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Georgia mother Leilani Simon has been found guilty of killing her infant son

A Georgia woman has been convicted of murdering her 20-month-old son, whose body was found in a landfill two years ago.

A Chatham County jury found Leilani Simon guilty Friday of all 19 charges filed against her in connection with the death of her son Quinton Simon, including first-degree murder, concealing his death and disposing of his body in a dumpster, according to the Savannah Morning News, part of the USA TODAY network.

Simon, 24, reported Quinton missing on Oct. 5, 2022, the Chatham County Police Department reported. The county borders the Atlantic coast.

Simon, the only suspect in the case, told officers her son had disappeared from his playpen at her home outside Savannah. Police announced that Quinton was presumed dead on October 12, 2022, and arrested Simon the following month.

The verdict came after a nine-day trial in which prosecutors called dozens of witnesses to testify, including police, a drug dealer and Simon's neighbors and babysitters.

Quinton's bones were found in a landfill weeks after his disappearance

During the investigation, police said evidence suggested that Quinton's remains were in a landfill in Chatham County, and police searched 1.2 million pounds of trash at the landfill for 30 days before the boy's remains were found.

After weeks of searching the landfill, Hadley said, police, FBI investigators and Georgia Department of Natural Resource officials found what appeared to be human remains, including bones. The remains were sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, and were later determined to belong to the toddler.

What did the testimony reveal in the Leilani Simon murder trial?

In opening arguments, prosecutors told jurors that they had no intention of proving how Simon killed her child, only that she did. They detailed their drug use, a difficult relationship with a boyfriend and their changing stories after the boy's disappearance, WTOC-TV reported.

During the trial, jurors heard testimony from Simon's ex-boyfriend, who agreed to a wiretap in a hotel room with Simon, as well as a witness who refuted that she met Simon at a gas station the night of Quinton's disappearance.

Officers also testified that Simon's cell phone records contradicted her statement that she was at the house the entire night of Quinton's disappearance. An FBI agent testified that Simon did not seem shocked when police began searching the landfill for the toddler's remains.

During closing arguments Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Jenny Parker said the boy's death was not an accident and that she killed her son.

Defense attorney Martin Hilliard argued that the prosecution's theory of the case failed because Simon's former boyfriend told police he saw Quinton several times on the morning of the child's disappearance.

Hilliard said he plans to file a motion for a new trial.

If convicted, Simon faces life in prison without parole.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

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