Leilani Simon To Learn Fate For Killing Son And Putting His Body In Trash
Leilani Simon, a Georgia mother found guilty of murdering her son and disposing of his body in a trash bin, will be sentenced later this month.
Simon was convicted on all 19 of the charges she was facing on October 25. The charges included malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another, false report of a crime and making a false statement.
Officials found the remains of Leilani Simon’s 20-month-old son, Quinton Simon, at the Waste Management Landfill site in Chatham County. Officials combed through 1.2 million pounds of trash searching for the missing child.
Simon was accused of assaulting her son with an unknown object before disposing of the body in a trash bin. She was arrested two days after Quinton’s body was found.
Leilani Simon will be sentenced on multiple charges, including murder, in the 2022 death of her son Quinton Simon. She is facing life in prison.
Court TV and FBI Atlanta
Her sentencing is expected to take place on November 21 at the Chatham County Courthouse. Judge Tammy Stokes will preside over the proceeding.
Simon is facing life in prison.
Jury selection in the trial began on October 9 and opening statements began on October 14.
Prosecutors called 36 witnesses as they presented their case. The defense did not call any witnesses and Simon declined to testify.
The jury began deliberating after closing arguments concluded on October 24. They deliberated for two hours before they were excused for the night. Deliberations resumed the next day and the verdict was announced just after 2:30 p.m.
During closing arguments, the prosecution showed videos of Simon’s alleged false statements to law enforcement, cell phone records and police body camera footage.
“She might be calculating, she might be manipulative, but she’s not necessarily that smart,” Chatham County Special Assistant District Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Dean said. “She does not understand that when a child goes missing, they pull out all the stops. She seriously underestimated and did not understand the capabilities of people like the Chatham County Police Department.”
Defense attorney Martin Hilliard claimed that prosecutors failed to prove their case in his closing statement.
“We said at the beginning that most, if not all, of the State’s case was based on speculation and character assassination,” Hilliard said. “And we sat here for an hour and 28 minutes and listened to Mr. Dean say exactly that.”
Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Jenny Parker delivered a rebuttal argument.
“Leilani Simon is not a mother, she is a monster,” Parker said.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com