Georgia mom Leilani Simon sobbed in court as she was found guilty of murdering her 20-month-old son, Quinton, whose body was thrown in a dumpster.
Simon, 24, teared up and wiped her eyes when she was convicted Friday of all 19 charges against her, including malice murder felony murder, and multiple counts of making a false statement, WTOC reported.
The unanimous verdict came after six hours of deliberation — and leaves the murderous mom facing the possibility of life in prison.
Simon reported her son Quinton missing on the morning of Oct. 5, 2022. Police scoured the family’s Chatham County neighborhood for multiple days before officials announced that the child was likely dead and Simon was the primary suspect.
Quinton Simon’s remains were found in a landfill on Nov. 18, 2022, and Leilani Simon was arrested two days later.
During the eight-day trial, jurors heard from 40 prosecution witnesses and saw almost 100 pieces of evidence to back up the state’s argument that the young mom killed her toddler and then disposed of his body in a dumpster, WTOC said.
“This was a complex case because we did not have a cause or manner of death in this case because of what happened, so that’s always a concern,” Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Jenny Parker said after the verdict.
“But the law enforcement agencies involved did such a good job investigating this case, and we did our best presenting the evidence that they had.”
Leilani Simon’s mother, Billie Howell, was not at the trial but told WTOC that she is glad justice was served.
“Our family is devastated and Quinton deserves justice. We want Quinton home so he can be laid to rest. I hate that I’m not there for Leilani — we love her but do not stand by any of this,” she told the outlet in a written statement.
In addition to Quinton, Simon also had two other young children. It was not clear if those children remained with her family or were being cared for elsewhere.
With Post wires