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Quinton Simon - Leilani Simon Murder Trial · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, and welcome back for another deep dive with us.
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  Today we're diving into the Leilani Simon trial.
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  Speaker 2: Oh okay, you.
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  Speaker 1: Know this case out of Georgia, the mother accused of
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  killing her twenty month old son, Quentin, back in twenty
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  twenty two, you guys said us. A ton of news
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  reports on this one.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and wow, it's a tough one.
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  Speaker 1: It really is just a heartbreaking case.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is one that kind of gets under
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  your skin, you.
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  Speaker 1: Know, absolutely, And there are so many twists and turns, Yeah,
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  that we need to go all the way back to
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  the beginning to try to even start making sense of it.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: So October fifth, twenty twenty two, it's a Wednesday. Leilani
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  Simon calls nine to one to one in Savannah, Georgia,
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  to report that her son Quentin is missing.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, and what happens?
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  Speaker 1: She says, he was in his playpen and just vanished.
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  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.
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  Speaker 1: And right away, Wow, investigators start noticing that her story
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  has some holes in it, and.
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  Speaker 2: That's often a red flag. Right.
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  Speaker 1: He's like that old saying it's always the husband. It's
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  the mother's story that isn't adding up. So at first,
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  she tells police that she didn't leave the house at
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  all that night, Okay, but then she changes her story. Yeah,
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  and so she went out for a quick run to
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  the store to grab some oriole okay, you know, for teething.
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  But here's the thing. What's that police were able to
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  use footage from those flock cameras and you those cameras
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  that are popping up everywhere these days. Oh yeah, and
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  the footage shows that her car was definitely moving when
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  she said that she was at home.
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  Speaker 2: So they caught her in a lie.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, they basically did. Wow. And so then she changes
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  her story again.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: This time she says she snuck out to meet with
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  the drug dealer, oh no, to pay off a debt.
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  Speaker 2: Wow.
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  Speaker 1: And this is all happening while there's this massive search
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  going on to try to find the little Quintin. Yeah,
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  you've got the police, the FBI, volunteer.
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  Speaker 2: Tons of people looking for this little boy.
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  Speaker 1: Everyone's just hoping and praying that they're going to find
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  him safe. Right, But then the investigation leads them to
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  the landfill. Oh no, and that's where they find his remains.
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  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, that's awful.
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  Speaker 1: How sad weeks later. Wow, severely decomposed.
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  Speaker 2: That's just heartbreak.
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  Speaker 1: It's just the worst possible news.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is, and it really just begs the question,
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  how could a mother do this to her own child?
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  Speaker 1: That's what everyone's wondering, and that's what this trial is
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  going to try to get to the bottom of.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and we're going to talk about all of that
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  right after this break.
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  Speaker 1: I can't even imagine getting that news, you know, that
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  your trial's remains were found in a landfill. Just awful.
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  And that discovery really changed everything about this case.
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  Speaker 2: Oh absolutely. It shifted from a missing person's case to
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  a homicide investigation, and everyone wanted answers.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what this trial's trying to do, right exactly.
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  Speaker 2: The prosecution is laying out their case, calling witnesses, presenting evidence,
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  all to convince the jury that Lelani Simon is responsible
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  for her son's death.
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  Speaker 1: So what have we learned so far? What's been the
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  most compelling testimony or evidence?
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  Speaker 2: Well, one of the things that stood out to me
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  was the testimony of the first responders who went to
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  Simon's house that day. Okay, they said there was no
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  blood evidence in the house.
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  Speaker 1: That's strange. You'd think, I don't know, if something like
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  what the prosecution is alleging happened, there would be some sign.
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  Speaker 2: Of it, right, right, And the defense jumped on that, said,
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  it really weakens the prosecution's case.
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  Speaker 1: So how did the prosecution respond to that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, remember those flock cameras we talked about. Yeah, they
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  presented footage of Simon's vehicle at the dumpster where Quintin's
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  remains were found.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, So that puts her at the scene of the crime.
