Press Conference
21st. November.
Chief - This afternoon, Chatham County Police Dept. detectives arrested, 22 yr. old, Leilani Simon, and charged her with malice murder, concealing the death of another person, false reporting and making false statements, in connection with the disappearance and death of her son, 20 mth. old, Quinton Simon. Leilani Simon is being held at the Chatham County Detention Centre and is awaiting a bond hearing. We do not anticipate any other arrests in this case. She has been the sole suspect from the beginning.
On Friday, our search teams at the Waste Management Landfill, found what they believed were human remains. This afternoon, the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, confirmed that they are, in fact, human remains. Additional testing, including a DNA analysis, is being conducted and we have every reason to believe that this will confirm the remains are Quinton's.
This is a heart breaking development for everyone who loved Quinton. For the many people who came to know him after his disappearance, and for our department. When we first received the call that Quinton was missing, we were hopeful that we would find him alive and unharmed. But as we have been telling you for weeks, all of our evidence pointed to his mother being responsible for his death and disappearance and his remains being found in the landfill.
I would like to thank the many people and agencies who worked hard to ensure that Quinton was found. That he would have a proper resting place and that justice would be served. First and foremost, I want to thank the FBI. We are incredibly grateful for their invaluable assistance, their expertise, their manpower, resources and guidance are unmatched and were crucial in our efforts to find Quinton. They were on the scene within three hours of Quinton being reported missing and have assisted with every aspect of this investigation. The resources they poured into the landfill search are extraordinary and are the reason that we were able to find Quinton. I can't thank them enough. Chatham County Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division also deserves special recognition. Their devotion to Quinton to making sure that this crime did not go unsolved, is an example of police work at its finest. Our detectives worked tirelessly and were determined to follow every lead and uncover every piece of evidence in this case. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Chatham County Sheriff's Office and Department of Natural Resources, all had officers searching the landfill alongside our officers and the FBI. The support of the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency, Chatham Emergency Services, Chatham Occupational Safety and Health, Savannah Police and Savannah Fire also were invaluable in this massive effort. Finally, I would like to thank the many people who showed their support for our department during this incredibly difficult and important investigation. We appreciate those who kept faith in the system and waited patiently for our evidence we needed to make sure Quinton has every opportunity to receive the justice he deserves.
FBI - One month ago, we began this landfill search alongside Chatham County Police Department, with one purpose in mind, and that was to find Quinton and to bring him home. On Friday, search crews from the FBI in Chatham County found what we preliminarily believe are partial remains from a human child. Those bones were immediately sent to our lab in Quantico, VA. Additional testing for potential confirmation is now underway. It could be days before we have final results. What happened to this 20 mth. old child is unthinkable. No child should be harmed by anyone, let alone the person in their lives that should be their protector.
This investigation does not end here. There is more work to do. The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to find justice for Quinton. Thank you.
Chief - We'll try to answer some questions that you may have. Just be mindful that there's many we may not be able to answer, but we'll be willing to take some questions at this time.
Reporter - Did you guys say you found bones in the landfill?
Chief - We found human remains. Yes ma'am.
Reporter - Do you believe that Quinton Simon was alive when he was in the landfill? Do you believe he died before he was put in that dumpster?
Chief - I can't answer that question.
Reporter - You charged Leilani with murder. Can you speak on whether you think it was accidental or intentional?
Chief - I can't speak to that.
Reporter - Can you talk a little bit about what evidence y'all confirmed or learned on Friday that led you all to go ahead and make that arrest today, instead of earlier on?
Chief - Well, as we had said from the beginning with the landfill - We had every belief that Quinton was there in the landfill. Having found what we found on Friday and the preliminary findings from the FBI, that we got today, led us to make an arrest today. We feel that we have a very strong case. We have put thousands of hours into this and we believed that this was the right move, today, to be able to do that. She doesn't deserve a Thanksgiving, quite frankly, if I can go off script a little bit (
yes you definitely can Chief). Quinton deserves that. (
Chief choked up at this point).
Reporter - You said you didn't believe any other arrests would be made. Are you guys looking into Billie Jo at all?
Chief - We are not.
Reporter - And so can you just confirm that you all were looking to find some sort of evidence from the body to go ahead and make an arrest?
Chief - That's correct.
Reporter - Would the charges have been the same for this case, had you not made that discovery on Friday? Say, if this case had of continued and the search found nothing in the landfill, would you still have been able to make a case for him to have justice? How significant was this find?
Chief - Well, it was very significant, obviously, for obvious reasons. We do believe we had a strong case, otherwise, but that would have been in counsel with the Chatham County District Attorney's Office, but we believe we had a strong case otherwise.
Reporter - (
inaudible) very personal about this and you said that in that landfill, that day, with the (
inaudible) behind you - you said 'we want to make sure we bring Quinton home and give him a final place of rest' you wanted to be able to make sure he wasn't in that dump. On Friday, how personal was that find for you?.
