Testimony continues in Leilani Simon trial on Friday

Published: Oct. 18, 2024 at 9:36 AM EDT|Updated: Oct. 18, 2024 at 5:54 PM EDT
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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Leilani Simon, the woman accused of killing her son Quinton Simon, is on trial in Chatham County.

The jury will decide Simon’s fate on a 19 count indictment which accuses Simon of malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another, and making false statements.

WTOC’s livestream is on a 30 minute delay per the judge’s rules.

You can watch our previous trial livestream below:

Before testimony began

Before the jury was seated for the final day of testimony this week, the prosecution brought up some of Simon’s actions the day prior. They claimed Simon mouthed something to the last witness who took the stand Thursday, yet the defense claimed she was speaking to them.

The judge laid out fresh guidelines and the jury entered the courtroom.

Friday testimony

Quinton’s babysitter Michelle McCarta was the state’s first witness, and Assistant District Attorney Jenny Parker took over questioning McCarta, who had been babysitting Quinton for approximately eight months, until he disappeared.

Michelle McCarta, who had introduced herself to us here at WTOC in previous interviews as Diana McCarta, delved into her relationship with Quinton and his siblings, as well as what she called Simon’s mistreatment of the little boy.

We heard from McCarta’s daughter on Thursday, who testified she saw Simon verbally, and at points, physically abuse Quinton.

McCarta testified that Quinton was at her home five to six days a week. McCarta says she was close with Quinton, occasionally letting him spend the night at her house. She says she didn’t mind because she loved him and he loved her family and that he was better off at her house anyway.

She says Simon wasn’t usually the one to pick him up, Daniel Youngkin was, but when Simon did come to get him, he would often cry and not want to go home.

She stated that Leilani treated her children differently, showing her other son more love than she did Quinton. She said that Simon would only let Quinton eat after his older brother was finished.

The prosecution asked the witness about Quinton’s disappearance. When McCarta learned he was missing, she went to Leilani’s house and discovered the police hadn’t been called yet.

McCarta testified the day Quinton was reported missing, Youngkin asked McCarta if she had Quinton. She said she went down to the Simon home to see what was going on.

She says she was surprised at Simon’s behavior.

“She wasn’t crying. I feel like if something was to happen to one of my kids, I would be hysterical and I also would be out looking for my child,” said McCarta.

“Ms. McCarta, do you understand that different people respond to different stressors different ways,” said Hilliard.

“I just don’t... when something’s wrong with one of your children, I think you respond with crying, upset, and looking. And calling 911 first before you called anyone else,” McCarta replied.

McCarta testified that she urged Simon to call 911, which she eventually did.

When the defense questioned the babysitter, Leilani’s Defense Attorney Martin Hillard accused McCarta of strongly disliking Simon and her parenting style, as well as projecting those beliefs on other. He also mentioned how people respond differently in stressful situations, and that Leilani’s reaction to his disappearance was normal.

“Whenever you got over there, you said she was screaming and upset. Correct,” aske Hilliard.

“She was screaming, but, she wasn’t crying. I feel like that if something was to happen to one of my kids, I would be hysterical and I would also be out looking for my child,” responded McCarta.

We’ve also seen several Chatham County Police officers on the stand, including l. Gary Scott Coleman, who took us through security video that he says showed Simon’s car in the area of Azalea Mobile Home Plaza that morning.

l. Coleman testified the video shows Simon’s car traveling from the road her home was on into the mobile home park. The video is from just after 1 a.m. on Oct. 5.

CD says the video shows Simon’s Dodge Journey turning from Buckhalter Road onto Ogeechee, and into Azalea Mobile Home Plaza.

It doesn’t stop at the Chevron station like Simon originally claimed to police she did.

It travels to the area that l. Coleman says is the dumpsters and sits for about two minutes before leaving.

Nowhere in the video can you ever see who’s driving, or if the driver gets out of the car.

Coleman testified to the prosecution that there was a camera pointed right at the dumpsters that didn’t work.

“This camera is not made for outside, and we all live in Savannah. It’s humid, it’s hot. This is not a ruggedized camera, and we were not able to pull any images or video from this camera at all,” said l. Coleman.

Coleman also testified that they even handed the camera over to the FBI to see if they could pull anything, but they were also unable to.

The defense making a point to highlight that in the video the prosecution did present, you can’t see who’s driving or even a license plate.

You can view a timeline of events in the case below:

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