Guilty Verdict in 2018 Rolling Hills Estates Mall Murder Case

Guilty Verdict in Susan Leaves Murder Case

• ⚖️ A 7-year legal battle concluded with a guilty verdict for Sherry Lynn Townsend, 47, for the first-degree murder of Susan Leaves.
• 📍 The crime occurred in May 2018 in the parking garage of The Promenade on the Peninsula shopping center in Rolling Hills Estates.

Victim and Family Impact

• 💔 Susan Leaves, a 66-year-old retired nurse from Rancho Palos Verdes, was viciously stabbed 17 times in a robbery.
• 😔 Her stepson, Fred Leaves, described Susan as one of the kindest people he's ever known, stating she would have willingly given money and did not deserve to die.
• 👨‍🦳 Fred's father, Susan's husband of 25 years, passed away in 2022 without seeing justice for his wife.

Details of the Crime and Investigation

• 🎯 Prosecutors stated Townsend targeted the mall to find an easy victim to steal money from to send her daughter to a cheerleading competition.
• 🩸 Susan Leaves' throat was slit, and she was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and upper body.
• 🏥 Susan was a Type 1 diabetic, and her insulin pump was in her purse, which she apparently tried to hold onto during the robbery.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

• 🚓 Townsend was initially arrested shortly after the murder but released, then rearrested over 5 years later.
• 🗓️ Sentencing for Sherry Lynn Townsend is scheduled for January 23rd, where she faces 26 years to life in state prison.