Man Held in Woman’s Slaying; Missing Children Are Found

Police have arrested a man who allegedly killed a woman and fled with their three children Tuesday morning.

Officers found the youngsters--a boy and two girls, ages 7 to 12--unharmed with their father, Darius Simms, 42, when police arrested him at a South-Central residence in the 7600 block of South Main Street, police said.

Simms has been booked on suspicion of murder, police said.

About 7:30 a.m., police found Beverly McCoy, 32, slumped on the staircase of her Jefferson Park apartment building in the 2400 block of West 23rd Street. The woman, who lived there with her four children, had been shot at least twice in her upper body, said Lt. John Dunkin of LAPD’s South Bureau homicide division.

A fourth child, a 5-year-old girl, was previously believed to be missing. But that girl, who was described as McCoy’s daughter but not Simms’, turned up safely at the home of relatives.

Police and neighbors said McCoy’s death caps a history of domestic violence in the couple’s relationship. Neighbors said that Simms used to live with McCoy, but they had not seen him in the neighborhood for several months.

Neighbors described McCoy as a kind, decent person who often did favors for them and helped baby-sit their children. “She was like a block mom,” one neighbor said.