A man has been charged with murder in the 2015 killing of his wife, more than a decade after investigators in California had concluded she died by suicide, according to prosecutors and media reports.
Michael Anthony Leon, of Antioch, is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Brenda Joyce Leon, in the head and faking her suicide note, as well as a suicide scene, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing prosecutors and court records. Brenda was 52 when she died.
Michael, 66, was arrested on a murder charge at his home in connection with her death on Thursday, January 22, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said in a Friday, January 23, news release.
He is also charged with the personal use of a firearm causing death, according to prosecutors.
Michael’s arrest comes after his daughters, Michelle Wonders and Monica Tagas, previously alleged their mother was killed in an August 2021 wrongful death lawsuit, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
In the filing reviewed by the newspaper, the Leons’ daughters wrote that a “John Doe” had “intentionally shot” Brenda and “forged a suicide note and otherwise falsified evidence at the scene of the killing to give the impression that (their mother) had killed herself.”
“Brenda Joyce’s family never lost faith that the truth would come to light,” Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement.
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After the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit revisited Brenda’s September 28, 2015, death, investigators concluded her death was actually a homicide, according to prosecutors.
Authorities had initially determined her death was a suicide after they found her body at her home, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The revived investigation “uncovered previously unknown digital evidence and new factual details that were central to the decision to file charges,” the district attorney’s office said of the case against Michael.
Information on Michael’s legal representation was not immediately available.
Michael previously ran for mayor of Antioch while he worked for an HVAC company three years before Brenda died, SFGATE reported. He received more than 1,700 votes but was not elected.
Attorney Matthew Guichard, who represents Michael’s daughters, said that the women filed a new wrongful death lawsuit against their father on January 23, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“The family is ecstatic,” Guichard told the newspaper. “The family first reached out to me in 2017… It’s been a long, hard road.”
Michael and Brenda had been married for 33 years, according to her online obituary, which describes him as her “loving husband.”
Brenda “lived life as a friend to all and carried the qualities of loyalty, selflessness, and unconditional love with her throughout her time on this Earth,” reads her obituary. “Family and friends would describe her as a loving and proud mother who found true happiness in watching her family grow.”
The obituary says Brenda’s “greatest pleasure and ultimate solace” came from caring for her grandchildren: Audrey, who was 4 when she died, and Elliot, who was 1 at the time.
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“Her constant love for her family quietly taught everyone who knew her that salvation could be found in the strong bonds formed in the hearts around you,” the obituary states.
Michael is due in court for an arraignment at 1:30 p.m. local time.
If he is found guilty in Brenda’s death, he would face 50 years to life in prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
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