FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — An accused murderer took the stand as he was forced to relive the moments leading up to the shooting of his girlfriend’s mother.
21-year-old Andrew Leon is accused of killing April Diaz in November of 2023.
Tuesday was the fourth day of his second trial after the first ended in a hung jury.
Prosecutors presented phone records revealing Leon’s conversations with Naveah Gomez, the victim’s daughter, on the day of the shooting.
“At this point it’s very hostile, there’s obviously some anger and something going on,”
Detective Jessie Gloria says he and his team gathered nearly six-hundred messages,
all portraying a very hostile relationship between Leon and Gomez.
“It was very much a roller coaster, it was very back and forth, lovey-dovey for a few messages and then all of a sudden Mr. Leon would be upset,” Detective Gloria said.
And that night was no different, texts showed a vicious back-and-forth between the couple in the hours leading up to the killing after Diaz told her daughter Leon would not be allowed into their home.
Prosecutor Kendall Reynolds began questioning Leon’s behavior.
“You said some pretty disrespectful things to Naveah, right?” he asked.
“Yes,” Leon replied.
“And you would agree that at least if April heard that, she wouldn’t be happy about it, is that correct?” Reynolds asked.
“No, most definitely not,” Leon said.
At one point the text messages showed Leon threatening Gomez, saying she’d “better pick up that phone,” and “I’m telling you it’s gonna be bad.”
When Gomez stopped responding to Leon, it triggered an enraged flood of messages from the alleged killer.
Leon even went as far as threatening to take his own life if she did not respond.
“So Mr. Leon, it’s clear that you had no intention of killing yourself. It was purely just to grab the attention of Naveah?” Reynolds asked Leon.
“Yes,” Leon responded.
Leon will return to court Thursday morning as both sides now prepare their closing arguments.
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