| For Immediate Release Case # 09HF1665
October 15, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
HUSBAND OF 50 YEARS TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR MURDERING WIFE BY SHOOTING HER IN THE HEAD WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING
*Defendant was originally charged with attempted murder; victim died three weeks after being shot
NEWPORT BEACH – A husband of 50 years previously charged with attempting to murder his wife by shooting her four times in the head and once in the wrist now faces murder charges after his wife died from her injuries three weeks after the attack. Kenneth Joseph Leake, 75, Costa Mesa, is expected to be arraigned tomorrow, Oct. 16, 2009, on one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. He faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison if convicted. He is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. in Department H-1, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.
Leake was previously charged on Sept. 21, 2009, with one felony count of attempted murder and one felony count of elder abuse with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a firearm, personal use of a deadly weapon, personal discharge of a firearm, personally inflicting great bodily injury, and personally inflicting great bodily injury to an elder.
At approximately 12:00 p.m. on Sept. 17, 2009, Leake is accused of shooting his 72-year-old wife, Jane Doe, five times while she was sleeping inside their Costa Mesa home. The defendant is accused of shooting her four times in the head and shooting her once in the wrist using a .32 caliber handgun. Leake is accused of then leaving the firearm on the dining room table. The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) arrested Leake outside of his home after neighbors called 9-1-1.
Jane Doe was transported to Western Medical Center, where she never regained consciousness after undergoing surgery to remove the bullets in her brain. The victim died Oct. 8, 2009, as a result of swelling in her brain due to the gunshot wounds.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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