Leilani Simon learns her fate for killing her son and throwing his body in the trash

Leilani Simon, a Georgia mother convicted of murdering her son and dumping his body in a trash can, will be sentenced later this month.

Simon was convicted on all 19 counts on October 25. The charges included premeditated murder, aggravated murder, concealing the death of another person, false report of a crime and making a false statement.

Officials found the remains of Leilani Simon's 20-month-old son, Quinton Simon, at the Chatham County landfill. Officials sifted through 1.2 million pounds of trash in search of the missing child.

Simon was accused of attacking her son with an unknown object before disposing of the body in a bin. She was arrested two days after Quinton's body was found.

Her sentencing is expected to take place Nov. 21 at the Chatham County Courthouse. Judge Tammy Stokes will preside over the trial.

Simon faces a life sentence.

Jury selection in the trial began on October 9th and opening statements began on October 14th.

Prosecutors called 36 witnesses as they presented their case. The defense called no witnesses and Simon declined to testify.

The jury began deliberations after closing arguments concluded on October 24. They conferred for two hours before being excused for the night. Deliberations resumed the next day and the verdict was announced shortly after 2:30 p.m

During closing arguments, prosecutors showed law enforcement videos of Simon's alleged false statements, cell phone records and police body camera footage.

“She might be calculating, she might be manipulative, but she's not necessarily that smart,” said Tim Dean, assistant district attorney and assistant U.S. attorney for Chatham County. “She doesn't understand that when a child goes missing, all stops are pulled out. She seriously underestimated and failed to understand the capabilities of people like the Chatham County Police Department.”

Defense attorney Martin Hilliard claimed in his closing statement that prosecutors failed to prove their case.

“We said at the outset that most, if not all, of the state's cases were based on speculation and character assassination,” Hilliard said. “And we sat here for an hour and 28 minutes listening to Mr. Dean say exactly that.”

Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Jenny Parker offered a counterargument.

“Leilani Simon is not a mother, she is a monster,” Parker said.

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