Quinton Simon’s mom Leilani Simon ‘tried to overdose with kids nearby’ & toddler’s brother had ‘bruises’ ex claims
A DAD has expressed his deep concern about his son's safety and is "questioning everything" after his little boy's mom was named as the sole suspect in the presumed death of one of her other children.
Police in Chatham County, Georgia said on Thursday that Leilani Simon is the primary suspect in one-year-old Quinton Simon's mysterious disappearance and the evidence suggests Quinton is dead.
Simon's ex-boyfriend Cody Wharton, who co-parents their son Zayne, said he noticed bruises on his face after he claimed she tried to overdose while she was depressed last spring, he told The U.S. Sun in an exclusive interview.
Wharton, who dated Simon on and off since 2011 before they split, said he hasn't slept since police publicly named her as the primary suspect in Quinton's October 5 disappearance.
"Zayne needs to be with me. I want to make sure he's safe," Wharton said. "I'm not sleeping. I'm at a point where he needs to be with me.
"Even now, I'm questioning everything. Is he hurt? What is he doing? I don't want to get a call saying your son is hurt and going to the hospital."
Wharton claimed when Simon was allegedly depressed and tried to overdose, he noticed bruises on Zayne when he picked him up but thought the marks were simply caused by him being rambunctious.
QUINTON SIMON STORIES
"I don't know what happened. I don't know how long (the bruises) were there," he said.
"And when she was talking about overdosing, that scared me because my son was there. But what if she had overdosed and I couldn't get there for two hours?
"She's always been unpredictable," he added, talking about Simon.
"But I wasn't worried about Zayne's safety until all this started going on. She was a good mother. I don't know what happened."
Most read in The US Sun
During the interview, Wharton struggled to find the words to describe how he was feeling, as he replayed every perceived oddity in a stream of consciousness that now he realizes might have been red flags.
For example, one past summer, he claims Simon was "overwhelmed" and when he picked up his son and all he had was winter clothes.
"NOTHING SCARES ME LIKE THIS"
"Right now, I want custody. I need to hold my son. I need to see him with my own eyes and make sure he's safe," Wharton said.
But he admits getting full custody is not a simple task, as there are a lot of obstacles in his way.
Wharton claims authorities told him to fly from New York to Georgia to take a DNA test to prove he's the father, hire a lawyer to get custody through the courts and legitimize the father-son relationship.
It's unclear who is currently caring for Zayne and Simon's other child while police continue their investigation into Quinton's disappearance.
"Nothing scares me like this," Wharton said. "I knew my son was going to be taken care of, but I'm not even sure her parents can take of him.
"If he was with me, it would give me a calm mind. He deserves a good life and life full of opportunity. I feel like he's not getting that right now."
LAST TIME WHARTON TALKED TO SIMON
After their off-and-on relationship, Wharton and Simon split but co-parented their son Zayne.
Simon has since been in a relationship with Danny Youngkin and has had two other children with him and another man.
Wharton said she "seemed fine" when they spoke last month.
"She was saying she was excited about moving to a new house and seemed to have her head on her shoulders, and now this happened," Wharton said.
He claims he didn't know Simon's grandmother filed legal papers to remove Simon and Youngkin from her Savanah home.
Her grandmother alleged they "destroyed" the property, and "at this point, no one is living in peace," in the legal action filed on September 8.
WHY SIMON HASN'T BEEN ARRESTED
Police and the FBI didn't answer specific questions during Thursday's brief press conference, which ended after about five minutes.
That led to a flurry of questions from the public on social media about why Leilani wasn't in handcuffs as they shared fears she may flee.
Police said they don't believe she is a flight risk but they'll likely have her under surveillance, former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told The U.S. Sun.
Simon hasn't been arrested or charged, as of Friday morning, and Coffindaffer said police are likely gathering more evidence to ensure a conviction.
"They're not done with the investigation yet," the field agent said.
"They have one opportunity to charge someone and make those charges stick to get a conviction.
Read More on The US Sun
"Right now, it's all circumstantial. They're likely going through phone records, searching for the body, and waiting for forensic test results before making an arrest. They want to have all the evidence first."
Read More on The US Sun
The one-year-old hasn't been seen since October 5, which is a short amount of time to collect and process evidence collected from the house and inside the family pool, according to Coffindaffer.
