Georgia woman accused of killing her toddler found guilty of murder

By The Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia woman accused of killing her 20-month-old son and dumping his body in a trash bin two years ago has been found guilty of murder.

A jury on Friday found Leilani Simon guilty of all 19 charges against her in the death of her son, Quinton Simon, local news outlets reported. That includes counts of malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another and making false statements.

The jury heard eight days of witness testimony and began deliberating Thursday, news outlets reported. They deliberated for about two hours that afternoon before breaking for the day. Jurors resumed their deliberations around 9:30 Friday morning and their unanimous verdict was announced at 2:30 p.m.

Simon called 911 the morning of Oct. 5, 2022, to report her son was missing from his indoor playpen at their home outside Savannah. After police spent days searching the home and surrounding neighborhood, Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said that investigators believed the child was dead. He also named Simon as the sole suspect.

Police and FBI agents focused their investigation on a landfill two weeks after the boy was reported missing. They sifted through trash for more than a month before finding human bones, which DNA tests confirmed belonged to Quinton.