Chief - Well, it was very personal, quite frankly. There's a lot of aspects to that. I mean, knowing the hard work that went into this investigation, everybody, not just Chatham County Police Department, but everybody that chipped in, the FBI, GBI, DNR, Chatham County Sheriff's Office, the civilians, you name it, from A-Z, we were 100% committed to bringing justice for Quinton. And to appreciate the amount of human effort, the amount of human emotion that goes into a case like this, and to appreciate, hopefully, that this comes to a conclusion in terms of a conviction and things of that nature. You know, you have a lot of emotions about that. You also have a lot of emotions as just a general human being, as a person who has children. You see the impact that that has on people, so, if you step back and take a moment to kind of absorb that, I think that if you didn't have any feelings about that, you might have to ask yourself a few questions.
Reporter - (
inaudible) outside of the landfill that you guys had on Friday - Is there any evidence you found or searches that you guys did (
inaudible) that also led to the arrest?
Chief - I can't answer that.
Reporter - Has Leilani's status of flight risk changed? Did it change prior to the arrest?
Chief - No.
Reporter - You say this is preliminary. What.. you would assume there isn't other human remains in that landfill but until you get it 100% confirmed that these are Quinton's remains, what made you confident to make the arrest today?
Chief - I can't get into the high level of detail, but just on some of the preliminary information that we got from the FBI, where we have a high level of confidence that those are Quinton's remains and we felt that we needed to make the arrest today, because that was the right thing to do.
Reporter - What kind of remains are we talking, when you say human remains? Any more specific details about that?
Chief - No, ma'am.
Reporter - Chief, this case has been the one that has made national headlines. There's been a lot a pressure against you, personally, with your name coming out of the mouths of protestors, out of the mouths of people in the community. You've gotten a lot of pressure about making this arrest. Standing here today and knowing that you had this key piece of evidence that you just said - What kind of message do you send to the community? To the people a, that had your back and said 'yes, we're going to wait on the police to do this', and to the people who said 'this arrest should've happened days ago?
Chief - Well, you know, I didn't honestly feel a lot of pressure, quite frankly. Only because I believe that our investigative process, the expertise, that we were seeking that was around us, you know, having a little bit of experience, you know, in this profession. I understand.. I understood people's perspective. I understood that, you know, some people had their own strong feelings about when an arrest should be made and things that were going on, but we stayed focus on what we know and what we know how to do and in conjunction with the FBI, we stayed the course. And so, to those folks that supported us, to the citizens that believed in us and believed in our department, I thank you. And for those that had questions, that's their right to do so, this is America, you can have all the opinions you want, but, you know, I'm just so proud of our team and where we're at today. (
Chokes up again).
Reporter - As far as a conclusion - Do you feel there's a sense of relief, as far as you all, officers and FBI agents when it comes to an arrest to go ahead and move forward with this?
Chief - Sure there is. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that there was some weight lifted off of the organisation and particularly those detectives and investigators who were completely and 100% committed to seeking justice for Quinton. So, there is a little bit of relief, but be mindful there's still a lot of work to do and they're dedicated to doing that and we want to see this to a successful prosecution.
Reporter - Is the landfill search over?
Chief - We haven't made that decision yet. That's a decision point that we'll come to once we're able to get some more analysis done and we'll confer with the FBI and see what the best course of action is.
Reporter - Leilani is also charged with making false statements. What false statements did she make?
Chief - I can't get into that.
Reporter - Is she co-operating with police right now?
Chief - She's at the Chatham County Detention Centre right now.
Reporter - If I can go back to the initial question I asked about whether or not you guys found human bones in the landfill (
inaudible)?.
Chief - Well, human remains. Some of them are human bones, and some other evidentiary matters.
Reporter - As far as the bond - Have you all had any update as to when that'll be?
Chief - I do not have that confirmed. I do believe it'll take place tomorrow, but I don't have any time or any confirmation on that. We did take her to the detention centre rather late in the day, so I'm sure that information will come out pretty soon.
Reporter - Leilani made a statement to me that she would turn herself in. Was there any talk of giving her that opportunity?
Chief - No.
Reporter - You said from the beginning when, we were at the landfill, you said that there was a very specific dumpster that this child was put in - Can you just give us the location of that? How far this was from the house where Quinton was last seen?
Chief - I can't give you that information.
Reporter - Can you give us an estimate on how long the analysis is going to take, if you guys know?
Chief - It could take up to a week.
I have one last comment and I want to thank you guys, (
chokes up) because, just like sometimes law enforcement gets the short end of the stick, you guys get the short end too and you guys have been amazing. Our local media throughout this, you've been fair, you've been direct, you've asked good questions and you've given us some deference when we need some deference. And so I just wanted to say thank you for your work that you do everyday. Thank you.
