Quinton Simon’s grandmother hands over eight notebooks belonging to the boy’s mother as evidence

The grandmother of Quinton Simon, a 20-month-old boy who was found dead in a Georgia dumpsite last November, appeared in court Monday to hand over a series of notebooks belonging to the slain boy’s mother, Leilani Simon.

Leilani Simon faces 19 charges, including murder and other crimes, for allegedly using drugs before killing her son and dumping his body in the trash.

Yesterday’s hearing also included a motion for the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to turn over all records related to the family, which Judge Stokes will now review to determine if any of them are relevant to the case.

The eight notebooks belonging to Simon were turned over after a subpoena was issued last month.

They were turned over to the judge by Billie Jo Howell, Quinton’s grandmother and Leilani’s mother.

Leilani Simon is accused of murdering her son Quinton and then dumping his body in the trash

Simon was allegedly high on drugs when he used an unidentified object to hit his son, causing “grave bodily injury” and leading to his death, prosecutors revealed in December. According to reports, he met with his drug dealer just before the murder.

Leilani Simon has been incarcerated since police arrested her on November 21, 2022, when investigators found her son’s remains after spending weeks going through landfill trash.

During the motions hearing, the judge presiding over the case, Tammy Stokes, also ruled that cameras would be allowed in the courtroom during the case-by-case trial, despite objections from the prosecution.

Prosecutors argued that the cameras should be banned entirely because of Quinton’s little brothers, while defense attorneys called for a more lenient ruling.

Leilani Simon reported her son missing on October 5, 2022, when she called 911 to report that little Quinton was missing from her indoor playpen at her home outside of Savannah, Georgia.

After police spent several days searching the home and the surrounding neighborhood, Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley announced that investigators believed the girl was dead and named Leilani Simon as the sole suspect.

Prosecutors cited the alleged killer’s diaries or similar writings and led to eight notebooks being handed over to a judge on Monday.

Simon faces 19 charges, including murder and other crimes for allegedly using drugs before killing his son and dumping his body in the trash.

Police and FBI agents focused their investigation on the dump two weeks after the boy was reported missing.

Eight notebooks were given to the judge by Billie Jo Howell, Quinton’s grandmother and Leilani’s mother.

They spent more than a month going through the trash before finding human bones, which DNA tests later confirmed were Quinton’s.

The indictment against Leilani Simon charges her with murder, concealment of a death and false reporting of a crime, in addition to 14 separate counts of lying to investigators.

According to the indictment, the night before his son’s death, Simon met with a drug dealer and used an unspecified drug.

The indictment alleges that Quinton died on the morning of October 5, 2022, after his mother assaulted him with an unknown object, causing “serious bodily injury.”

Simon then allegedly dumped her body in a dumpster outside a mobile home park about 1.5 miles from her home.

Simon later told investigators that he had gone there to dispose of “normal household rubbish”.

Quinton Simon is pictured with his grandmother Billie Jo Howell as a baby

The court document shows that she told investigators that she left her home on the morning of October 5, 2022, to meet a friend at a gas station to get Orajel.

However, investigators believe that instead of knowing that friend, she was actually dumping the body of the 20-month-old boy in the Azalea Mobile Home Plaza dumpster.

Simon repeatedly told investigators the same lies three days after Quinton was reported missing and again a week later.

On October 31, 2022, Simon changed her story, telling investigators that her boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin, was the one who left the house the morning of Quinton’s disappearance.

She repeated the same story to investigators the day she was arrested.

The Chatham County Police Department shared photos of the team sorting through tons of trash while searching for little Quinton last October.