Police Believe 10-Year-Old Illinois Boy Found Shot Dead in Garbage Can in Mother’s Garage There for 7 Months

A 10-year-old Illinois boy was found dead in his mother’s garage, and now, officials say the boy died from a gunshot wound.

An investigation began on July 26 when Rock Island Police discovered Zion Staples dead in a garbage can in the garage, according to KAAL.

Investigators determined the boy’s body had been there for seven months.

On July 28, an autopsy was conducted and Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson told KAAL that preliminary results showed the death to be “suspicious and not natural.”

Two weeks later, on Aug. 11, Gustafson announced the autopsy determined Zion died from a gunshot wound, WQAD reported.

Police arrested the child’s mother, 37-year-old Sushi Staples, and charged her with concealment of a death, obstruction of justice and failure to report the death of a child, officials said.

She is being held on a $500,000 bond and her preliminary hearing is set for August 15.

Never miss a story — sign up for the Front Page Detectives newsletter. Be on the scene the moment news breaks.

“I had a dead raccoon in my backyard, and we put it in a garbage can, I mean, in a garbage bag and then put it in a garbage can," a neighbor told KAAL. "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.”

Police have said the investigation is still under way and have released no further information.