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00:08An ex who won't take no for an answer.
00:13Persistence can be a good thing.
00:16But when it tips over into stalking, it's a big red flag.
00:22A hitman who's hard to track down.
00:26It's definitely a plausible explanation.
00:30Abundance of caution seems like a good trait for a hitman.
00:36And a would-be killer who's running out of time.
00:43Now, it's more important than ever that he make this whole thing go away quickly.
00:58Megan Verikas and Leon Jacob meet in Pittsburgh in 2014.
01:08Megan works as an assistant general manager of a hotel in town.
01:14At 33 years old, she's recently separated from her husband.
01:19Leon is originally from Houston, where he's a member of a wealthy family.
01:24He's in Pittsburgh completing a surgical residency at the local hospital.
01:29Megan has noticed Leon around the hotel where she works.
01:33He's a long-term resident there.
01:36Being a doctor at that stage of one's career keeps a person busy.
01:40If you can afford to live in a hotel and avoid the upkeep of a house or an apartment, why
01:46not?
01:48Leon is charming, and the two hit it off.
01:51A handsome surgeon would be a great second act for Megan.
01:56Not long after, Megan finalizes her divorce, and she and Leon become a couple.
02:05Later that year, Leon convinces Megan to relocate with him to Houston.
02:11Leon's surgical residency in Pittsburgh didn't really work out.
02:15But he has a new job at Methodist Hospital in Houston, so the couple moves to Texas.
02:23Leon's family is in Houston, where his mother is a prominent attorney.
02:27So he has a lot of support there.
02:31Megan gets a job at a hotel in the city and becomes close with Leon's family.
02:36It's an exciting new chapter in their lives.
02:40But Leon's job in Houston doesn't work out, and he's let go from the hospital in 2015.
02:48Leon is having trouble completing his surgical residency.
02:52And the stress is weighing on him.
02:55In 2016, he has to file for bankruptcy.
03:00Leon relies on Megan to pay their rent and bills, and his mother to pay his other expenses.
03:06It's not exactly the impressive life of a doctor that he had imagined for himself.
03:13And he takes it out on Megan.
03:16Throughout 2016, Leon grows increasingly manipulative and abusive toward his girlfriend.
03:24Leon's behavior is shockingly erratic.
03:27He screams, throws things, and threatens to burn the apartment down if Megan ever tries to leave him.
03:35At one point, he even threatens her with a glass.
03:41Domestic abuse is particularly troubling because it can be so unpredictable.
03:46Emotions are heightened.
04:00Megan starts thinking seriously about leaving Leon, but she doesn't make a move yet.
04:07But in January 2017, the scales are tipped.
04:12On January 12th, when Megan comes home from her work, Leon digs into her.
04:18He yells that he's tired of her attitude and pissy face, and that he will not put up with her
04:24crap.
04:25Megan quickly leaves the house, but when Leon calls to apologize, she agrees to come back.
04:33And as happens too often in domestic situations, things escalate.
04:39Leon follows Megan to the bathroom.
04:43He starts throwing personal items around and threatening that his family will ruin her.
04:50When Megan starts screaming, Leon grabs her face with his hand and squeezes until he busts open her lip.
05:02Megan flees the apartment and takes refuge with Leon's brother and sister-in-law.
05:09Leon's sister-in-law is close friends with Megan.
05:13She sees a handprint on Megan's face and her bleeding lip and takes her in.
05:20A few days later, Megan calls the police to report the assault.
05:24With Leon's pattern of abusive behavior, this kind of incident is something the police have to take seriously.
05:32At this point, she knows that the relationship is over for good, and she's relieved.
05:40Leon, however, is not getting the message.
05:45Leon tracks Megan down and shows up at the house.
05:49He pounds on the door, screaming that he knows she's in there.
05:53Megan is terrified and hides in a closet the entire time.
05:58But Leon isn't giving up so easily.
06:01Leon insists he wants Megan back.
06:04He leaves her flowers.
06:05He calls her repeatedly.
06:07He even gets other people to call her.
06:10Megan takes out an order of protection against him.
06:13But that doesn't slow him down one bit.
06:18Persistence can be a good thing.
06:20But when it tips over into stalking, it's a big red flag.
06:25For someone to consistently violate an order of protection can be a sign that that person is emotionally unstable and
06:34definitely dangerous.
