Georgia toddler Quinton Simon’s dead body placed in dumpster: FBI
Police and the FBI are searching a landfill for the remains of missing Georgia toddler Quinton Simon, authorities said Tuesday.
The 20-month-old’s troubled mother, Leilani Simon — who admitted to drug use while pregnant in court this week — remains the top suspect in her son’s disappearance, according to Chatham County cops.
Quinton disappeared from his home in Savannah just after 6 a.m. October 5 and hasn’t been seen since.
The FBI said Tuesday it believes Quinton was placed in a “specific dumpster at a specific location” that would have been emptied at the county’s waste management facility.
Simon was last seen by his 24-year-old mother’s boyfriend, and she later reported him missing at 9:40 a.m. after waking up, according to police.
“Complainant advised her 1-year-old son is missing,” a 911 dispatcher is heard saying in audio heard by local news station WJCL.
“She woke up, her door was open. Advised he’s unable to open a door. Thinks someone came in and took him.”
However, baby-sitter Diana McCarta has said she received a text message at 5:30 a.m. telling her she wouldn’t need to look after Quinton on the day of his disappearance.
Leilani appeared in court Monday for a custody proceeding related to her other two young children, ages 6 months and 3 years old.
While the case is sealed, papers obtained by the US Sun claimed Simon was a “chronic, unrehabilitated substance abuser of cocaine and cannabis” who used drugs while pregnant.
Leilani’s mother, Billie Jo Howell, had previously sought to evict her from her home and had been made legal guardian of Leilani’s other two children, who all have different fathers.
But Child Protective Services in Chatham County, Georgia, found she had “failed to provide adequate supervision” and the children have since been placed in foster care.
The father of one of Leilani’s children, Cody Wharton, said he feared for the welfare of his son, Zayne, and said his former girlfriend suffers from mental illness and drug addiction.
Leilani Simon admitted to parenting struggles in TikTok videos and Howell told authorities after Quinton’s disappearance that she did not trust her daughter.
Howell also has a lengthy rap sheet including arrests for using stolen credit cards, prostitution, burglary and drugs offfenses, according to DailyMail.co.uk
“We’re not ready to charge anyone yet. We still have work to do,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said Tuesday as the search proceeded.
FBI agent Will Clarke added: “We are not just randomly searching this landfill, we have specific evidence that leads us to this large property.
“This will not be quick, this will not be easy, and the outcome is uncertain.”
