The mother of Quinton Simon, the 20-month-old Georgia boy who vanished last month, has been charged together with his disappearance and murder, police announced Monday.
“We’re deeply saddened by this case, but we’re thankful that we’re one step closer to justice for little Quinton,” the Chatham County Police Department tweeted, in announcing the arrest of Leilani Simon, 22.
The CCPD previously announced their belief that Quinton was deceased. Additionally they confirmed Simon was their prime suspect.
Police said the mom-of-three is being dropped at the Chatham County Detention Center while waiting for her bond hearing.
“We don’t anticipate another arrests in reference to this case,” police said.
Simon first reported her son missing at 9 a.m. the morning of October 5. He was reportedly last seen on the Savannah home she shared along with her boyfriend, her 3-year-old son, and her mom — who had custody of each children.
“Since that point, tens of millions of individuals have followed Quinton’s case and have been awaiting answers,” police tweeted Monday.
Simon allegedly told dispatchers she believed someone took her son from his playpen before 9 a.m., when she woke as much as an open door.
The 911 call, nevertheless, got here a number of hours after Simon texted Quinton’s babysitter, Diana McCarta, to cancel plans for the day.
“I got a text this morning saying they’d not be here — wouldn’t be babysitting them at 5:29 [a.m.]. Which was form of odd because I even have them even when she doesn’t work,” McCarta told WSAV.
The investigation into Quinton’s disappearance quickly became criminal in nature, shortly after Simon’s mother allegedly told police that she didn’t trust her daughter.
“She hasn’t at all times done the suitable thing,” Billie Jo Howell admitted in an interview.
Law enforcement had brought search dogs to the family’s home, where they scoured the inside in addition to the outdoor pool and nearby pond. The FBI was also on the scene.
Police then spent almost a month combing through an area landfill in a task they described as “massive – yet, painstaking,” within the hope of finding Quinton’s stays. No information has been released on whether or not they were eventually successful in locating any a part of the toddler’s body.
Chatham police said more details on Simon’s arrest can be released soon.
