Georgia Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of 20-Month-Old Son

A woman from Georgia, who raised alarm about her 20-month-old son missing in 2022, culminating in a massive search operation until the unfortunate discovery of the boy’s remains in a landfill, has received a life sentence in prison on Thursday for his murder.

Leilani Simon was found guilty of the murder of Quinton Simon last month. During a court proceeding in Chatham County, she was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.

Chatham County Judge Tammy Stokes commented, "The one thing that I will say before pronouncing sentence is, clearly little Quinton Simon’s life and death impacted many, many individuals, but also the community at large.”

Simon reported her son missing from their residence in Chatham County, situated near Savannah, on October 5, 2022. Soon after, authorities expressed their belief that Quinton was deceased, identifying Simon as the primary suspect. Tragically, his body was located in a landfill approximately five weeks post the missing report.

Arrest and Charges

Simon was apprehended in November 2022, and the subsequent month, she faced an indictment on murder and various other charges. The indictment specified that Simon inflicted serious bodily harm on Quinton using an unidentified object and subsequently disposed of him in a trash bin located roughly three miles from their home.

In October, a jury found Simon guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, concealing the death of another, along with other counts associated with false reports and statements.

Sentencing

She was sentenced to life imprisonment, equivalent to a life term, in addition to an extra ten years. While the sentence was pronounced, Simon stood in silence, acknowledging the verdict with a nod, refraining from any verbal response. Before concluding the proceedings, Judge Stokes offered a final sentiment, expressing a wish for peace in some form.