In June 1986, 27 year old Paula Sims claimed that a masked gunman broke into her home and fled with her 13 day old daughter, Lorelei (pictured top). It did not take long for a search to recover her tiny lifeless body, which was found hidden in a wooded area close to their Illinois home. She had allegedly been suffocated to death. Due to an absence of sufficient evidence, Paula avoided any extensive questioning and moved away with her unsuspecting husband, Robert, where they had two more children: son Randall in 1988 and daughter Heather in 1989.
Three years after their first daughter’s death, Robert Sims returned home to discover Heather missing (pictured bottom). Paula Sims again began to insist that another unknown assailant had knocked her unconscious and taken the six week old baby, although their son had been left unharmed. Although this too was considered a case of kidnapping, it was soon disputed due to the mother’s lack of injuries and the coincidental nature of this second crime. Heather’s body was later discovered inside a park bin and both Paula and Robert Sims were arrested. Although she at first denied all involvement, Mrs Sims conceded to the defence prior to sentencing that she had killed her daughters because they were not boys, while her husband had remained completely unaware. Paula acknowledged that she had drowned Lorelei whilst bathing her and suffocated Heather in her cot. She even went as far as freezing Heather’s body before dumping it in order to confuse the authorities about the time of death.
There were other incriminating aspects of the crime which, from the jury’s perspective, confirmed Paula Sims’ guilt. For instance, the garbage bag containing Heather’s body was identified as being manufactured at the exact same time as the roll of bags found in the Sims’ home. Witnesses also testified about overhearing Paula apologising to her husband and becoming upset in the hospital after giving birth to a baby girl. She is currently serving a life sentence without parole. Despite her best efforts to maintain a male bloodline, Paula’s plans ultimately backfired in the long-term. In 2015, her estranged ex-husband Robert and son Randall were both tragically killed in a car accident after a drunk driver collided into their vehicle and forced it off a bridge. They both died immediately at the scene.
