Detective: Father planned to dissolve daughter's body in acid

A former Monument man accused in his daughter's 2008 death wantedto dissolve her body in an acid-filled bathtub after she went limpfrom a punch to the chest, a detective testified Tuesday.

According to El Paso County sheriff's Detective Ralph Losasso,Hanif Sims changed his mind after reading on the Internet that hewould need a plumber's license to buy the acid he needed.

Sims is accused of killing 7-year-old Genesis Sims and buryingher body in a crawl space under the Monument duplex where they livedin December 2008.

Fourth Judicial District Judge G. David Miller ruled there isenough evidence to put Sims on trial on a first-degree murder chargeafter the account of the girl's death was related during Tuesday'spreliminary hearing.

Sims was previously ordered to stand trial May 31 on a felonycount of child abuse resulting in death, which carries a potentialsentence of 16 to 48 years in prison.

The first-degree murder charge was added last week afterprosecutors say they obtained new information from Sims' formergirlfriend and co-defendant, Monique Lynch, who agreed to testifyagainst him under a recent plea agreement.

Miller may set a new trial date now that Sims is charged withmurder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison withoutparole.

Sheriff's investigators, who assisted Monument police on thecase, began searching for the couple after workmen digging a pit fora sump pump in the vacant home discovered Genesis' body wrapped inplastic in 2010.

Sims and Lynch left Colorado after Genesis' death, and havesought to blame each other since detectives tracked them down lastyear in Henderson, Nev.

An autopsy concluded that Genesis's death was a homicide, butcould not determine how she was killed.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that El Paso County Coroner Dr. RobertBux could file an amended autopsy based on new information fromLynch.

In an April 29 interview at the El Paso County Sheriff's Office,Lynch provided investigators with an eyewitness account of Genesis'death, which she characterized as part of a long history of childabuse by Sims.

According to Lynch's account, Genesis was in the shower after sheurinating on herself in fear of her father.

Angry that she was using too much water, Sims pushed his way pastLynch and stormed into the bathroom, Losasso testified.

Lynch followed Sims in time to watch him grab his daughter by thethroat and punch her in the chest, causing her to collapse.

When his attempts to revive her failed, Sims told his girlfriendabout the plan to dissolve her body in the tub, Losasso said.

Instead, Sims enlisted a friend to drive him to Home Depot, wherehe purchased a shovel and other tools he used to bury the girl'splastic-wrapped body in the crawl space of the family's Monumentduplex, Losasso said.

Lynch acknowledged that she did nothing to intervene, prosecutorssaid.

Sims' attorney, Matthew Werner, told the judge that Lynch'sstatements since her arrest are riddled with "wonderfulinconsistencies."

Sims has blamed Lynch for Genesis' fatal injuries and claimed hisformer girlfriend dissuaded him from calling 911 because she hadwarrants for her arrest from New Jersey and was afraid to involvepolice.

Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges against Lynch inexchange for her testimony and a guilty plea to child abuseresulting in death. She faces 10 to 32 years in prison when she issentenced on June 30, prosecutors said.