06:36Leon's stalking behavior proves that Megan was right to leave him.
06:41Now, she just needs him to leave her alone.
06:48Megan relocates to an unregistered room at the hotel where she works.
06:52But Leon's harassment only grows more intense.
06:58On January 23rd, Leon hides outside, waiting for Megan to leave the building.
07:05When she gets into her car and drives away, he follows her.
07:11Eventually, Megan notices Leon behind her and calls the police.
07:18Since Megan has an order of protection against him, they have to be cautious.
07:23Megan starts driving in circles, hoping the police will arrive on the scene before anything escalates.
07:30But Leon is one step ahead of her.
07:34Leon drives in front of her, cutting her off.
07:37He gets out of his car and starts yelling that she doesn't know what she's missing.
07:44It's terrifying for Megan.
07:47She turns her car around and hightails it in the other direction.
07:58Three days later, the police catch up with Leon.
08:01They question him about the incident on January 12th, which Megan had reported as an assault.
08:09Leon admits to putting his hand over Megan's mouth during an argument.
08:13But he claims that he was just trying to calm her down.
08:15And he concedes that it was probably not a good idea for him to have done that.
08:19Leon is concerned that if there are any criminal charges against him, it might interfere with him getting his medical
08:32license.
08:32And it will definitely bring shame to his family.
08:37So, he decides that he needs to find out if there have been any charges filed against him.
08:45Leon goes to the office of a local criminal lawyer, where he meets a young woman named Laura, who works
08:51there.
08:52At her car, Leon mounts his usual charm offensive.
08:57Laura checks the records of the county clerk and determines that no, there are no pending charges against him.
09:04For Leon, it's a relief for sure.
09:07But then he realizes that this might be an opportunity.
09:11Maybe Laura can help.
09:14But Leon's request isn't quite as clear-cut as he thinks it is.
09:19He asks Laura to approach Megan on his behalf, to help him get her back.
09:24Or if that doesn't work, can Laura get Megan to leave town?
09:28Or if that doesn't work, can Laura get somebody to grab Megan, put her in a car, and he would
09:33take care of the rest?
09:35And he offers to provide a syringe to help.
09:39To say that it's a disturbing escalation would be an understatement.
09:45It's a fine line between love and hate.
09:54Laura is understandably freaked out by Leon's request.
09:58But we all know how persistent Leon can be.
10:01He keeps asking and asking until she agrees to phone a friend of hers who she thinks might be able
10:08to help.
10:12On February 1st, the authorities in Houston file assault charges for the January 12th attack against Megan.
10:21Now, to Leon, it's more important than ever that he make this whole thing go away quickly.
10:28Not long after, Leon finally gets the call he's been waiting for.
10:33A man named Zach reaches out.
10:35He's a friend of a friend of Laura's.
10:37And he's heard that Leon is looking for a hitman.
10:47Leon Jacob and Megan Veracast moved to Houston in 2014, where Leon is completing a surgical residency.
10:56When Leon's violent behavior grows out of control, Megan leaves him and takes out a restraining order.
11:05Undeterred, Leon continues to pursue Megan, hoping to win her back.
11:10Until he realizes that the assault charge against him might interfere with his medical license.
11:17Now, to Leon, it's more important than ever that he make this whole thing go away quickly.
11:26In early February, Leon gets a call from a man named Zach, who might be able to help him out.
11:34Zach spent 12 years in the military.
11:36But lately, he's had some trouble with the law.
11:40He's out on bail on a charge of possession of stolen property.
11:44He offers Leon his services.
11:47And the two set up a meeting.
11:49Zach instructs Leon to bring $2,500 in cash.
11:54He wants to see just how serious Leon is about silencing his ex.
12:01At the meeting, Leon explains that Megan is the complaining witness in an assault case against him that is destroying
12:08his life.
12:09He wants his ex-girlfriend kidnapped and convinced to drop the charges against him.
12:15And if Megan won't agree to drop the charges, Leon wants Zach to make her disappear.
12:22Zach understands by make her disappear, Leon means make her dead.
12:30He instructs Leon to buy a burner phone and set up a ghost email account so that they can communicate
12:37without leaving a trace.
12:39Then he pockets the cash and leaves, assuring Leon that he'll be in touch.
12:46Over the next week, Leon continues to harass Megan, who goes to the police again on February 5th.
