Mom of Ga. Toddler Whose Remains Were Found in Landfill Denies Murder at Start of Trial

Mar. 15, 2025

Quinton Simon, Leilani Simon.Photo: FBI Atlanta; Chatham County Police

A Georgia mother accused ofbeating her 20-month-old son to deathand placing his remains in a dumpster has reportedly denied committing the crimes.

On Monday, Oct. 14 Leilani Simon — who has beenindicted on 19 charges, including murder, as well as making false statements, concealing a death and other counts — appeared at the Chatham County courthouse for the first day of her trial.

In their opening remarks, her defense team insisted there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she murdered her son, Quinton Simon, reported multiple outlets including theAssociated Press.

“This case can’t be decided based on emotions,” her Defense Attorney, Robert Persse, said at the trial, according toWSAV.

“The core conclusion is that Leilani Maree Simon murdered her child. The evidence will simply not support that bold conclusion,” Persse said, according toWTOC.

Chatham County Police Department

Simonfirst reported Quinton’s missingon Oct. 5, 2022. At the time, she claimed he vanished from his playpen inside their Ga. home. A set of human remains were later recovered from a Savannah, Ga. landfill on Nov. 18 of that year, and theAtlanta FBI confirmed10 days later they belonged to the missing toddler.

Simon is accused of killing her son and dumping him in the trash at Azalea Mobile Home Plaza before going to sleep, reported WTOC.

At Monday’s trial, prosecutor Tim Dean spoke about Simon’s “deteriorating relationship with her then-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin,” per WTOC, stating that the suspect had “spent the late hours of Oct. 4 into Oct. 5” allegedly “getting high off cocaine.”

“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 said in court, per the outlet.

“She treated Quinton differently, and not in a good way,” Dean added, referencing Simon’s other two children, reported WTOC.

Leilani Simon.Chatham County Police

Chatham County Police

Simon was previously accused of lying to police about the purpose of her trip to Azalea Mobile Home Plaza — which is about two miles from her house — before her son was reported missing. She’d originally claimed she went to the location to obtain the pain reliever Orajel from her friend Misty, per the indictment, PEOPLE reported in December 2022.

Simon later told authorities she was at the mobile home park to get rid of “normal household garbage,” perFOX 5 Atlanta.

Quinton Simon.Chatham County Police Department

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“Maybe they thought they were his savior. That’s our best hope at this point,” she added at the time.

source: people.com