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Court preparations for the murder trial of the mother of a toddler

THANK YOU, PAT, LEILANI SIMON…THE WOMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING HER OWN CHILD AND DUMPING HIS BODY IN A DUMPSTER…IS CLOSING TO A SCHEDULED TRIAL DATE…WITH A HEARING THIS AFTERNOON. WJCL 22 NEWS' AJ SISSON WAS THERE – AND HAS THE RESULTS. YOU START ALMOST AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE… FOR TODAY'S RELATIVELY SHORT HEARING… THE STATE IS DISCUSSING THREE MOTIONS YOU FILED… IN THE COURTROOM TODAY… FROM THE STATE PRESENTED SEVEN ITEMS OF EVIDENCES… INCLUDING EXCERPTS OF CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN LEILANI AND DETECTIVES… WITNESSES… AND HER EX-BOYFRIEND DANIEL YOUNGKIN… THEY SAY THE EVIDENCE SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE TRIAL… SO THE JURY CAN SEE IT… JUDGE TAMMY STOKES PRESENTED THE EVIDENCE AFTER ADVISING… HOWEVER… THE DEFENSE BELIEVES THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED… DOES NOT ANSWER THE UNDERLYING QUESTION OF THE CASE … SOT “THE ULTIMATE QUESTION IN THIS CASE, And that is: Did this defendant commit the crime she is accused of? All of these personal things are irrelevant to the crucial question, and frankly our position is that the state is only offering them to make her look unstable and bad. VO CONTINUED: The other two motions … to seal redacted information … and to exclude inadmissible evidence … were not contested … AJ TAG: There is another hearing scheduled for September 17th … of which Judge Tammy Stokes says … she is there in case anything else needs to be said … before the judge

Leilani Simon trial: Hearing addresses question of what evidence will be admitted in toddler murder case

Leilani Simon will go on trial in October for the murder of her young son.

Leilani Simon, the Chatham County mother accused of killing her toddler Quentin Simon in 2022, attended a court hearing Friday, shortly before her trial date. Authorities allege Simon killed her child and then dumped his body in a trash can. His remains were discovered weeks later at a local landfill.RELATED: Quinton Simon: A full timeline surrounding toddler's Savannah death, mother investigatedThe state presented seven pieces of evidence on Friday, including conversations between Simon and investigators, witnesses and her ex-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin.They believe this evidence should be included at trial for the jury to see.Robert Persse, Simon's defense attorney, argued that the evidence presented by the state does not address the crux of the case.”The crucial question in this case … is whether the defendant committed the crime she is accused of,” he said, “… irrelevant to the crucial question are all these personal things that we frankly think the state is offering just to make her look unstable and bad.”Judge Tammy Stokes deliberated on the evidence.RELATEDThe Savannah home where Quinton Simon lived is for saleLeilani Simon charged with murder of her 20-month-old son QuintonDefense opposed two other motions fails to seal redacted information and exclude inadmissible evidence.Another hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17 to resolve any remaining questions before the murder trial begins Oct. 9.Below file video: Quinton Simon's family questioned about what happened to Savannah toddler

CHATHAM COUNTY, Georgia —

Leilani Simon, the Chatham County mother accused of killing her toddler Quentin Simon in 2022, attended a court hearing Friday, shortly before her trial date.

Authorities allege Simon killed their child and then dumped his body in a trash can. His remains were discovered weeks later at a local landfill.

RELATED: Quinton Simon: A complete timeline of Savannah toddler's death and investigation into mother

The state presented seven pieces of evidence on Friday, including conversations between Simon and investigators, witnesses and her ex-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin.

They believe that this evidence should be presented at trial for the jury to see.

Robert Persse, Simon's defense attorney, argued that the evidence presented by the state did not touch on the core of the case.

“The crucial question in this case is whether the defendant committed the crime she is accused of,” he said. “Irrelevant to that crucial question are all these personal items, and frankly, our position is that the state is offering them up just to make her look unstable and bad.”

Judge Tammy Stokes heard the evidence.

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The defense did not object to two further requests to seal redacted information and exclude inadmissible evidence.

Another hearing is scheduled for September 17 to resolve any remaining questions before the murder trial begins on October 9.

Below: Quinton Simon's family is asked what happened to the toddler from Savannah

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