12:53He also continues to negotiate with his hitman.
12:56Zach wants $10,000 for the job, and Leon agrees.
13:01But he wants the rest of the money up front.
13:03So Leon hands over the cash and a couple expensive watches to sweeten the deal.
13:09At one point, Zach tells Leon that he's convinced Megan to take off.
13:14But it's not true.
13:16Megan is still there in Houston.
13:19It's Zach who isn't.
13:21Zach takes Leon's money and disappears without carrying out his end of the deal.
13:26He won't answer his phone and appears to have changed his number.
13:30It's not great for Leon.
13:33Apparently, Leon forgot the cardinal rule when you're hiring someone for a job.
13:38Always check their references.
13:42On February 16th, Megan goes to the police again.
13:46This time, they file stalking charges.
13:50Leon is arrested and released on a $15,000 bond.
13:56Now, it's serious.
13:58The assault charge was bad, but it was a misdemeanor.
14:01This is a felony charge.
14:03It's definitely going to stop Leon from obtaining his medical license.
14:08In Leon's eyes, Megan needs to be stopped.
14:11But his hitman has disappeared with all of his money.
14:15Now he has two problems to solve.
14:18On February 23rd, Leon pays a visit to the office of Michael Kubosh.
14:25Michael Kubosh is the bail bondsman who got him out of jail after his arrest for stalking the previous week.
14:33Kubosh runs a popular and successful bail bonds business in Houston.
14:39In fact, Leon knows that it was Kubosh who had arranged Zach's bond last fall when he was arrested on
14:47the possession of stolen property charge.
14:50Leon demands that Kubosh give him Zach's new phone number.
14:54But Kubosh insists he doesn't know anyone named Zach, which doesn't go over well with Leon.
15:03Leon starts ranting about just how important it is he finds Zach.
15:09Leon gets very angry.
15:11He explains that the reason he needs to find Zach is that he paid Zach a lot of money to
15:16take care of a matter.
15:18He insists that she can testify against him because it will embarrass him and his family in that she needs
15:26to go back to Pittsburgh.
15:30In Leon's eyes, he needs to make sure that Megan is out of the picture and can't testify against him
15:36at his upcoming trial.
15:39Kubosh runs a check on the old phone number for Zach that Leon provides.
15:44From the phone number, Kubosh realizes that he does know Zach after all.
15:49He just knows him by another name.
15:51But he doesn't have Zach's new number.
15:54For Leon, it's a dead end.
15:57But just over a week later, things turn a corner when Zach resurfaces.
16:03On March 7th, Leon finally gets a call from Zach.
16:10The hitman apologizes for ghosting him and explains that he was worried that he and Leon had gotten too close.
16:20It's definitely a plausible explanation.
16:24Abundance of caution seems like a good treat for a hitman.
16:29Zach explains that he's decided to outsource a job to somebody else.
16:34And he's found just the guy, his buddy, Javier.
16:38Zach wants to meet tomorrow to introduce Javier to Leon.
16:44Leon is relieved that the plan is back on.
16:48He's happy to clear his schedule.
16:51But then, Leon drops a bombshell.
16:57Leon wants to make sure that he and Zach are on the same page.
17:01He asks, we're going to take care of both problems?
17:05Zach responds, what problems?
17:07And Leon clarifies, both of the individuals we are talking about.
17:13Valerie wants to talk to you about what she wants done with her ex.
17:17It's a case of two birds, two stones.
17:21Leon is not the only one hiring a hitman.
17:27In Houston, Texas, Leon Jacob assaults his girlfriend, Megan.
17:32And then harasses her for weeks, trying to win her back.
17:37When he's charged with felony stalking, Leon hires a hitman to silence his ex permanently.
17:46But the hitman takes off without doing the deed.
17:49Then, on March 7th, 2017, Leon's hitman resurfaces.
17:56Zach explains that he's decided to outsource the job to somebody else.
18:01And he's found just the guy, his buddy, Javier.
18:05But Leon surprises the man by revealing that there isn't just one job.
18:11There are two.
18:13One for himself and one for his new girlfriend, Valerie.
18:19Valerie Busiek meets Mack McDaniel as a student at Texas A&M University in the 1990s.
18:27She's studying veterinary medicine and graduates with her DVM in 1997.
