The grandmother of missing Georgia tot Quinton Simon, 1, apparently thinks the child died accidentally, according to a conversation she had with the child’s father.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Quinton’s mother, Leilani Simon, reported him missing on October 5; she said her current boyfriend saw the child at about 6 a.m. in the family’s Savannah home.
Later, when Simon woke up, Quinton was gone, according to what she told a 911 dispatcher. She made the 911 call shortly after 9:30 a.m., telling the dispatcher she found the door open, although Quinton isn’t able to open the door by himself.
Since then, Chatham County police have said Quinton is likely dead, calling Simon the primary and sole suspect in the case.
Quinton’s father, Henry “Bubba” Moss, shared a recorded conversation with DailyMail that he had with the tot’s grandmother, Billie Jo Howell, weeks after the disappearance. Howell had full custody of Quinton when he vanished, but she reportedly was out of town and left him in Simon’s care.
Howell: “I feel, honestly and frankly, Bubba, I’m not going to lie to you, I feel like there was an accident. I feel like something happened while Quinton was in the bathtub, and he drowned, and they were both high. That’s my theory.”
Moss: “Hell, they should have just called the police if something like that happened.”
Howell: “If you’re high as hell, man, you do stupid sh*t.”
Howell: “The police are the ones saying that she went into a traumatic state and blacked out. It’s not her saying she don’t remember. That’s what police told her. And that’s what they told me.”
Chatham County police announced earlier this month that Quinton was likely in a landfill after Simon allegedly disposed of his body in a dumpster.
Police launched an extensive search of the area, calling in help from other nearby jurisdictions as well as the FBI. So far, the landfill search has not turned up any answers but investigators said it would be a long and trying process and asked the public for patience as the search continues.
“We believe he was placed in a specific dumpster at a specific location,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley previously said. “I have every belief that we will find his remains here at the landfill.”
“We want justice for Quinton just like everybody else. And we want to find his remains, so we can give him a proper resting place.”
When local media asked Hadley why Simon has not yet been arrested, he said they are still investigating and don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize the case.
“We still have work to do,” Hadley said, adding that Simon is not considered a flight risk. “We still have an investigation to do.”
To Report Information on Quinton Simon
- Call 911 or submit a tip to the Chatham County Police Department’s Crime Tip at https://police.chathamcountyga.gov/Tips.
- Submit a tip through the CrimeStoppers online tip portal at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=757.
- A dedicated tipline has been established for the case at 912-667-3134.
Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Quinton Simon/Family Handout]
