Georgia woman convicted of killing her toddler sentenced to life in prison

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia woman convicted of killing her 20-month-old son and dumping his body in a trash bin was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.

Leilani Simon was spared the maximum punishment of life without a chance of parole. Her sentencing hearing in Chatham County Superior Court came a month after a trial jury found Simon guilty of malice murder and 18 other charges in the death of her son, Quinton Simon.

Simon called 911 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 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.

Murder carries an automatic life sentence under Georgia law. Because prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, the main decision for Judge Tammy Stokes was whether to grant Simon a chance of someday being released on parole. The judge imposed another 10 years in prison for concealing the child's death.

Simon did not testify at her sentencing hearing. She did speak to give consent for the judge to release her son's remains to her family. Authorities had kept them in case further forensic tests were ordered.

“My son's been through enough,” Simon said. “I want my baby home.”