ROCK ISLAND, Ill — The woman who hid the body of her 10-year-old son in a garbage can in Rock Island was sentenced to two years prison in a Rock Island County courtroom on Friday, Feb. 16.
Staples pled guilty to endangering the life of a child on Jan. 4. In exchange, prosecutors dropped three additional charges against her, including obstruction of justice, failure to report the death of a child and concealment of a death.
Staples will receive credit for time served in jail. She will also have to serve six months of supervised probation once she's released from prison.
Sushi Staples Case background
On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, around 9:30 a.m., Rock Island Police began an investigation into a suspicious death in the 1700 block of 20 1/2 Avenue.
Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson confirmed the victim was identified as Zion Staples, a 10-year-old boy from Rock Island.
News 8 spoke with a neighbor in July 2023, who couldn't believe this happened across the street from her.
"I've lost sleep over it and I've prayed a lot," the neighbor who wished to go by Deb only said. "I have to believe that she has done some extra measures to cover up that smell, otherwise nobody could have stood that, nobody."
An autopsy was performed on Friday, July 28, in Rockford. According to Gustafson, the preliminary results showed the death was "considered suspicious and not natural."
An autopsy revealed that the boy died from a gunshot wound, likely in December 2022. The body was discovered on July 26, 2023.
On July 26, Sushi M. Staples, then 37, was taken into custody and charged with concealment of a death, obstruction of justice and failure to report the death of a child.
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