Quinton Simon - update: Mother of missing Georgia toddler under fire as search enters fourth week

Local police in Chatham County and the FBI are actively searching a nearby landfill, where they believe they will find the child’s remains.

“It makes it hard to even process what’s going around us,” Leilani Simon told WTOC in an exclusive interview. “We get to the point where we have to barricade our own home in order to even feel safe in our backyard because we can’t even process what is happening everywhere else, or even have the time to do so.”

Ms Simon added that she “can’t even walk out and appreciate my own son’s memorial or put down gifts that I got for him.”

She is the prime suspect in her son’s disappearance and potential death, police have said.

Seven days after he was reported missing, police said they were “saddened” to report on 12 October that they believed the 20-month-old was dead.

“The CCPD and the FBI have notified Quinton Simon’s family that we believe he is deceased,” a statement shared on Facebook said.

His mother, Leilani Simon, was named a prime suspect.

Officials held the first press conference on the case on 13 October, where they reiterated the belief that Quinton is deceased.

“To the Chatham County community, our heart breaks along with yours trying to comprehend what we believe happened here. The FBI along with our law enforcement agencies have followed every lead, every tip and every piece of evidence to get to this point and we will continue to do so,” FBI Supervisor Senior Resident Agent Will Clarke said.

Officials did not disclose the nature of evidence suggesting Quinton is dead, or why Ms Simon is the main suspect.

Quinton went missing on 5 October from his home in Savannah, a coastal city on the border between Georgia and South Carolina.

He was last seen at about 6am that day at an address in the 500 block of Buckhalter Road, and was reported missing at approximately 9.40am by his mother, who is now the prime suspect in the investigation.

Ms Simon told police her son was playing in a playpen when he was last seen, although earlier reports suggested Quinton had wandered off, CNN reported.

A dispatch call made by the emergency services reveals some details concerning what the authorities were told when Quinton’s mother called 911.

“Complainant advised her one-year-old son is missing,” the dispatcher said, WJCL reported. “She woke up, her door was open. Advised he’s unable to open a door. Thinks someone came in and took him.”

The toddler’s babysitter told WSAV that she was surprised to receive a message that she would not be needed to look after Quinton and his sibling on the da he went missing.

“I got a text this morning saying they would not be here, would not be babysitting them at 5.29 [a.m.],” Diana McCarta told the outlet.

She continued: “Which was kind of odd because I have them even when she (their mother) doesn’t work.”

“And then I get a text at 9am saying have I seen Quinton,” said Ms McCarta of her exchange with Quinton’s mother. “I immediately go to their house. I try to help them look, they didn’t want that. So, I’ve been just waiting around like everyone else.”

The Independent’s Gino Spocchia has more details

Over the weekend, three people were arrested while protesting outside the home where Quinton disappeared.

Chatham County police went to the home in Savannah on Friday night after receiving complaints about protesters, who then left the scene, WJCL reported.

But later in the night, three protesters returned and blocked the driveway, preventing someone from being able to leave.

The protesters – William Garrett, Wanda Boatright and John Boatwright – were subsequently charged with disorderly conduct after ignoring officers’ orders to move.

Police did not specify whether Quinton’s mother or his grandmother were home at the time

The Independent’s Megan Sheets has the story:

Quinton Simon’s mother and grandmother were seen drinking in a town near where the toddler went missing two weeks ago.

As the FBI continues searching for Quinton’s body in a landfill in Savannah, Georgia, local news station WSAV first reported that Leilani Simon, now the prime suspect in the investigation, and her mother Billie Jo Howell were seen drinking at Sting Ray’s, a bar in the neighbouring Tybee Island.

When contacted by The Independent, a staff member said: “They were here, they drank, they left.”

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has more:

The FBI revealed on 18 October that evidence led authorities to believe that the 20-months-old’s remains were disposed of in a dumpster and then taken to a Waste Management landfill in Savannah.

Quinton was reported missing on 5 October. His mother, 22-year-old Leilani Simon, made the 911 call reporting that she had woken up to find her son was gone and that she believed “someone came in and took him”, WJCL reported.

Ms Simon, who has two other children who have since been removed from the home, is now the prime suspect in Quinton’s disappearance.

The search was paused during the weekend and resumed on Monday.

The search for Quinton Simon on a Georgia landfill entered its sixth day on Tuesday.

The toddler went missing on 5 October from his home in Savannah, a coastal city on the border between Georgia and South Carolina, in Chatham County.

Quinton was last seen at about 6am that day at an address in the 500 block of Buckhalter Road and was reported missing at approximately 9.40am by his mother, Leilani Simon.

Police announced on 11 October the discovery of evidence “that we believe will help move this case forward”. That evidence went under analysis, police said.

On 12 October, authorities announced that Quinton is believed to be dead.

Here’s a timeline of the case:

The mother of Quinton Simon, a 20-month-old boy from Georgia who has been missing for nearly three weeks, says she’s “not hiding,” even as police consider her the prime suspect in the child’s disappearance.

“We get to the point where we have to barricade our own home in order to even feel safe in our backyard because we can’t even process what is happening everywhere else, or even have the time to do so,” Ms Simon told WTOC in an exclusive interview.

“I can’t even walk out and appreciate my own son’s memorial or put down gifts that I got for him. I can’t even go out there and do that without harassment and negligence and everything. It’s just devastating to see that this is how the outside world reacts,”

The Independent’s Josh Marcus has the story:

Court documents obtained by the US Sun describe Ms Simon as a “chronic, unrehabilitated substance abuser of cocaine and cannabis.”

The outlet reports that Ms Simon consumed illegal substances while she was pregnant and tested positive for cocaine at the time of one of her births.

Ms SImon’s mother, Billie Howell, had custody of Quinton.