Here’s how mom’s trial may play out in Quinton Simon’s murder

SAVANNAH, Ga. - New motions filed in the Quinton Simon case are giving us an insight as to what evidence may be introduced as the state tries to prove that former Burke County resident Leilani Simon is guilty of murdering her toddler.

This filing is the prosecution asking the judge on the case for permission to present certain evidence at the trial.

It’s all evidence that has to do with Leilani Simon’s prior criminal history, circumstances in the house prior to Quinton’s disappearance, and her behavior while police were searching for her son.

At the time of Quinton’s death, Simon was on probation out of Burke County over the burglary of $50 in coins. She said her child’s father had convinced her to enter a neighbor,’s camper and steal the money from a coin jar. He reportedly needed her to do it because he couldn’t fit through the window.

Much of the evidence presented in the state’s latest motion in the Leilani Simon trial is what’s known as intrinsic evidence which is evidence that can put an alleged crime into context.

“This is evidence that doesn’t necessarily prove parts of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, but it completes the whole story, it can go to explaining motive,” says Jonah Pine, a local criminal defense attorney.

In this case, the prosecution is asking to introduce several pieces of this type of evidence including evidence of Leilani’s “antipathy” towards Quinton. The motion says that Leilani “never bonded with Quinton” the way she did her two other children.

The motion also brings up evidence of Leilani’s “abuse and neglect of Quinton” saying Quinton’s babysitter told law enforcement that “they had observed bruises on Quinton and that Quinton sometimes seemed not to want to go home” with Leilani.

Leilani’s previous drug use is mentioned, as well as her behavior while law enforcement agencies were searching a landfill for her son.

The motion specifically mentions an instance where Leilani was seen “partying” on Tybee Island, and “insisted to the media” the she believed her son had been abducted. During that time- she gave an exclusive interview to WTOC where she discussed that belief.

“We’re just hoping that he’s in somebody’s house and they’re feeding him and maybe they wanted a baby or couldn’t have a baby. Maybe they thought they were his savior. That’s our best hope at this point,” Simon said before her arrest.

Pine says, “They’re gonna try and take all of those things and say, a lady in that circumstance with all this other evidence is enough to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that she did this, and it’s sure as heck not a smoking gun.”

Pine says that the introduction of this amount of intrinsic evidence shows that the prosecution may not have things like direct eyewitnesses but that by having a judge decide whether it’s issible now, it’ll look better before a jury.

“Instead of having it look like a giant mess in front of a jury, these issues get sorted out in advance, and it just kind of will go to having a cleaner looking trial,” says Pine.

The hearing on whether this evidence can be itted into a trial is coming up within the next two months. A trial is scheduled to take place in October.

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