Missing Toddler Case Comes to Devastating End at Savannah Landfill, Mother Hit with Georgia's Unique 'Malice Murder' Charge
Human remains found in a Georgia landfill belong to missing toddler Quinton Simon according to the FBI.
The FBI released a statement Monday saying that DNA analysis confirmed that the remains were those of the 20-month-old, who has been missing since Oct. 5.
#FBI Atlanta has confirmed through DNA analysis that the bones found in the Superior Landfill are those of missing 20-month-old Quinton Simon. @ChathamCountyPD pic.twitter.com/GxsYnQ3ukX
— FBI Atlanta (@FBIAtlanta) November 28, 2022
Leilani Simon, Quinton’s mother, was arrested on Nov. 21. She has been charged with malice murder, concealing the death of another, false report of a crime and false statements or writings, according to WTOC-TV.
Last week, she waived her right to a hearing to set bond, which means she will remain in jail, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Details regarding Leilani Simon’s arrest in connection with the death and disappearance of her toddler son, Quinton, can be found in our press release:https://t.co/CphvbTeEcW pic.twitter.com/JJIx1tvtlj
— Chatham County Police Department (@ChathamCountyPD) November 22, 2022
The child’s cause of death has not been determined, according to NBC.
Speculation has been published by The Sun that the child may have drowned.
The bones were found on Friday, Nov. 18.
Heartbreaking: The FBI confirmed that the bones found in a Georgia landfill are those of 20-month-old Quinton Simon, who had been reported missing last month and whose mother was arrested last week on charges including murder. 💔 https://t.co/reUEbJEliF pic.twitter.com/QJ6HfRvDbo
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 28, 2022
Prior to that, law enforcement officers and others searched for the boy’s remains through 1.2 million pounds of trash in a Waste Management landfill near Savannah, according to NBC.
Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley has said the landfill search was based on an expectation of finding the boy.
“We believe that he was placed in a specific dumpster at a specific location and it was brought here by regular means of disposal,” Hadley has said.
Leilani Simon had initially claimed that she believed someone took the child, according to the New York Post.
BREAKING: Bones found in a Georgia landfill are confirmed to belong to missing Savannah, Georgia, toddler Quinton Simon, the FBI announces. https://t.co/FzCv05QUCK
— ABC News (@ABC) November 28, 2022
Under Georgia law, there are two types of murder charges, felony murder and malic murder, instead of the degrees of murder that are part of the penal code of other states, according to WAGA-TV.
Malice murder is a section of Georgia law that covers instances when a person “unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being,” according to the relevant section of Georgia law posted on Justia.com.
“Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart,” the law said.
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