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 recounted the events of July and said, “In this case, when an anonymous reporter called the DCFS hot line 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 hot line worker also made a call directly to law enforcement to ensure that a report was filed,” added the spokesperson.
Per KWQC, Sushi Staples, who had eight children, concealed Zion's body so that she could collect government benefits.
She is currently held on $500,000 bail at the Rock Island County Jail, with a pretrial date set on November 27.