Mom used drugs, assaulted Ga. toddler before dumping his body in landfill, according to indictment

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. — A Chatham County grand jury indicted the mother a toddler found dead in a landfill on 19 charges in his murder Wednesday, WJCL-TV reported.

Quinton Simon, who was 20 months old when he vanished from his home in October, was later found dead.

New documents allege that Leilani Simon, 22, used drugs and assaulted her son with an object, causing the child “serious bodily injury” before she dumped his remains in a trash bin outside a trailer park.

In November, police announced that they arrested his mother, 22-year-old Leilani Simon, and charged her with murder in connection to her son’s disappearance and death.

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On Wednesday, a Chatham County grand jury revealed an 8-page indictment charging Leilani Simon on 19 counts.

In a press conference given by District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones that was attended by WJCL-TV Wednesday, Jones provided the public with more information regarding the indictment of Leilani Simons.

The indictment against Simon charges her with murder, concealing a death, and falsely reporting a crime in addition to 14 separate counts of lying to investigators, news outlets reported. Court records did not list an attorney for Simon and it was not immediately known if she had a lawyer who could speak on her behalf.

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The night before her son’s death, according to the indictment, Simon met with a drug dealer and used an unspecified drug.

The indictment said Quinton died the morning of Oct. 5 after his mother assaulted him with an unknown object, causing the child “serious bodily injury.” The charges say she then dumped his body in a trash bin outside a mobile home park about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from her home. Simon later told investigators she had gone there to dispose of “normal household garbage.”

Cook Jones declined to release further details during a news conference Wednesday, when she promised to get justice for the slain child.

“It’s a matter that calls our very humanity into question,” the prosecutor said. “These are the cases that keep us up at night.”

Quinton Simon was missing for weeks before his body was recovered.

On Friday, Oct. 18, the Chatham County Police Department and FBI announced that evidence led them to believe that Quinton’s remains were at the Waste Management Landfill in Chatham County, and a massive search began to try to locate them.

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After combing through 1.2 million pounds of trash over 30 days, investigators said on Friday, Nov. 18, they uncovered what they believed were the toddler’s remains in a landfill.

Quinton Simon’s grandmother, Billie Jo Betterton, who also goes by the last name Howell, faces a contempt of court charge on a juvenile court hold.

WJCL-TV reported that Howell had custody of Quinton Simon at the time of his disappearance. Records obtained by the tv station also showed that she tried to evict Quinton’s mother, Leilani Simon, from her home weeks before his disappearance.

Howell remains in custody at the Chatham County Detention Center.

Jones said during the press conference she could not share information regarding the evidence found in case the investigation was to go to trial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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