'Sadly, we still have not found Quinton': Chatham police, FBI identify mother as prime suspect

Drew Favakeh, Savannah Morning News
·4 min read
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Speaking at a press conference at police headquarters on Thursday, Chatham County Police Department Police Chief Jeff Hadley confirmed that Leilani Simon is the primary suspect in the disappearance of her 20-month-old son Quinton Simon.

Hadley added that Simon has not been arrested and no charges have been filed.

"Sadly, we still have not found Quinton," said Hadley. "But our search and our investigation will continue, and it will continue with every available resource we have in order to get Quinton's family closure and see that justice is served in this case."

Most recent update: Chatham County Police and FBI believe missing toddler is dead, names mother as prime suspect

Quinton Simon Updates: Search dogs brought to home as Chatham County investigators analyze evidence

Watch: Chief Jeff Hadley gives an update on search for Quinton Simon

When asked why the Chatham County PD and the FBI named Simon as the primary suspect without pressing charges against her, Hadley declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Hadley said he wasn't sure where Simon was at the time of the press conference, but they don't believe she is a flight risk.

"What I can say is that the evidence so far, based on multiple interviews and search warrants has led us to the conclusion that Quinton is deceased," said Hadley. "The investigation doesn't end right there."

Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley (left) and Savannah FBI SSRA Will Clarke (right) talking about what they know about the on-going Quinton Simon case on Thursday, October 13, 2022.
Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley (left) and Savannah FBI SSRA Will Clarke (right) talking about what they know about the on-going Quinton Simon case on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

Savannah FBI SSRA (Supervisory Senior Resident Agent) Will Clarke also spoke at the press conference, saying "to the Chatham County community, our heart breaks along with yours, trying to comprehend what we believe happened here."

Last Wednesday, Clarke said the FBI deployed their child abduction rapid deployment team. Moving forward, the FBI "stands ready to deploy additional resources."

Records show previous police investigations involving mother

Before the disappearance of her youngest son, Simon, 22, had been the subject of multiple police investigations in recent years.

On April 12, 2019, a Chatham County police officer was dispatched to 5801 Garrard Avenue in reference to a trespass report. Simon wanted her brother, Paul Simon, removed and banned from the property. She believed Paul stole $100 from her mom. Because of that, she had to pay her mom back.

More: Chatham County Police set up tip line for missing toddler Quinton Simon

She claimed her brother was bragging about stealing $100 from another woman. At first, Paul told the police officer he never stole the money, but later admitted to stealing it because he didn’t have any. Simon told the police officer she wanted to press charges and Paul Simon was arrested and charged with theft by taking, which is a misdemeanor, and transported to the Chatham County Detention Center.

An investigator at the Buckhalter Road home where Quinton Simon was last seen on October 5, 2022.
An investigator at the Buckhalter Road home where Quinton Simon was last seen on October 5, 2022.

On September 7, a Chatham County police officer responded to a call for a domestic dispute at 535 Buckhalter Road. Simon told the police officer that she and her mother had a fight over clothes in the washing machine. Simon said it started when she removed her clothes so her mom, Billie Jo Howell, could use the washer. That led to a larger argument between the two, specifically about “how things were.”

Her mom, Simon said, got into her face and shoved her. Simon fell into a wall, injuring and bruising her elbow. Both her older child and Quinton witnessed the fight. She said that she called the police because she “did not want her kids around that.” Another reason Simon called, she told the police officer, was because she was on probation.

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Howell, however, told the police officer a slightly different story, saying Simon instigated the fight. While the fight did start with the use of the washing machine, Howell claimed she was having other issues with her daughter. She was frustrated because she took care of the household and paid all of the bills, and yet Simon, her two children and her boyfriend lived there. Howell’s son told police he was tired because Simon had a history of stealing from her mother and buying drugs — a problem that went back “very far.” She admitted to shoving Simon, but only after Simon “screamed at the top of her lungs in her face.”

Vehicles from various law enforcement and other agencies sit outside the Buckhalter Road home where Quinton Simon was last seen before his disappearance.
Vehicles from various law enforcement and other agencies sit outside the Buckhalter Road home where Quinton Simon was last seen before his disappearance.

Simon told the police officer she did not want to press charges against her mom. Howell, however, told the police officer she may have to evict Simon, her boyfriend and her two children. One day later, Howell filed a dispossessory notice with the Chatham County Magistrate Court to evict Simon and her boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin, from the home on Buckhalter Road.

On Oct. 5 at 9:42 a.m., Simon made the 911 call for the missing child. In the police report, she is listed as the “complainant” and the “victim.” Eight days later, though, CCPD and the FBI named her the prime suspect in Quinton's disappearance and what they believe to be his likely death.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Quinton Simon case: Chatham Police Chief says mother prime suspect