SAVANNAH, Ga. — Opening statements began Monday in the trial of a Georgia woman accused of killing her 20-month-old son and dumping his body in a trash bin two years ago.
Leilani Simon, from Savannah, has been indicted on 19 charges who accuse her of malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another and making false statements about the death of her son, Quinton Simon. She has pleaded not guilty.
Simon called 911 on the morning of Oct. 5, 2022, to report that her son was missing from his playpen in their home outside Savannah. After police searched the home and surrounding neighborhood for days, Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said investigators believed the child was dead. He also named Simon as the only suspect.
Police and FBI agents focused their investigation on one landfill two weeks after the boy was reported missing. They searched through the trash for over a month before finding human bones, which DNA testing confirmed were Quinton’s.
In opening statements Monday, prosecutor Tim Dean outlined the turmoil in Simon’s life at the time of her son’s disappearance, particularly her deteriorating relationship with her then-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin. WTOC-TV reports this. Dean said Simon spent the late hours of Oct. 4 and 5 getting high on cocaine and Percocet, killed her son, threw him in the trash and then went to sleep.
“She killed him, her own son, got into her car with his body, drove to a dumpster and threw him away like a piece of trash,” Dean said.
Videos of Simon’s interviews with police and body camera footage were also shown to jurors. Dean said Simon changed her story about her whereabouts several times. Nearly a week after the interviews, Simon changed her story again, saying she may have blacked out and doesn’t remember what really happened.
“I will never touch cocaine again. I get angry and impulsive when I’m doing it,” Simon said in the 2022 police interview.
In the nearly two hours Dean spent preparing the case against Simon, he never said how prosecutors believe she killed her son. The state has said the child’s body was too decomposed when it was recovered to say how he died.
In contrast, the defense took just three minutes for their opening statement, which accused the state of basing its case on hearsay and speculation, rather than hard evidence.
“The core conclusion is that Leilani Maree Simon murdered her child. The evidence simply does not support this bold conclusion,” said attorney Robert Persse.
One of the first witnesses for the prosecution was Sgt. Bobby Stewart, the first officer to arrive on scene when the toddler was reported missing. Stewart testified about Simon’s behavior when he arrived.
“Have you seen her behavior as consistent with that of other parents you have spoken to in missing child cases?” the prosecutor asked.
“No sir, I didn’t,” Stewart replied.
More testimony was expected Tuesday, including more employees from the Chatham County Police Department and the child’s babysitter and her daughter.