Tiffany Lynn Simmons pleads not guilty, charged in murder of missing, pregnant West Allis woman
Tiffany Lynn SimmonsWEST ALLIS -- One of two suspects accused of murdering a West Allis woman, who was 10 weeks pregnant, entered a plea of not guilty during her preliminary hearing on Tuesday, July 19th.
WEST ALLIS -- One of two suspects accused of murdering a West Allis woman, who was 10 weeks pregnant, entered a plea of not guilty during her preliminary hearing on Tuesday, July 19th.
35-year-old Tiffany Lynn Simmons allegedly confessed to police, saying she tortured the victim before she killed her.
Tess White's body was found on May 17th in South Dakota after she was reported missing by family on May 14th.
Court records show Simmons, White's friend, confessed to torturing and killing White in a parking lot in West Allis in May.
Farmers found White's body in Grant County, South Dakota in a field. It had been burned. An autopsy revealed the White was 10 weeks pregnant.
Tess White
Surveillance video from a bank robbery helped lead police to their suspects in this case.
Tipsters told police that 44-year-old Shanta Pearson can be seen in that video -- robbing a Milwaukee bank on May 6th. Five days later, on May 11th, Pearson was arrested in Colorado following a traffic stop.
The driver, 35-year-old Tiffany Lynn Simmons was also arrested.
Meanwhile, West Allis police had a tip that White was having problems with a friend named Tiffany. That friend had allegedly used the victim's bank card to withdraw $200.
After Pearson and Simmons were brought back to Wisconsin, police interviewed them and both talked about White. They said White had been "pinching their dope bag," and when they picked up White on May 4th, she and Simmons got into a fight. Pearson said he pulled over and tied White up in the truck. He then went to his apartment, leaving the two women in a parking lot at 81st and National.
Shanta Pearson
Simmons allegedly confessed to police that this is when she tortured White, "putting out cigarettes on her skin and punching her."
Simmons then allegedly suffocated White with plastic bags and strangled her with a rope.
White's aunt told FOX6 News she's just trying to focus on her niece's life -- not how she died.
Pearson faces one count of felony murder as party to a crime, and one count of hiding a corpse as party to a crime.
Simmons faces one count of first degree intentional homicide as party to a crime, one count of hiding a corpse as party to a crime, and one count of kidnapping as party to a crime.
Pearson will be in court for his arraignment on July 26th. Simmons will also be in court on that day -- for a scheduling conference.