Daughter of woman murdered by ex-boyfriend testifies at trial

Hours before she was stabbed to death by an ex-boyfriend, Josie Jones told her daughter that her life would change soon.

“I don’t think she knew what she was saying,” Jones’ daughter, Divina Leal, said. “She told me, ‘This is the beginning of a new life for you.’ Not us, just for me.”

The 41-year-old mother and Leal had moved into a small apartment after Jones left Leonard Woods, who was found guilty of her murder on Monday.

On Aug. 5, 2015, Jones and Leal, then 15, stopped at a Walgreens, at Tropicana Avenue and Decatur Boulevard, after cheerleading practice. When they walked out of the store, Woods attacked Jones, stabbing her 16 times with a weapon that police never recovered.

Four years later, Leal suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has nightmares.

“I still have dreams where I can see him stabbing her, and I can hear it,” Leal said Tuesday during the penalty phase of Woods’ trial. “I can hear the sound of the knife going in and out, and I can hear her screaming.”

Tuesday was Jones’ birthday. She would have been 45.

Woods, 50, represented himself during the trial. He maintained his innocence, but said he felt bad about Jones’ death.

“I feel horrible about this whole situation,” Woods said, “about the loss of Josie’s life, Divina losing her mother, and any part I had played in it.”

After the stabbing, Woods approached police and said he wanted to turn himself in for an “incident” he was involved in at the store.

He paused several times during his statement to wipe away tears, clear his throat and roll his shoulders back. Woods told the jury about his childhood in San Diego and his five children.

The jury will decide whether Woods will serve 50 years in prison or a life sentence, and whether he will be eligible for parole after 20 years.

“For a 50-year-old man, 20 to 50 years is a life sentence,” Woods said.

Leal said the murder left her feeling distant from her 16-year-old brother and the rest of her family. She said she feels like others can’t understand what she experienced the night of the murder.

“I’m looking at that picture of me and I was so happy,” Leal told jurors when they were shown a photo of her and her mother. “That’s not me anymore.”

Woods was found guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, two counts of taking an image of another person’s private area, open gross lewdness and two counts of prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

He will return to court Wednesday morning when the jury will hear closing arguments and decide his sentence.

Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.