Billie Jo Howell: Slain Quinton Simon's grandmom spotted wearing suicide prevention vest in police mugshot

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'You wonder what he had to endure': Quinton Simon's babysitter breaks silence after mom Leilani's arrest

Has Quinton Simon's body been found? Mom Leilani Simon charged with missing toddler's murder

The remains of the bones discovered in a dump in Chatham County were subsequently identified as being Quinton's by forensic analysis. Weeks prior to Howell's arrest, her daughter Leilani Simon, 22, was charged with malice murder, hiding another person's death, false reporting, and making false statements in relation to her son's death. WRDW reported that Leilani had checked herself into a rehab facility before being arrested and after receiving weeks of media attention. The decision to alert the FBI of her daughter's next action was decided by Betterton after her daughter told her mother she intended to withdraw herself from the program, a report said.

“Her mother had to make one of the hardest decisions of her life, and call the FBI agents and let them know that she was signing herself out, and that she could not come back here, and that she was going to be a flight risk, because she could not come back here because she was going to be back on the streets doing God knows what with God knows who,” the family friend said. Billie’s friend says that at the request of the FBI, Billie picked Leilani up from the treatment center and spent the last few free hours Leilani had with her. “They asked her to buy some time. So, she went and picked up Leilani’s belongings from another center, and then she took Leilani to have her last free meal,” the family friend said as per the outlet. She then took Leilani to the Savannah FBI office, where just a few hours later she was arrested and charged with Quinton’s murder.