Susan Leeds
The quiet community of Rolling Hills Estates was deeply shaken on May 3, 2018, when a retired nurse was targeted in a **brutal stabbing murder** inside a local shopping center parking garage. Susan Leeds, 66, was killed in broad daylight during a random attack motivated by robbery. A complex, multi-year investigation by local law enforcement ultimately cut through shifting narratives and legal maneuvers, culminating in the first-degree murder conviction of Cherie Lynnette Townsend.
Victim Biography
Susan Leeds was a beloved retired nurse and local volunteer.
Susan "Susie" Leeds was a 66-year-old retired nurse remembered by friends and family for her kindness, gentle demeanor, and active dedication to public service. A resident of the Palos Verdes Peninsula area, Leeds spent much of her retirement giving back to her community, which included regular volunteer work at a nearby local food pantry. She was also a diabetic who depended heavily on an insulin pump for her daily survival. Family members described her as a pillar of support and a loving maternal figure. The trauma of her sudden, violent death had a devastating, ripple effect on her family; her husband passed away before ever seeing her killer brought to justice.
Details About the Crime
On the afternoon of May 3, 2018, Susan Leeds was sitting inside her white 2016 Mercedes-Benz SUV on the first floor of the parking structure at the Promenade on the Peninsula shopping mall in Rolling Hills Estates. In broad daylight, she was violently ambushed by an attacker looking to commit a quick robbery. Leeds fought fiercely for her life, leaving behind defensive wounds on her upper body, but she was ultimately stabbed 17 times in the neck and chest.
The perpetrator fled the scene carrying Leeds's purse, which contained cash as well as her vital insulin pump. Investigators later discovered that the assailant was desperate for money to pay for her daughter's upcoming cheerleading competition trip to Florida, an expensive program that could cost upwards of $25,000. However, the killer left behind a critical piece of evidence: a personal cellular phone, which was discovered by law enforcement directly underneath the driver's side of the victim's Mercedes-Benz.
Cherie Lynnette Townsend
Cherie Lynnette Townsend was arrested following a multi-year homicide investigation.
Cherie Lynnette Townsend, a 40-year-old mother of two from Los Angeles, became the primary focus of the homicide investigation after detectives traced the cell phone found under the victim's car back to her. Cellular records confirmed that Townsend was parked on the exact same floor as Leeds and that her phone remained entirely stationary at the crime scene throughout the duration of the attack. Digital forensic sweeps of Townsend's phone revealed internet searches for computer hacking, duplicate credit cards, fake ID generators, and methods to steal money from ATMs. Furthermore, financial records revealed that Townsend's bank account maintained a zero balance in the months leading up to the murder, and she had begun bouncing checks to her daughter's cheer program.
When initially interviewed by police, Townsend claimed she was at the mall to shop for her daughter but never went inside due to a sudden car transmission problem. Years later, during a 2023 interrogation, her story changed significantly; she claimed she had been shopping for her son's prom, entered multiple stores, and denied having any car trouble. Surveillance video recovered by investigators captured Townsend walking up to Leeds's vehicle and later racing out of the parking structure after stealing the victim's purse. Additionally, a witness in the parking lot identified Townsend near a gold sedan shortly after the murder, testifying that Townsend stared at her so intensely that she felt a distinct sensation that "something bad was going to happen."
Controversy
The case sparked intense public frustration regarding systemic soft-on-crime approaches and prosecutorial over-caution. Although law enforcement arrested Townsend within weeks of the murder based on clear physical evidence—her phone being left directly under the victim's vehicle—she was released from jail after only five days because the District Attorney's office declined to file immediate charges, citing a need for "further investigation." This premature release allowed a dangerous, first-degree murderer to walk free and live undetected in society for more than five years.
Compounding the injustice, Townsend actively weaponized civil rights protections against the very community she terrorized. Following her initial release, she filed a multi-million dollar federal civil rights lawsuit against Los Angeles County, the Sheriff's Department, and the City of Rolling Hills Estates, alleging racial profiling, false imprisonment, and defamation. Progressive advocacy groups and media outlets quickly rallied around her, painting a cold-blooded killer as a "convenient scapegoat" who was singled out simply for being "out of place" in an affluent neighborhood. This inversion of victimhood delayed accountability, kept the local community in prolonged anxiety, and forced the Leeds family to endure years of emotional torment while the true perpetrator escaped punishment. Detective Louie Aguilera, who eventually secured her re-arrest, expressed outrage at her actions, noting that she had the absolute audacity to sue the county despite knowing she had brutally murdered Leeds.
Current Status/Outcome
The long road to justice finally concluded in late 2025. Following a meticulous, multi-year re-examination of the case by a new team of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives, Townsend was re-arrested by a fugitive unit in August 2023, and her federal civil lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.
On December 4, 2025, a seven-woman, five-man jury deliberated for approximately five hours before finding Cherie Lynnette Townsend guilty of first-degree murder. The jury also found true the special allegation that she personally used a deadly weapon (a knife) during the commission of the crime. Townsend faces 26 years to life in state prison and is scheduled for formal sentencing on January 23, 2026. Reflecting on the heavy toll of the delayed justice, Susan Leeds's stepson, Ben Leeds, remarked that the trauma of the crime and the long wait for accountability ultimately broke his father's spirit, stating, "The stab wounds didn't just kill Susie. It killed my father."