Leilani Simon's ex-boyfriend testifies at jury trial, agreed to wiretapping of hotel room

On the third day of the jury trial of Leilani Simon, charged with murder in the 2022 death of her 20-month-old son Quinton Simon, the prosecution relied on the testimony of a local detective, a forensic anthropologist involved in the nearly six-week search of a landfill for Quinton's remains, and Leilani’s then-boyfriend.

The trial began with Chatham County Superior Court Judge Tammy Stokes making a ruling concerning sexually-explicit text messages between Simon and her drug dealer, Red, who Simon visited hours before Quinton was reported missing.

Simon’s Defense Attorney Martin Hilliard claimed the text messages did not relate to material in the indictment and improperly introduced character evidence. Chatham County Special Assistant District Attorney (ADA) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Dean, meanwhile, argued that the text messages were a continuation of the story of the night Quinton was reported missing, and helped show that she made other false statements, in addition to the ones alleged in the indictment.

Stokes ultimately sided with the defense, ruling the text messages, and any mention of her relationship with “Red,” inadmissible. Stokes made the ruling without the jury present.

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What did law enforcement testify on day three?

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Forensic Anthropologist Angi Christensen testified that, in mid-November 2022, she received 12 photographs, which depicted bones. Christensen, who works out the Quantico, Virginia FBI office, determined that the bones were, in fact, human. Christensen also concluded that the age of the child was one to two years old.

Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) Detective Marian Lemmons testified to the detailed and widespread investigation of the case, with hundreds of questionnaires being conducted, which filled a five-inch binder. Over one hundred people were interviewed, Lemmons said.

At one point during the trial, Dean showed an image of an “extraction report” of Simon’s text messages from an Oct. 1 search on Safari. According to the extraction report, Simon searched whether it was common for a mother to harbor resentment towards a child because a father or another reason.

Also shown during the trial was another interrogation video where an FBI agent questioned Simon's recollection of the events leading up to Quinton's disappearance.

What did the ex-boyfriend testify to?

At the conclusion of the third day of jury trial, Dean direct-examined Simon's then-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin, peppering him with questions about the events leading up to Quinton's reported disappearance. At the time, Youngkin also lived in the Buckhalter Road home with Leilani and Quinton, among other family members.

Youngkin testified to the state of his relationship with Leilani at the time, which he said was devolving. Youngkin testified that Leilani would often try to go through the contents of his phone. Youngkin also said that he and Leilani were saving up so they could move out of the house where Leilani's parents also lived, though Leilani would often show up late to work at the warehouse.

Dean showed video footage of Youngkin running out of the warehouse when Leilani called him to tell him that Quinton was missing. Youngkin testified that he drove home, and when he got home, Leilani was sitting outside but had not called the police yet. Youngkin called the police, and when they arrived, Leilani told them her recollection of the morning Quinton reportedly went missing. Youngkin testified that he was surprised by parts of Leilani's story, saying that she had told police parts of the story she had not yet told him.

Both Lemmons and Youngkin testified that the FBI wiretapped Youngkin’s cell phone for months. On Oct. 8, 2022, Youngkin and Simon stayed in a hotel room, which was “bugged” with audio and video surveillance by the FBI. Youngkin agreed to the set-up, testifying that its purpose was "to collect evidence against Leilani." The surveillance video, displayed by Dean during trial, showed Youngkin repeatedly asking Simon her recollection of the early morning on Oct. 5 and questioning whether her story was correct. Simon accused him of working with the FBI.

Dean pointed out that Youngkin smiled as he recalled the personalities of Simon's three children. Asked by Dean whether he remembered them fondly, Youngkin said, “yes sir.”

Simon's trial will continue tomorrow morning.

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Leilani Simon's ex-boyfriend testifies at jury trial, agreed to wiretapping of hotel room