Oct 21, 2024
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - The second week of testimony continued Monday in the Leilani Simon murder trial as prosecutors try to prove the Chatham County mother killed her toddler son Quinton in October 2022. The day was consumed by the testimony of FBI agents who were involved in the early investigative stages. That included FBI Special Agent Brad Snider who testified that early on, Simon’s story had notable changes which caused investigators to zero in on her as a suspect. The defense pressed Snider on that upon cross-examination, highlighting inconsistencies in interviews Snider conducted with Simon's boyfriend at the time, Danny Youngkin. MORE: Week 1 of Leilani Simon murder trial: Key takeaways, top moments Before that, however, Snider seemingly explained why Youngkin wasn't being looked at as a suspect. “Why did the investigation ultimately focus on the defendant?” Hilliard asked. “Ultimately, there were three individuals in that house, three adults in that house. And of those three adults, there was only one that continued to lie to us throughout the course of the investigation,” Snider said. The state also called on Special Agent Savannah Solomon who talked about the day Quinton's remains were found in a landfill. Day seven of the trial is expected to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. LIVE BLOG The live recording is on a 30-minute delay, per a court order. WSAV’s time stamps for Leilani Simon’s trial are set in the time of watching the recording, not as it happened in the courtroom. Please consider this difference when watching the live recording and reading the updates. Graphic content is possible. 10:47 a.m. - Judge Tammy Stokes calls the court into session. 10:54 a.m. - Special Agent Robert Corley with the FBI Jacksonville Division takes the stand. Corley analyzed phone records for some of the individuals connected to the case to determine where they were on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5, 2022. 11:01 a.m. - The state confirms with Corley that he received cell phone records for Leilani Simon, her brother, Danny Youngkin (her boyfriend at the time) and Quinton's father. 11:04 a.m. - The state and Corley walk the jury through the special agent's report. 11:23 a.m. - The defense cross-examines Corley. 11:30 a.m. - Corley is excused. 11:31 a.m. - FBI Special Agent Brad Snider takes the stand. He says he became involved in the case on Oct. 5. Snider says he questioned Leilani Simon along with Chatham County Police Department Det. Marian Lemmons. 11:36 a.m. - Snider says Simon's demeanor was inconsistent, erratic and emotionally shallow during questioning. 11:55 a.m. - Snider explains that Melissa Bray was unable to corroborate Simon's "Orajel story," a story Simon gave detectives about what she was doing the night of Oct. 4 into the early hours of Oct. 5, meeting her friend “Misty” at the Chevron gas station to get Orajel for a toothache. Simon told law enforcement that as she was in the Azalea Mobile Home Park in the early morning hours, she threw trash with pasta inside of it into the dumpsters, Snider says. Noon - The court takes a 15-minute recess. 12:20 p.m. - Court resumes. Defense attorney Martin Hilliard objects to Craig and Tim Weston being added to the witness list by the state. If the objection does not stand, Hilliard says he would like to speak with the witnesses. 12:27 p.m. - Stokes says Hilliard can have the opportunity to interview the witnesses and they will not be excluded. 12:30 p.m. - Snider is back on the stand. The state plays a video of Snider's interview with Simon, along with Special Agent Savannah Solomon, in the FBI's Savannah office. 1:48 p.m. - Snider says ultimately, in regards to the Orajel story, Simon said she hadn't met Misty that night. She stated that she found the Orajel in her car. 1:52 p.m. - Court breaks for an hourlong lunch. 3 p.m. - Court resumes. 3:04 p.m. - The defense begins its cross-examination of Snider. 3:08 p.m. - Snider says Youngkin agreed to let law enforcement set up recording devices in a hotel room to listen in on his conversation with Simon and wiretap his phone. 3:16 p.m. - Snider says Youngkin initially said he saw Quinton the morning of Oct. 5 and that he texted the babysitter that the kids were staying home. 3:20 p.m. - Attorneys are asked to approach the bench. 3:24 p.m. - Hilliard continues with his questioning. 3:25 p.m. - Snider says a pole camera was placed outside of Simon's home on Buckhalter Road for roughly 30 days. 3:28 p.m. - After Hilliard questions Snider about comments Simon's brother Paul made, attorneys are asked to approach the bench again. 