18:35The two get married in what Valerie describes as a beautiful fairytale wedding.
18:41In 2000, Valerie opens a veterinary clinic in Houston, where Mack joins her as the office manager.
18:50It can't be easy to work every day with your spouse.
18:53But these two manage to grow the clinic into a prominent business.
18:58In 2008, after suffering fertility issues, Valerie and Mack adopt a baby daughter, completing their happy family.
19:08But a few years later, the trust in the relationship breaks down.
19:15Valerie receives a phone call out of the blue from a woman who claims she had an affair with Mack.
19:21But what's more, the woman also provides Valerie with lists of other women that she claims Mack had slept with.
19:28Getting a call like that, from a stranger, is definitely shocking.
19:34How do you even trust that it's true?
19:39But for some reason, it resonates with Valerie.
19:43She's become increasingly unhappy in her marriage, and now she knows why.
19:51In December 2014, Valerie files for divorce, citing infidelity as the reason.
19:59Valerie and Mack's divorce proceedings drag out for over a year.
20:05The couple easily settle on shared custody of their daughter.
20:10But the financial split is another matter entirely.
20:15At first, Mack is required to pay child support to Valerie.
20:19Then, it's the other way around.
20:21And the fact that they work together just makes everything more complicated.
20:27Eventually, Valerie is ordered to buy Mack out of his share of the veterinary clinic for a whopping $1.25
20:34million.
20:36Valerie is fortunate to have her next-door neighbor act as her divorce lawyer.
20:40One day, Valerie has a chance encounter with her attorney's son, Leon.
20:52When he walks right up to her and introduces himself, Valerie thinks he's cocky.
20:59But he's also undeniably attractive.
21:02And she's intrigued.
21:04And the two develop a close friendship.
21:08Valerie's divorce is settled in August 2016.
21:12She moves with her daughter into a seventh-floor condo in an upscale residential area of downtown Houston.
21:19Valerie had to take out a very sizable loan to buy Mack out of the vet clinic.
21:24So money is tight.
21:26But now that her divorce is settled, she's got a new lease on life.
21:32Valerie and Leon's friendship continues to grow.
21:36In January 2017, the two are enjoying an evening together over a glass of wine.
21:42So, Leon had broken up with his girlfriend.
21:45And the two of them bond over the mistreatment they feel from their exes.
21:54Eventually, things take a romantic turn.
21:58Leon is nine years younger than Valerie.
22:01But they are both attracted to each other.
22:03Valerie describes that first night together as being like a movie moment.
22:10After that night, Valerie and Leon's relationship progresses extremely quickly.
22:17In less than a month, he's living with her at her condo.
22:20They're sharing a bank account.
22:22And Valerie is telling friends that they're discussing marriage.
22:27Valerie is extremely happy about this exciting new turn in her life.
22:32Mack, however, is not.
22:35When Mack learns that Leon has moved into the condo with Valerie and his daughter, he's furious.
22:42Mack doesn't want Leon anywhere near his daughter due to the man's criminal record.
22:49For those of us playing along at home, this time while Valerie and Leon are playing house is the same
22:56month that Leon is stalking his ex, Megan, who has an order of protection out against him.
23:03He is a pending charge for assault and for felony stalking.
23:09Valerie agrees to never have Leon at the condo while her daughter is there.
23:16But when Mack learns that she's not keeping her word, he moves to reopen the custody arrangement.
23:24By early March, Valerie and Leon are both determined to be rid of their exes.
23:31Leon had hired Zach to take care of Megan, but the man had taken Leon's money and then ghosted him.
23:39But now, Zach is back in the picture, and Leon and Valerie agree to a meeting to take care of
23:45both problems.
23:50On March 8th, Leon and Valerie meet Zach at a local business, where he introduces them to their new hitman,
23:58Javier.
24:00At the meeting, Leon goes first, describing how he wants Javier to run Megan off the road and threaten her,
24:07or kidnap her and convince her to leave town.
24:10But if she doesn't agree to leave and to not testify against him, then Javier should, you know, do what
24:18he does.
24:20Leon suggests using potassium chloride, which he could get from Valerie's vet clinic.
24:28An injection of potassium chloride would stop a person's heart, and it's practically untraceable.
24:36At one point, Leon and Zach step away, so Valerie and Javier can talk about her problem.
24:43Valerie wants to know how it will be done.
