A Georgia jury continued deliberations in the murder trial of Leilani Simon on Friday.
Simon is accused of killing her 20-month-old son, Quinton Simon, in 2022. She allegedly assaulted him with an unknown object and disposed of the body in a trash bin.
Officials spent 30 days of searching through 1.2 million pounds of trash before they found what they believed to be human remains at the Waste Management Landfill site in Chatham County.
Simon is facing 19 charges, including malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another, false report of a crime and making a false statement.
Leilani Simon is facing 19 charges, including murder, in the death of her 20-month-old son. The jury began deliberations on Thursday.
Court TV
The jury was sent to deliberate after closing arguments concluded on Thursday. They spent two hours deliberating before they were excused for the night.
The prosecution showed videos of Simon’s alleged false statements to law enforcement, cell phone records and police body camera footage during its closing argument.
“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 said prosecutors failed to prove their case.
“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 to the defense’s argument.
“Leilani Simon is not a mother, she is a monster,” Parker said.
Jury selection in the trial began on October 9 and opening statements began on October 14.
20-month-old Quinton Simon
FBI Atlanta
Dean emphasized the alleged false statements made by Simon during his opening statement.
“She would go on to tell a series of evolving lies over several weeks, only moving from one lie to the next,” Dean said.
He said her “biggest priority in life” at the time was her then-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin, who is not Quinton’s biological father.
Defense attorney Robert Persse urged jurors to make a decision based on the evidence presented, not emotions, in his opening statement.
“This case can’t be decided based on emotions,” Persse said. “It must be decided based on facts and evidence presented in this court room. It can’t be determined by their rumors, their gossip, and their conclusions. In the end that is what you will determine is that that is the foundation of the state’s claims.”
The state rested its case on Wednesday after calling 36 witnesses. The defense did not call any witnesses and Simon declined to testify.
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