3:29 p.m. - Hilliard questions Snider about various interrogation techniques. Snider says in the interview shown, they used something referred to as "strategic use of evidence." 3:30 p.m. - Snider says Simon never mentioned she committed a violent act against Quinton. 3:35 p.m. - Hilliard questions Snider about the effects of the drugs Simon was taking, including Percocet, cocaine and marijuana. 3:39 p.m. - Snider is excused. The court takes a 15-minute recess. 4:02 p.m. - Court resumes outside of the jury's presence. 4:04 p.m. - Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Dean, representing the state, says he has individual copies for jurors of photos of Quinton's remains as recovered from the landfill on Nov. 18. He says he intends to submit them as evidence through FBI Special Agent Savannah Solomon's testimony. 4:06 p.m. - Hilliard objects. He says he's concerned about handing the jury individual binders as it's meant to enflame the passions of the jury. 4:15 p.m. - The court takes a 10-minute recess as Stokes decides on the exhibit. 4:36 p.m. - Court resumes. Stokes rules the state needs to go back through the exhibit and pare down the images. 4:44 p.m. - Stokes says the images will not be shown on TV. 4:45 p.m. - The jury enters the courtroom. The state calls on Solomon, who says she became involved in the case on day one, Oct. 5. 4:49 p.m. - Solomon says Youngkin was forthcoming during questioning and was defensive of Simon. 4:50 p.m. - The state shows the jury an image of Simon's garage with a Mickey Mouse doll on the ground covered in cobwebs. Solomon says this was significant as Simon said Quinton had been reported missing with his favorite Mickey Mouse toy. 4:54 p.m. - The state shows the jury a video from Oct. 5 of Simon in an interview room. She discusses her emotional reactions. 4:56 p.m. - Solomon says that day, Simon told her she wanted a tattoo in honor of Quinton. "Was anyone yet talking about Quinton being dead?" Dean asks. "We suspected it within the investigative team but it was not discussed outside of the investigative team," Solomon responds. 5:01 p.m. - Solomon says Youngkin was the one to first bring up wiretapping the hotel room. 5:02 p.m. - Solomon says the discussions between Youngkin and Simon in the hotel room were emotional and sometimes combative. 5:05 p.m. - The state plays a video from the hotel room discussions: "Why did you lie to me about the Orajel?" Youngkin asks. "I didn't. I didn't lie to you about the Orajel," Simon says. 5:09 p.m. - Solomon recalls a conversation she had with Simon. Solomon says she told Simon she was confident they would find Quinton's remains in the landfill. Solomon says: "She said, 'He wasn't in the bag,' but it was, um, hard to characterize. It wasn't shock, which was the most surprising thing of it." 5:15 p.m. - The state shows a clip of Simon on the news: "I am not running and I am not hiding and if something does come up that I am at fault, I will take myself to the police station." 5:18 p.m. - Solomon reads a text she received from Simon on Oct. 24 at 5:45 p.m. around the time when the news clip was shown on TV. It reads in part, "I'm not lying for Danny anymore. The reason why my story bout Orajel and shit didn't make sense was cause Danny told me to say that he was the one that left." 5:25 p.m. - The state plays a phone call between Simon and Youngkin. 5:29 p.m. - Solomon recalls Nov. 18 when she was notified that a skull had been found in the landfill. 5:36 p.m. - The state shows a few photos. Solomon identifies the top half of a skull and a severed foot. 5:40 p.m. - Simon is seen wiping tears away with a tissue. 5:48 p.m. - Court breaks for a 15-minute recess. 6:06 p.m. - Hilliard starts his cross-examination of Solomon. 6:08 p.m. - Hilliard asks Solomon about the Mickey Mouse toy. "Here we are two years later and you know that it's of no importance and yet you still harp on it. Why is that?" The state objects. Stokes sustains. 6:21 p.m. - Hilliard asks Solomon about when she told Simon that Quinton was believed to be dead. "Well, you'd been questioning her for a week, right, do you think the emotion may have been worn off by then?" Hilliard asks. Solomon says that wasn't the case for the five other individuals she told. 6:31 p.m. - The state redirects, playing a video of an Oct. 12 interview with Simon at the FBI office where she talks about the tattoo she wants to get. Solomon says it sounded like an "in-memorium" tattoo, "because the other two children weren't mentioned in that conversation." 6:33 p.m. - Solomon is excused. Stokes says court will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
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