Quinton Simon: Obituary remembers Georgia toddler found dead as 'smart, loving, little monkey'
Quinton Simon (Chatham County Police Department)
CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. - Quinton Simon, the 21-month-old Georgia toddler whose remains were found in a Savannah landfill earlier last week, was remembered in an obituary published Tuesday as "a bright, happy, fun, smart, loving, little monkey."
Simon was originally reported missing on the morning of Oct. 5 by his mother, 22-year-old Leilani Simon, who told a 911 dispatcher that she awoke to find her door open and believed someone had entered her home to take her son from his playpen.
After spending a month combing through 1.2 million pounds of trash, authorities found Quinton's remains. On Monday, the FBI confirmed that the bones found were the little boy's.
"This is a heartbreaking development," Police Chief Jeff Hadley said at a press conference. "From the beginning, we were hopeful we would find him alive and unharmed. But evidence has always pointed to the mother and we believe his remains were found in the landfill."
Leilani Simon (Chattham County Sheriff's Office)
Officers had previously arrested Leilani Simon on charges of malice murder, concealing the death of another person, false reporting and making false statements involving her son.
Tuesday, the Thomas C. Strickland and Sons funeral home released an obituary for the toddler, listing his death date as Oct. 5.
He would say "thank-you" no matter what it was, even if he was the one doing something for someone else," the obituary reads. "In the mornings, if the music was on, he would dance, smiling, spinning in a circle, and clapping."
The young boy is said to have always gave everyone love.
"Every time he did something he was proud of, he would come to whoever was close by and ask for 'boom', which was a little fist bump," it read.
Quinton's mother is listed as a "survivor" in the obituary, as well as his father, two siblings, grandparents and more. Fox News reports that his siblings were placed in foster care after his disappearance.
Funeral arrangements are still pending at this time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.