According to her\u00a0obituary<\/a>,\u00a0Leon\u00a0and her \u201cloving husband\u201d Michael Anthony Leon were married for 33 years. They had two adult daughters\u00a0and two grandchildren at the time of her death.<\/p>\n In 2012, her husband, who worked in marketing for a HVAC company, ran for mayor of Antioch, centering his campaign around\u00a0local crime, not raising\u00a0taxes\u00a0and making the city friendlier to small businesses.\u00a0He came in fourth place in the four-candidate field, receiving 1,740 votes, a little more than\u00a0a\u00a05%\u00a0share of the votes,\u00a0The Antioch Herald reported<\/a>\u00a0at the time.<\/p>\n For years,\u00a0Leon\u2019s daughter, Michelle Wonders and Monica\u00a0Tagas,\u00a0harbored doubts about their mother\u2019s death and in 2021 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a male killer only identified as \u201cJohn Doe,\u201d SFGATE reported. In the suit, they claimed the killer staged the scene and faked the suicide note\u00a0before law enforcement made it to the home.<\/p>\n Prosecutors in Northern California charged a 66-year-old Antioch man with murder, alleging he staged the 2015 killing of his wife as a suicide. (Google Maps)<\/p>\n Members of the Contra Costa County District Attorney\u2019s Office\u2019s cold case unit conducted \u201ca lengthy investigation\u201d after the wrongful death suit and in a\u00a0Jan. 23 news release<\/a>\u00a0said investigators \u201cuncovered previously unknown digital evidence and new factual details that were central to the decision to file charges.\u201d<\/p>\n Picturesque L.A. neighborhood overrun with prostitution, residents say <\/a><\/p>\n While authorities\u00a0did\u00a0not\u00a0elaborate on the newly discovered evidence, they said Michael Anthony Leon was taken into custody at his Antioch residence on Jan. 22\u00a0on charges of murder and personal use of a firearm causing death.<\/p>\n He was being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26.<\/p>\n The 66-year-old faces 50 years to life in prison, KTLA\u2019s Bay\u00a0Area\u00a0sister station\u00a0KRON reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBrenda Joyce\u2019s family never lost faith that the truth would come to light,\u201d Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said. \u201cToday\u2019s filing in Contra Costa Superior Court honors that perseverance and demonstrates that cold cases are never forgotten, regardless of how much time has passed.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n![\"Antioch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/190249e1196d55b27775b8d1a8db2aa4.jpeg\"\/)
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