24:47She suggests a car wreck.
24:50Javier agrees.
24:51It could look like a robbery gone wrong.
24:54A carjacking.
24:56But if she wants it done, the hitman wants an additional $10,000 payment.
25:03With the large debt Valerie has, she can only afford to pay in installments.
25:10Javier agrees to four payments of $2,500 each.
25:16Leon then gives Javier the number to his burner phone.
25:22And the meeting is over.
25:27The next day, Javier calls the burner phone.
25:31He has good news, but insists on delivering it in person.
25:37So Leon agrees to let Javier come over to the condo.
25:48When Javier arrives, he tells him that Mac is dead.
25:54This new hitman works fast.
25:57Javier staged the murder to look like a carjacking, just as they discussed.
26:03He offers to show Leon and Valerie photos of Mac's body as proof,
26:07but neither of them are interested in looking at the photos.
26:12Javier tells Leon that Megan is next.
26:15He's going to grab her and hold her somewhere, threatening her.
26:22Leon is all for it, offering to jump in and help if needed.
26:28As Javier heads for the door, Leon reminds him to grab the $1,800 in cash
26:34that he left out as a partial payment before he leaves.
26:41Later that evening, Javier texts Leon photos of a bound and gagged Megan.
26:47Javier phones to warn Leon that Megan is refusing to back down or leave town.
26:54Leon doesn't want her to go to the police.
26:57He doesn't want the kidnapping to come back to bite him.
26:59He tells Javier, do what you have to do.
27:0520 minutes later, Javier messages to say that Megan was out of control and had to be killed.
27:12With both of their exes dead, all of the obstacles are finally gone.
27:18Megan can't testify against Leon, and Mac can't get sole custody of Valerie's daughter.
27:23Everything will be smooth sailing from here on out.
27:28Or maybe not.
27:33Leon and Valerie are certain they've gotten away with murder.
27:37But at 3 a.m., the police are at their door.
27:48Leon, Jacob, and Valerie McDaniel bond over their perceived mistreatment by their exes and fall in love.
27:57The pair decide to hire a hitman named Javier to rid them of their exes permanently.
28:05The very next day, Javier brings news that the hits have been carried out.
28:12When Javier arrives, he tells them that Mac is dead.
28:16This new hitman works fast.
28:18But later that night, police knock on Valerie's door.
28:23At 3 a.m., the police arrive at Valerie's condo to inform her that her ex-husband has been found
28:30dead.
28:33Giving a notification to a family member for a person who has been killed is never easy.
28:40And people can understandably be quite emotional.
28:44There's no right or wrong way to react.
28:46But police will pay attention to a person's reaction.
28:50Especially if they haven't yet been excluded as having been involved in the crime.
28:55Valerie launches into a master performance.
28:58Feigning shock at the news of Mac's death.
29:03Leon is also shocked and comforts his girlfriend.
29:07He then volunteers that they were both at the condo all day watching movies with Valerie's daughter, who is sleeping
29:13in the next room.
29:15The offer of an unsolicited alibi is something the police definitely take note of.
29:21Someone justifying their whereabouts without being asked would certainly raise an eyebrow.
29:27It's at this point the police turn the tables and arrest both Leon and Valerie for solicitation of capital murder.
29:37Police first become aware of Leon Jacobs' murderous intentions on February 23rd, when he barges into the office of his
29:46bail bondsman.
29:48Michael Kubosh is a respected businessman in Houston.
29:52He has a successful bail bonds business in which he deals with all kinds of people.
29:56So he's good at reading them.
29:58He's also a city councilman, an upstanding member of the community.
30:05When Leon Jacob, who he had just bonded out of jail on a stalking charge, comes in looking to track
30:12down this mysterious Zack, Kubosh knows something is off.
30:18When the man insists he doesn't know Zack, Leon becomes very aggressive, which worries Kubosh.
30:26When Leon explains that he paid this so-called Zack a lot of money to make sure his ex-girlfriend
30:33can't testify against him, Kubosh is even more worried.
30:39As soon as Leon leaves his office, Kubosh calls the assistant chief of police directly.
30:46He's not just casually reporting that something might be wrong.
30:50He wants to make sure it goes straight to the top.
30:54The police immediately warn Megan that her life may be in danger, and she hightails it out of town, back
31:01to Pittsburgh.
