Ex-husband, son of convicted killer Paula Sims die in crash
Published 5:00 pm Monday, June 22, 2015
- FILE - In this March 10, 1999 file photo, Paula Sims, convicted in the deaths of her two baby daughters in 1990, is led away from a Madison County Courtroom in Edwardsville, Ill. 63-year-old Robert Sims and 27-year-old Randall Sims, the ex-husband and son of Paula Sims, were killed Saturday, June 20, 2015, when their Jeep flipped over the railing of an Interstate 55 overpass in Jackson, Miss. (Jeremy Paschall/The Edwardsville Intelligencer via AP)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The ex-husband and son of an Illinois woman convicted in the deaths of her two baby daughters 25 years ago were killed Saturday when their Jeep flipped over the railing of an Interstate 55 overpass.
Jackson police spokeswoman Colundula Green identified both 63-year-old Robert Sims and 27-year-old Randall Sims, both of Edwardsville, Illinois. Multiple media outlets report the pair had been rear-ended by an alleged drunk driver, forcing their jeep off the overpass.
Green says 47-year-old Yolanda McNeely was arrested on charges of drunken driving and fleeing an accident scene.
Paula Sims’ trial made national news in 1990 when she had claimed that the same masked killer stole her 2-week-old daughter Loralei from their home in Brighton in 1986 and 6-week-old daughter Heather from their home in Alton in 1989. Paula Sims was convicted for first-degree murder in Heather’s death on Jan. 30, 1990. Three months later, Sims pleaded guilty to concealment of a homicidal death in the death of her first daughter, Lorelei. Sims was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Heather Sims.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1IuvwJJ ) reports that Robert Sims, who was never charged in the deaths, had testified on his wife’s behalf at trial but divorced her months later. He had taken custody of their one surviving child, Randall.
Illinois state Sen. Bill Haine, who was Madison County’s prosecutor when Paula Sims was convicted, expressed sorrow Sunday night about the deaths of her ex-husband and son.