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  Speaker 2: It does, and the timing of the footage contradicts her
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  alibi that she was at home.
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  Speaker 1: So that's pretty damning.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and it really shows how technology is changing how
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  these cases are investigated and prosecuted.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, but it's not all technology, is it. There's still
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  the human element to all of this. And I'm thinking
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  specifically about the testimony of Simon's boyfriend at the time,
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  Danny Youngkin. He didn't check on Quentin that morning after
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  Simon reported him missing, and that's just bizarre to me.
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  Speaker 2: The prosecution really zeroed in on that.
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  Speaker 1: And then there's the medical examiner's testimony, which is just
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  hard to hear.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Doctor Angie Christiansen, a forensic anthropologist testified that there
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  was evidence of trauma on Quentin's remains.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wow, so that suggests there was some sort of
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  foul play.
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  Speaker 2: Involved here, right, And it gets even more interesting from
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  here because the prosecution is trying to establish a pattern
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  of behavior to prove their case.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so what do you mean by that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, a lot of the witness testimony is about that.
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  We heard from Simon's neighbors, friends, even her own brother.
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  Speaker 1: And what do they say.
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  Speaker 2: They described Simon's behavior in the time leading up to
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  Quentin's disappearance as erratic and troubling. There was talk of
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  drug use, anger issues, neglect of her children.
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  Speaker 1: So the prosecution is saying that this is all evidence
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  of a possible motive exactly.
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  Speaker 2: They're painting this picture of a young mother who was
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  in over her head and struggling.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure the defense has something to say about.
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  Speaker 2: All of this though, right of course, and they've been
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  pushing back pretty hard. They're saying that just because someone
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  has flaws, even serious ones, it doesn't make them a
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  murder that's true. And they're saying that a lot of
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  the testimony is just accusations without concrete proof.
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  Speaker 1: That's a good point. And even if it is all true,
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  even if Leilani Simon was struggling and making bad decisions,
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  it still doesn't answer the biggest question here. If she
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  didn't kill Quentin, then who did?
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  Speaker 2: And that's the question the defense wants the jury to
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  be thinking about.
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  Speaker 1: It really is the biggest question, isn't it? If it
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  wasn't her, then who And you're right, the prosecution has
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  to prove that it.
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  Speaker 2: Was her exactly, and the defense is really focusing on that.
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  They're saying that there's just not enough evidence to say
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  for sure that Leilani Simon is the one who killed Quentin.
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  Speaker 1: So they're saying that there's reasonable doubt. Yeah, but what's
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  their explanation, what do they think happened?
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  Speaker 2: Well, they haven't really offered an alternative. Really, Yeah, it's
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  a common strategy in these cases. They don't have to
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  prove anything. All they have to do is poke holes
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  in the prosecution's case.
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  Speaker 1: So they're basically saying that the prosecution is wrong, but
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  they're not saying how exactly.
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  Speaker 2: They're saying that maybe the police were so focused on
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  Leilani Simon that they miss something or someone.
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  Speaker 1: So it could have been someone else entirely, that's what the.
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  Speaker 2: Defense wants the jury to consider.
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  Speaker 1: It's all just so sad. This little boy is dead,
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  his family is devastated, and we still don't know exactly
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  what happened.
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  Speaker 2: It really is a tragedy, and in the end, it's
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  up to those twelve jurors to decide what happens next.
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  Speaker 1: And they have a tough job, don't they. All we
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  can do is hope that they reach the right decision.
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  Speaker 2: It's all we can ever ask for in these cases,
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  right that justice has served, whatever that looks like.
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  Speaker 1: Well said, this deep dive has been a tough one,
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  but it's so important to keep talking about these cases.
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  I agree, because even though it's hard to hear about,
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  even though it's heartbreaking, the truth matters, and hopefully by
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  talking about it, by shedding light on these dark corners
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  of our world, we can help prevent it from happening again.
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  Speaker 2: I hope so too.
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  Speaker 1: Until next time, thanks for joining us for another deep dive.