Faust case becomes inactive nine years after child’s murder

Nine years ago this week, 5-year-old Andrew Faust Junior died in a drive-by shooting.

Now, Fort Myers police consider the case inactive. This means detectives believe they arrested the killers but had to let them go.

Why?

Because the key witness in the case changed her story, which was devastating to Andrew’s mom then and now.

Five-year-old Andrew Faust died in his own home in 2014.

A year later, Fort Myers police and prosecutors set his suspected killers free. They said they had no choice. The crucial witness changed her story and said she didn’t remember what happened.

Andrew’s mother, Toyette Simpson, does.

“I had kept him home from school because he got stung by a bee in his lip,” Simpson said.

Toyette Simpson said she wanted to make sure her boy didn’t have an allergic reaction to be there for him. Instead, she watched him die.

Simpson talked with WINK News by phone Wednesday and explained what happened.

After Andrew’s death, Simpson left Florida, hoping to move on with her life, but she said her mind will never rest knowing someone got away with Andrew’s murder.

“If anybody deserves the truth, it should be me, and that’s not me being selfish. That’s my child, so if anybody deserves the truth, it should have been me,” Simpson said.

While Fort Myers police said the murder case is inactive, that does not mean it’s closed.

FMPD’s public information officer told WINK News in a statement, “In the case involving Andrew Faust, we are always seeking tips and information from community members that can be investigated further.”