SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia mother who killed her 20-month-old son and then threw the body in a dumpster was back in court on Friday, renewing her effort for a new trial.
Leilani Simon’s attorneys filed new court documents bringing into question the physical evidence that was presented in the 2024 trial, where Simon was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the death of her son Quinton, who she reported missing nearly a month before the boy’s remains were found in a landfill.
“[Simon] requests this Court consider the ambiguity and absence of substantive evidence in this case in acting upon the discretion given to the trial judge,” Simon’s attorney argued in a brief filed on Thursday.
Georgia mom who killed 20-month-old son, dumped body in dumpster renews call for new trial by WSB-TV
During Friday’s hearing, her attorneys argued that Simon’s constitutional rights were violated during interviews with investigators.
“They were trying to elicit incriminating information,” her attorney argued, WJCL-TV reported.
Prosecutors told the court that the issues that have been brought up in the renewed request for a new trial have already been addressed, according to the TV station.
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“All of these issues have previously been addressed and rejected by the court,” the state said.
Prosecutors said they would respond to the arguments in writing, WRDW-TV reported. They now have 45 days to file their response.
Simon is currently being held at Pulaski State Prison, serving out her life sentence.
How we got here
Leilani Simon’s was sentenced to life in prison a month after a jury found her guilty of malice murder and 18 other charges in the death of her son, Quinton.
Simon called 911 on 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 the 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.
Investigators believed Simon put Quinton’s body in a dumpster, which ultimately ended up in the landfill. His remains were found just before Thanksgiving in 2022.
The judge imposed another 10 years in prison for concealing the child’s death.
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