Quinton Simon - update: Mother of missing Georgia toddler under fire as search enters fourth week
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Your support makes all the difference.The search for missing toddler Quinton Simon has entered its fourth week in Savannah, Georgia.
The 20-month-old vanished on 5 October and is now presumed dead and buried in a landfill, Georgia authorities said. His mother, 22-year-old Leilani Simon, is considered the prime suspect in the case but has not been arrested or charged.
Speaking to WTOC on Monday for her first interview since Quinton was reported missing, Ms Simon complained that she has been a victim of “devastating harassment” by protesters camped outside her home.
“I’ve been here every day since this. I’m not running and I’m not hiding,” Ms Simon told the outlet. “And if something does come up that I am at fault, I will take myself to that police station.”
Curiously - given investigators’ confidence that Quinton is dead due to actions of his mother - Ms Simon said she hopes the boy is found “happy and alive”.
Investigators renewed their dedication to finding Quinton’s body in a statement on Wednesday, marking three weeks since he disappeared.
Leilani Simon did not have custody of Simon
Ms Howell reportedly lived at the same address as Quinton and his mother, Leilani Simon, along with her husband Thomas Howell, and her daughter’s boyfriend, WJCL reported.
The news outlet obtained court documents alleging an eviction despite, with Ms Howell seeking to remove her daughter and her boyfriend from the property over alleged “damage” and a lack of “peace”. This remains unconfirmed, however.
The same documents also stated that Quinton’s grandparents have custody of the child.
“Sometimes she does really great, sometimes she doesn’t,” Billie Jo Howell told ABC30. “I don’t know what to think right now...I don’t know if I can trust her or I don’t. I just know I’m hurting and I want this baby home. He’s my baby.”
Quinton’s mother first ‘reported abduction’
Quinton went missing on 5 October from his home in Savannah. 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, Leilani Simon.
She 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 by emergency service, which has been obtained by local media, suggested the front door to the family home was found open and that Ms Simon told 911 she “Thinks someone came in and took him.”
The Independent’s Gino Spocchia has everything we know about the case:
Quinton Simon: What we know about search for missing toddler feared dead in Georgia
20-month-old went missing from address he shared with mother and grandparents
FBI leads search for Quinton
The FBI is supporting the Chatham County Police Department in the investigation, with law enforcement spending 18 to 20 hours a day looking for the 20-month-old child, CNN reported. They’re now focusing on a landfill after reviewing evidence that suggests the toddler’s remains are buried there.
Chatham County police said in an earlier statement that it had executed search warrants and continued to interview “those who might have information that could be helpful in the investigation” with the help of the FBI.
FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Will Clarke said during a press conference on Tuesday that “we, along with our law enforcement partners, go into this process with heavy hearts”.
“We did not want to end up at this point. But the evidence has taken us here,” he added.
Investigators previously searched several areas in hopes to find Quinton alive
After Quinton was reported missing, search warrants were carried out on a nearby pond, a backyard swimming pool and the house itself.
Those areas were re-canvassed on 10 October when the pool in the backyard of the home was drained.
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 Tuesday 18 October, police announced that Quinton is believed to have been buried in a landfill.
The Independent’s Gino Spocchia and Gustaf Kilander have more:
Quinton Simon: What we know about search for missing toddler feared dead in Georgia
20-month-old went missing from address he shared with mother and grandparents
A ‘mentally and physically gruelling’ search for remains continues
At a press conference on Tuesday, Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said that the search ahead would be a “physically, mentally and emotionally gruelling task for our investigators and team.”
“We want justice for Quinton just like everyone else,” he added.
No arrests have been made in the case, according to WJCL. Quentin is believed to be buried in a landfill and his mother, Leilani Simon, is considered the “prime suspect.”
FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Will Clarke said during the press conference that “we, along with our law enforcement partners, go into this process with heavy hearts”. Mr Clarke added that “this will not be quick” and “it will not be easy, and the outcome is uncertain”.
Quinton’s babysitter and grandmother had argument
In a video obtained by WSAV, Billie Howell and Diana McCarta are reportedly seen engaging in a verbal dispute over the disappearance of Quinton.
The grandmother accused the babysitter of organising a memorial for Quinton in the video and exclaimed: “You’re awful to say you’re going to put up a memorial...My baby’s not dead.”
Ms McCarta responded by denying the memorial idea and calling Ms Howell a “liar”. Most of the comments made in the video are inaudible, however.
The babysitter claimed to the news station that she had previously alerted Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) about Quinton, and that the department had an open case.
Quinton’s babysitter received “odd text"
Quinton’s babysitter said she was surprised to receive a message on the day the toddler disappeared that she would not be needed to look after Quinton and his sibling.
“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 WSAV last week,
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.”
Leilani Simon appeared in court Monday over custody of two other children
On Monday, Leilani Simon attended a court hearing over the custody of Quinton’s siblings, a 6-months-old baby and a 3-years-old.
The hearing was sealed from the public, local news station WOC11 reported.
Other attendees are prohibited from discussing the hearing.
Ms Simon is the prime suspect in Simon’s disappearance and possible death but has not been charged with any crime.
Quinton is believed to be buried in landfill
Local police and the FBI announced the grim development at a news conference on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after 20-month-old Quinton vanished on 5 October in Savannah.
Officials said there is evidence to suggest the toddler was placed in a dumpster and taken to a landfill in the area. A search is now underway.
“We know that this is going to be a physically, mentally and emotionally gruelling task for our investigators and team,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said.
“We want justice for Quinton just like everyone else.”
Quinton Simon’s mother and grandmother seen at bar amid landfill search
As the FBI continues searching for Quinton’s body in a landfill in Savannah, 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 at the bar said: “They were here, they drank, they left.”
The Independent’s Andrea blanco has more:
Quinton Simon’s mother ‘downed tequila shots’ at bar amid landfill FBI search
Leilani Simon, now the prime suspect in the investigation, and her mother Billie Jo Howell were seen drinking at Sting Ray’s
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