An ex-Marine charged with murdering his girlfriend will get a new hearing to determine if his case will head to trial because prosecutors didn’t turn over evidence.
Raymond Samuel McLeod Jr’s attorneys claimed that evidence could exonerate him in the death of Krystal Mitchell, 30, at an Allied Gardens apartment nearly a decade ago.
McLeod, 41, was ordered to stand trial last fall for the 2016 strangulation death of Mitchell, which the suspect’s attorneys claim was accidental and occurred during an act of rough, but consensual sex.
During McLeod’s preliminary hearing, the defense team introduced extensive evidence regarding the defendant’s sexual history – which touched on several instances of him engaging in choking numerous, consenting partners – in a bid to show that Mitchell’s death happened inadvertently.
But in a recently filed motion to dismiss the murder case, McLeod’s attorneys said that before the preliminary hearing, prosecutors failed to turn over evidence from Mitchell’s cell phone and computer showing she shared an interest in that type of sexual activity with McLeod.
During a Friday hearing in the case, Deputy District Attorney Franciesca Balerio said the discovery issue was “an inadvertent mistake,” but not one that she believed would have changed the outcome of the preliminary hearing.
Nonetheless, Balerio moved to dismiss the current case and then immediately re-file a new murder charge against McLeod, which would afford the defense the opportunity to re-argue their case with the evidence from Mitchell’s electronic devices.
Balerio said, “While the People remain steadfast in our belief that the evidence in this case should result in a bind-over and murder conviction, we nonetheless strive to give the defense a full and fair opportunity to present this information at a preliminary hearing and safeguard the integrity of conviction on appeal.”
McLeod, who remains jailed without bail, pleaded not guilty to the new murder count on Friday. A new preliminary hearing date was set for October. He faces 25 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged.
His attorneys had argued for the case to be dismissed entirely or possibly to reduce the charge to a lesser offense such as involuntary manslaughter.
One of McLeod’s attorneys, Alison Triessl, said the defense team did not believe the failure to turn over evidence was intentional, but said having to repeat the preliminary hearing presented “a huge disadvantage to Mr. McLeod,” both financially and in terms of having to spend additional time in custody.
The defense attorney also reiterated the arguments presented at the last preliminary hearing, which was that McLeod and Mitchell were in “a loving relationship” and that “while the death was tragic, it was accidental.”
Last fall, Balerio argued McLeod showed his intent to murder Mitchell through his aggressive behavior towards her on the night of her death and his subsequent flight from the country.
After Mitchell was found dead, McLeod spent the next six years on the run, during which time he was on the U.S. Marshals’ 15 Most Wanted List, according to law enforcement officials.
In 2022, he was arrested in El Salvador, where the U.S. Marshals’ Office says he was teaching English under a different name.
Prosecutors also argued that on the night before Mitchell was found dead, McLeod and Mitchell went to a local bar where Balerio said McLeod put his hands on Mitchell, causing other patrons to intervene.
The couple was later spotted on surveillance footage at the apartment complex where Mitchell died and McLeod can be seen putting his hand on the victim’s throat as the couple entered an elevator.
In recently filed court documents, McLeod’s attorneys argue those interactions come across differently if one is aware of the couple’s sexual history.
“Without proper context, this act of Mr. McLeod placing his hand on Ms. Mitchell’s throat was portrayed as violent and a precursor to an intentional killing. However, the images and memes shared between Mr. McLeod and Ms. Mitchell show this exact same behavior. Approval of this conduct is clearly established by their personal messages,” a defense filing reads.
Last year, another of McLeod’s defense attorneys, Robert Sheahan, also argued there were no signs of a struggle or any indications that Mitchell resisted or fought back.
The attorney conceded that McLeod should have immediately called 911, but said his flight does not prove his guilt.
“We are here because Mr. McLeod made the terrible decision to leave and not explain what happened,” said Sheahan, who characterized McLeod’s flight as similar the actions of “a scared kid.”
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