Shocking courtroom behavior of Georgia mom Leilani Simon, who ‘killed toddler then threw him away like a piece of trash’
A mother accused of killing her toddler and dumping his body in a landfill wiped away tears as her criminal trial got underway.
Leilani Simon is on trial in Georgia on charges of malice murder, felony concealment of death and making false statements to police in the October 2022 death of her 20-month-old son, Quinton.
She is accused of beating her son to death and dumping him in the trash. His small body was found in a landfill a month after his disappearance.
On Monday, as the jury entered the courtroom for the trial to begin, Simon wiped tears from her eyes and covered her face with her hands.
A mother accused of killing her toddler and dumping his body in a landfill wiped away tears as her criminal trial got underway
Leilani Simon faces a jury trial in Georgia on charges of malice murder, felony murder, concealment of death and making false statements to police in the October 2022 death of her 20-month-old son, Quinton
She is accused of beating her son to death and dumping him in the trash. His small body was found in a landfill a month after his disappearance
Simon was seen on camera lifting her glasses and placing her head in her hands, while she used her palms to wipe her eyes before switching to a tissue.
Police allege that Simon had met with a drug dealer shortly before the murder.
She allegedly told police that her son had been kidnapped by an intruder who broke into her home, but the Chatham County police chief immediately suspected her of wrongdoing.
The state was first in attendance Monday morning to make opening statements.
Prosecutor Tim Dean said: ‘The defendants have violated the most fundamental, sacred trust of a parent in the most appalling way.
‘In the middle of the night she killed him, her own son, got into her car with his body, drove to a dumpster and then threw him away like a piece of trash.
“She went home, went to sleep as if everything was normal, woke up in the morning and reported it to the police.”
The court heard his body was found ‘unfortunately in pieces’.
On Monday, as the jury entered the courtroom for the trial to begin, Simon wiped tears from her eyes and covered her face with her hands.
Prosecutor Tim Dean shared a photo of dumpsters as he told the jury: ‘In the middle of the night she killed him, her own son, got into her car with his body, drove to a dumpster and then threw him away in one piece. of waste.’
Dean played a disturbing clip of a “digital suicide note” that Simon had left months before Quinton’s death.
In it, a hysterical and sobbing Simon described her youngest child, Skye, as “a beautiful little girl.”
‘I wish I could watch you grow up. I wish I could hold you from your first heartbreak, because my mother didn’t. Skye, I love you baby girl.”
She then referred to her eldest son, Zane, and told him: ‘You are so handsome, so sweet, so protective.
“One day you’ll be such a good man. I hope you grow up and learn what loyalty is, and that you learn how to treat a woman and how to love a woman.”
Then, addressing Quinton, she said. “You’re a middle child. You’re so happy all the time, you’re smiling all the time.’
The court heard his body was found ‘unfortunately in pieces’
Leilani was finally arrested on November 21 – just days after authorities found Quinton’s remains in a Savannah landfill
Simon then turned her attention to her on-off boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin.
“Danny, I loved you,” she said. “I worshiped the ground you walked on. I would do anything for you.
“Even when I was carrying your child and hating myself every day, because you didn’t want to have sex with me, you didn’t want to love me, you just didn’t want me.
‘I wanted you more than life itself, but you proved that it was only one way, that feeling, that love, that loyalty. It was all just one way…I’m at the river now, hello Danny.’
Quinton was last seen alive on October 5 by Simon’s friend, Daniel Youngkin, who saw him at a pack-n-play at 6am.
Three hours later, Leilani reported that Quinton was missing from her home. She claimed she woke up at 9:30 a.m. to find the door to the house open while her son was away.
Simon’s two other children were taken from her custody a week after Quinton was reported missing.
Simon was finally arrested on November 21 – just days after authorities found Quinton’s remains in a Savannah landfill.