Tears rolled down the cheeks of a mother accused of the grisly murder of her own child and discarding his body in landfill, as prosecutors laid bare harrowing details at trial.
Leilani Simon from Savannah denied all 19 counts flung at her – which include malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another and making false statements surrounding the death of her son Quinton Simon.
On October 5, 2022, Simon frantically dialed 911 to report her boy missing from his playpen. But it wasn’t long before Chief Jeff Hadley of Chatham County Police pointed the finger solely at Simon after an extensive search came up empty, leaving authorities with a suspicion that young Quinton was no longer alive.
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The probe zeroed in on a landfill shortly following the missing child report, where officers alongside FBI agents endured the grim task of rummaging through refuse. More than a month later, their worst fears were confirmed upon discovering tiny human bones; DNA tests chillingly revealed them to be those of Quinton, reports the Mirror US.
(Image: Chatham County Detention Center)
WTOC-TV detailed prosecutor Tim Dean’s account of turmoil in Simon’s life at the time, particularly pinpointing her volatile romance with ex-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin. Dean painted a grim picture of Simon indulging in cocaine and Percocet into the early hours, then horrifically cutting her son’s life short – tossing him away as if he were mere garbage, before tucking herself into bed as if nothing had happened.
“She killed him, her own son, got in her car with his body, drove to a dumpster, and threw him away like a piece of trash,” Dean told the courtroom.
Jurors were shown videos of Simon’s police interviews and body camera footage. Dean highlighted that Simon altered her account of her location multiple times.
Almost a week after the interviews, Simon revised her story once more, suggesting she may have experienced a blackout and couldn’t recall the true events.
(Image: @ChathamCountyPD/Twitter)
“I will never touch cocaine again. I become angry and impulsive when I’m on it,” Simon confessed during her 2022 police interview. Despite spending nearly two hours outlining the case against Simon, Dean did not reveal how prosecutors believe she murdered her son.
The state has claimed the child’s body was too decomposed upon recovery to determine the cause of death. The defence took three minutes for their opening statement, accusing the state of basing its case on hearsay and conjecture, rather than solid evidence.
“The core conclusion is that Leilani Maree Simon murdered her child. The evidence will simply not support that bold conclusion,” argued defence attorney Robert Persse.
(Image: Facebook/Leilani Simon)
One of the first witnesses called by the prosecution was Sgt. Bobby Stewart, the initial officer to arrive at the scene when the toddler was reported missing.
Stewart gave testimony about Simon’s behaviour upon his arrival.
“Did you view her demeanor as consistent with that of other parents you’ve spoken to in missing children cases?” the prosecutor queried. “No sir, I didn’t,” Stewart responded.
Further testimony is anticipated on Tuesday, including additional Chatham County Police Department staff and the child’s babysitter along with her daughter.
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