31:03Ironically, it's what Leon was trying to accomplish in the first place.
31:08Or so he claimed.
31:10After the tip from Michael Kubosh, investigators from the Harris County District Attorney's Office set about tracking down this mysterious
31:19Zack, whose real name is Taz.
31:27Taz is a decorated former U.S. Army sergeant who served two tours of duty overseas.
31:33He's recently fallen on hard times and has had some trouble with the law, but he definitely never had any
31:39intention of hurting Megan.
31:41Taz admits that he was just stringing Leon along, happy to take the man's money.
31:48He agrees to help the police in a sting operation.
31:51He'll reach out to Leon and introduce him to a new hitman who can get the job done.
31:58Javier is an undercover officer who specializes in murder-for-hire cases.
32:03He knows exactly what they need to do to build their case against Leon.
32:08On March 7th, Zack phones Leon to set up the meeting.
32:14When Leon asks if they can take care of both problems, that Valerie wants to talk to him about what
32:20she wants done with her ex-husband, the police are shocked.
32:25That's when they learn they're dealing with two murder-for-hire cases instead of one.
32:31The next day, Zack and Javier meet with Leon and Valerie to seal the deal.
32:38First, the $10,000 Leon has already paid to kidnap Megan and make sure she's not going to testify, whatever
32:48it takes.
32:49Plus, an additional $10,000 to kill Valerie's ex-husband, Mac, and make it look like a carjacking.
32:57The entire meeting is recorded by hidden microphones, as are several phone calls and meetings between Leon and his supposed
33:06hitman.
33:08In all, police make 12 audio recordings and two video recordings, all of which are great evidence to be used
33:16in court.
33:17The following day, police bring Mac and Megan in on their plans.
33:23The police inform Mac McDaniel about the threat against him.
33:27And he agrees to pose for photos that make it appear that he was shot in the head.
33:32They apply a fake bullet wound and douse him with pig's blood to really sell the authenticity.
33:40Ironically, when Javier tries to show them to Leon and Valerie later that night to prove that he carried out
33:47the hit,
33:48neither of them are interested in looking at the photos.
33:53Megan also agrees to come back to Houston and pose for photographs that show her tied up and gagged.
34:00In the photos, she looks terrified.
34:03That part, she didn't have to fake.
34:07With enough evidence to make an arrest, police show up at Valerie's door at 3 a.m., purportedly to make
34:14the notification about Mac's death.
34:18Leon and Valerie feigned shock, as if they hadn't been told the exact same thing a few hours earlier by
34:26Javier.
34:28The entire encounter is recorded on police body cams.
34:32When they decide they have enough, the police make their arrests.
34:38Once they've taken Leon and Valerie into custody, police inform them that Megan and Mac are both alive after all.
34:46In fact, Mac is waiting in the hall outside to collect his 9-year-old daughter, who's been asleep in
34:53the other room the entire time.
34:59On March 14th, Valerie is released on $50,000 bail.
35:05Leon's bail is denied due to his pending assault and stalking charges.
35:11Over the next few weeks, Valerie takes stock of her life.
35:16She makes several audio recordings attempting to explain her point of view and the unfortunate choices that she's made.
35:24On March 27th, a hearing is scheduled to determine the custody of Valerie and Mac's daughter.
35:32But that morning, Valerie jumps from her seventh-floor balcony, taking her own life.
35:44After Valerie's death, authorities continue to pursue their case against Leon,
35:50who is charged with two counts of solicitation to commit capital murder.
35:56One charged for Megan and one for Mac.
36:00But as his trial gets underway a year later, Leon turns the tables.
36:06He claims it was Valerie's idea all along.
36:15Leon Jacob plots with his girlfriend Valerie McDaniel to have their exes killed
36:21and inadvertently hires an undercover cop named Javier to carry out the murders.
36:28After Valerie's death, authorities continue to pursue their case against Leon,
36:34who is charged with two counts of solicitation to commit capital murder.
36:40But Leon insists he's innocent, claiming that it was all a big misunderstanding.
36:47From jail, he pleads his case to the media.
36:52You never intended to hire someone to harm your ex or kill your ex?
36:58Absolutely not.
36:59Instead, he told me he and Valerie thought they were talking to a private investigator.
37:05They wanted to check on their exes, not kill them.
37:08So, you called someone to negotiate what?
