Opening statements began in the trial of the mother of a toddler found dead in a Georgia landfill.
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Trial begins for Leilani Simon, mother accused of killing toddler son and throwing him in dumper
Opening statements began in the trial of the mother of a toddler found dead in a Georgia landfill. Leilani Simon has been charged with murder and other crimes in a 19-count indictment that alleges she used drugs before killing her 20-month-old son, Quinton, and dumping his body in a trash bin.
Simon arrived on Monday morning at the Chatham County courthouse for the first full day of the trial after a jury was seated last week.
On the first day of opening arguments, the state took two hours to lay out its case against Leilani Simon, the mother charged with killing her son in 2022.The defense took five minutes.
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State lays out case against Leilani Simon in two-hour argument on first day of murder trail
During the first day of opening arguments Monday, the state took two hours to lay out its case against Leilani Simon, the mother charged with killing her 20-month-old son, Quinton Simon, in 2022.
The defense took five minutes to allege the state had no evidence and had built its case on "rumor, gossip, speculation and innuendo."
Chatham County Special Assistant District Attorney (ADA) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Dean argued that Leilani, who faces 19 felony charges including malice murder, disposed of Quinton in a dumpster, went home, fell asleep, woke up and reported Quinton's abduction, then lied or misled police investigators numerous times, a point Dean
argued in a previous court filing and affirmed on the first day of the trial with numerous witnesses from the law enforcement community who investigated and searched for his body in a Chatham County landfill.
“What I will not expect you to hear is exactly how the defendant killed Quinton,” said Dean. “That’s because she covered it up. Because she got rid of the body. The evidence will show that her specific intent from the outset was that he never be found at all. And him being found in pieces was the next best thing. The judge will tell you that, in a case like this, we do not have to prove exactly how the defendant killed Quinton... what we have to prove is not exactly how she killed him, but that she killed him, the fact that she did it.”
Dean said the evidence will lead jurors to find Simon guilty on all counts.
Dean kept an image of Quinton, whom he called “blameless,” on display for much of his opening argument. A family tree that included Leilani Simon's three children, brother, ex-boyfriend, mother and stepfather, clarified the people who were in Quinton's orbit, upon whom the toddler was dependent. Dean alleged that of Leilani's three children, she treated Quinton the worst.
Dean then called on five former or current Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) officers, all of whom investigated the Simon case to some degree, to testify as witnesses on the first day of jury trial.
CCPD Sergeant Bobby Stewart testified that he has responded to more than 10 missing child cases, and usually, the parents of children are “hysterical.” However, Stewart testified that Simon wasn’t hysterical and was “trying to cry.”
Former
CCPD Detective, Shawn Wilkins, who relocated Massachusetts and serves as a public safety officer for
Bryant University in Rhode Island, traveled to Savannah to testify that he responded to the scene the day Quinton was reported missing. Simon told him that she went to bed about midnight, which was the last time she said she saw Quinton, Wilkins testified.
Another
CCPD Detective, Keiana Robbins, testified that she ran Leilani Simon’s name through Flock, an automated license plate recognition system commonly used by police. Flock records showed that Simon’s vehicle, a Dodge Journey, was driving on the road late at night on Oct. 4 through the early morning of Oct. 5, the hours she originally told police investigators she had fallen asleep.
A former CCPD Police Lieutenant,
Yujean Foster, testified that Simon told him that she didn’t leave her home on Buckhalter Road, but later backtracked, and said she went to pick up Orajel to treat her wisdom teeth, which she had removed the day prior―a story she later changed to driving to a dumpster to discard spoiled shrimp pasta, according to Dean's earlier statements.
Foster also testified that he was one of 20 to 30 investigators who searched the landfill for Quinton’s body and was present at the landfill when Quinton’s body was found. He testified that, in most missing children's cases, the child is found nearby, or in the house, but not in this case.
Simon’s defense attorney, Robert Persse, countered that “the state’s bold conclusion about what they say happened but can’t prove” is "unsupported by actual evidence." He urged the jurors to focus on the witness’ testimony and the evidence presented, instead of the state’s declarations and arguments.
“This case can’t be decided based on emotion,” said Persse. “It has to be decided based on facts and evidence provided in this courtroom.”
He predicted that the lack of evidence will lead the jurors to a not guilty verdict on all counts.
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