A former Marine who spent six years as a fugitive on the most wanted list after being accused of murdering his girlfriend appeared in court. NBC 7’s Dana Williams was in the courtroom for Day 1 of the hearing.
A hearing began Tuesday to determine whether an ex-Marine accused of murdering his girlfriend at an Allied Gardens apartment more than eight years ago will stand trial on a murder charge.
Raymond Samuel McLeod Jr, 41, is accused of strangling 30-year-old Krystal Mitchell on June 10, 2016, then fleeing the country.
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McLeod and Mitchell, who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, at the time, traveled to San Diego on June 9 to visit with a friend of McLeod's from his days in the U.S. Marine Corps. McLeod's friend found Mitchell dead in a bedroom at the apartment the following morning.
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McLeod spent the next six years on the run, during which time he was on the U.S. Marshals' 15 Most Wanted List, according to authorities.
In 2022, he was arrested in El Salvador, where U.S. Marshals' officials say he was teaching English under a different name.
Following his arrest, he was extradited to San Diego, where he's remained in county jail without bail. He faces 25 years to life in state prison if convicted.
The preliminary hearing is expected to last around three days and much of Tuesday morning's proceedings featured arguments from the prosecution and defense regarding what evidence will be allowed during the hearing.
Deputy District Attorney Franciesca Balerio argued to allow testimony regarding two prior alleged domestic violence incidents involving McLeod. Both involve ex-wives of the defendant, with one incident allegedly occurring in 2009 and the other about three months prior to Mitchell's death. San Diego Superior Court Judge Kimberlee Lagotta granted the prosecutor's request.
McLeod's defense team is arguing that Mitchell's death was an accident that occurred during consensual sex. The defense was granted their request to present witness testimony from several women McLeod dated, who allegedly stated they engaged in consensual, rough sex with McLeod, which included choking.
The first witness to take the stand was Justin Seydell, McLeod's former fellow Marine and friend who allowed McLeod and Mitchell to stay in the spare bedroom of his Mission Gorge Road apartment on June 9. Seydell testified that he and his girlfriend had drinks with McLeod and Mitchell, but then they went to bed early because they had a newborn, while McLeod and Mitchell planned to go out.
In the morning, he went out to play volleyball with friends and when he returned home, the apartment was quiet. Seydell testified that he entered the spare bedroom to find Mitchell on the bed and that through his experience in the Marines and as an emergency medical technician, he was fairly certain she was deceased. He also testified to seeing "a good amount of blood on both the bed and the floor" of the bedroom.
A declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed in 2016 states that blood was also found in a bathroom and an elevator at the apartment complex. Mitchell's injuries included three fractures to her voice box, bruising on her arms and legs, and facial contusions.
The document states that after Seydell and his girlfriend went to sleep, McLeod and Mitchell went to a local bar, where McLeod got into a fight with another patron who attempted to intervene when McLeod slapped Mitchell.
That patron, Joshua Kenney, testified that McLeod struck up a conversation with him at the bar because they were both Marines. Kenney said he drank with McLeod and Mitchell and at some point McLeod went to the restroom.
When he was alone with Mitchell, she told Kenney that she didn't like it when McLeod grabs her throat, Kenney testified.
Later in the night, McLeod did grab at Mitchell's throat, prompting Kenney to tell McLeod to stop, he said. Kenney testified that McLeod then asked Mitchell, "What did you say to him?"
Kenney said McLeod made a hand gesture towards Mitchell, appearing if he was going to slap her, so Kenney tried to place McLeod in a choke hold. The men started fighting and McLeod and Mitchell were removed from the bar.
About an hour later, the couple was spotted on surveillance footage from the Mission Gorge apartment complex, where the document states McLeod can be seen grabbing Mitchell by the throat and pulling her into an elevator.
The arrest warrant declaration states that McLeod returned to the bar the following morning to retrieve his credit card, which he had left there while he was being kicked out. A bar employee told police that McLeod said he had a "flight" to catch, according to the declaration.
