Leilani Simon, a Georgia mother who claimed she was “hoping” police would find her 20-month-old son “happy and alive” when he went missing in October 2022, was convicted of his murder on Friday, Oct. 25.
Simon, 22, was found guilty of all 19 charges against her in connection with her 20-month-old son Quinton Simon’s death more than two years ago, local WJCL, WTOC and WRDW reported.
Quinton was first reported missing in early October 2022 when his mother called 911 to tell police the boy had vanished from his playpen at the family’s Georgia home.
Days later, police publicly stated that Simon was the “prime suspect” in Quinton’s disappearance while she continued to maintain her innocence for more than a month until investigators discovered the boy’s body in a nearby landfill, according to local WJCL.
Simon was arrested on accusations she murdered her son.
The mother was convicted of two felony murder counts, a malice murder count, concealing a death, reporting a false crime and 14 counts of making false statements to investigators, according to WRDW.
The mother maintained her innocence shortly after her son vanished in an interview with local WTOC-TV, telling the TV station she hoped police would find her son “happy and alive.”
Quinton Simon. Chatham County Police Department
“We want him back in our arms, holding us. That’s what we want,” she said. “We’re just hoping that he’s in somebody’s house and they’re feeding him and maybe they wanted a baby or couldn’t have a baby. Maybe they thought they were his savior. That’s our best hope at this point.”
WTOC-TV reported that Quinton’s grandmother, Billie Jo Howell, had custody of the child at the time of his disappearance but that she was out of town the day he went missing from his mother’s home.
The case drew widespread publicity after several outlets, including the New York Post, reported that Simon and her mother, Howell, were spotted drinking shots at a bar on Tybee Island in October 2022 amid the search for Quinton. Days later, WTOC-TV reported that four demonstrators were arrested outside Simon’s home while protesting the accused mother.
