In a quiet Southfield, Michigan neighborhood, the life of 45-year-old Ada Mae Simmons-Jones, a female, came to a tragic and violent end on the evening of October 5. Police were called to her home on Bainbridge Drive just before 11:40 p.m. following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Simmons-Jones deceased from multiple gunshot wounds.
Present in the home at the time of the incident were her 77-year-old mother-in-law and her own 3-year-old granddaughter, neither of whom were physically harmed. The elderly woman reported hearing three to four gunshots before someone was heard fleeing from the front door.
Investigators quickly focused on a suspect close to home: the victim's own daughter, 22-year-old Riley Donaldson of Cincinnati, Ohio. A crucial piece of evidence was a purse left behind at the scene, which contained identifying information that pointed directly to Donaldson. Further evidence came from security camera footage from a nearby home, which captured a black Chrysler 300 pulling into the driveway before the shooting and speeding away shortly after. Police tracked Donaldson's movements, determining she had driven to the Toledo, Ohio area after the shooting before returning to Michigan. The following day, on October 6, officers located the Chrysler 300 in Detroit and arrested Donaldson without incident in the parking lot of a CVS.
The motive behind the fatal shooting appears to be a contentious custody dispute over Donaldson's 3-year-old daughter. Simmons-Jones had legal custody of her granddaughter, a situation that had led to previous conflict. Authorities had been called to the same residence in August when Donaldson allegedly took the child, along with her mother's car and dog, and fled to Ohio. Though the child was found unharmed and Simmons-Jones declined to press charges at the time, she did petition to have her daughter hospitalized for mental health concerns. Despite these documented mental health issues, law enforcement officials have described the murder as 'premeditated' and 'calculated.'
Following her arrest, Riley Donaldson was charged with first-degree murder and felony firearms. During her arrest, she reportedly referred to herself as 'God' but requested a lawyer as soon as questioning began. Donaldson was arraigned in 46th District Court on October 10 and is being held without bond. The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office has taken on the case, with the charge of first-degree murder carrying a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if she is convicted.