37:12Can't talk about that as an impending trial.
37:14I really have to be careful here.
37:16I have fighting for my life and my lawyers, you know,
37:19have told me not to talk about certain circumstances.
37:23Prosecutors say you paid a hitman $20,000 in two Cartier watches.
37:28Was money exchanged?
37:31Not with a hitman.
37:33But by the time his trial gets underway, in March 2018, Leon has changed his tune
37:40and points the finger at his late girlfriend, Valerie, as the mastermind behind the entire plot.
37:49Prosecutors offer Leon a plea deal of 40 years in prison, but Leon turns it down.
37:55He's sure he can talk his way out of anything.
38:09Leon insists on taking the stand in his own defense, explaining away his stalking of Megan
38:16as a continued attempt to win her back.
38:20Apparently, the entire time he was living with, and even discussing marriage with, Valerie,
38:27he was really trying to get back together with Megan?
38:32Leon insists that he never wanted Megan hurt, only reasoned with.
38:41But Leon's charm offensive is cut off at the knees.
38:46Shortly before the trial, the prosecutor files a notice of intent
38:51to introduce prior convictions and extraneous offenses to impeach Leon's testimony.
38:58And it's a long list.
39:01Despite Leon's continued claims to be a surgeon,
39:05he has been thrown out of more than half a dozen medical residencies.
39:09One hospital said he was functionally unreliable.
39:13Another, that he was a potential threat to patients.
39:16And shockingly, the entire story is eerily familiar.
39:24In 2001, Leon marries his college girlfriend, Annie.
39:29Annie supports them while they move from New York to Illinois to Pennsylvania,
39:34while Leon bounces from one medical residency to another,
39:38never completing the program and getting his license.
39:41By the time they have their second child, Leon becomes dangerously abusive.
39:48On December 6, 2012, he takes her keys and blocks the door
39:54when Annie attempts to leave the house to drop off their kids at daycare.
40:01This time, she's had enough.
40:04Annie calls the police who come to the house and speak with the couple together.
40:10Unfortunately, Leon is his usual charming self,
40:14and the officer lets the incident go.
40:19But when Annie gets back from dropping off the baby,
40:23Leon attacks her.
40:27He pins her down and holds a straight razor to her throat,
40:30screaming that he'll kill her if she calls the police ever again.
40:35The following summer, after another incident where Leon throws a chair,
40:40Annie finally works up the confidence to leave
40:44and takes out an order of protection against her husband.
40:48When she files for divorce,
40:50Annie cites the reason as extreme mental cruelty.
40:54That's several steps up from irreconcilable differences.
41:00Leon's response?
41:12Leon pleads guilty to cyber-stalking over his harassment of his ex-wife
41:18and serves probation.
41:20But Annie is not the only one he had been harassing.
41:24And his various charges included burglary,
41:28criminal mischief,
41:30telephone harassment,
41:31and issuing terroristic threats.
41:34When Leon declares bankruptcy in 2016,
41:38it's because he owes $100,000
41:42to seven different lawyers
41:44in five cities.
41:51At the trial,
41:53Leon assumes he can talk his way out of anything,
41:56even his own guilt.
41:58He claims that he never wanted anyone dead,
42:02pointing to the fact that in the 12 separate recordings
42:05the police made of his conversations during their investigation,
42:08he never actually asked for Megan to be killed.
42:11But he did suggest the use of potassium chloride to the heart
42:17several times,
42:18which, as a doctor,
42:21Leon knew would be fatal.
42:24In the end,
42:25it takes the jury only 75 minutes
42:28to find him guilty on both counts.
42:35Mac and Annie both testify
42:38at Leon's sentencing hearing,
42:40where he's given a life sentence for each count,
42:43plus a $10,000 fine.
42:46After all she's been through,
42:49Megan gets the last word.
42:51In her victim impact statement,
42:53she says,
42:54While you sit in jail,
42:56I hope you think of me,
42:58because it's because of me
42:59you'll be in prison for life.
43:07Relationships can be messy.
43:09And breakups can be even messier.
43:13No one said it's supposed to be easy.
43:16The line between love and hate
43:18can sometimes be blurry.
43:20But in the end,
43:21there really is a line.
43:23And if you've hired a hitman,
43:26you've crossed it.
43:27Get them back.
43:40Get them to eat.
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