A Warren County grand jury Wednesday indicted Leland Neal Jr. on one count of murder in the November 1998 death of his estranged wife Carol Neal.
After being captured in Mexico this month on unrelated charges there, Leland, 44, was charged with murder on a warrant issued Dec. 28, 2012. He has since been returned to the United States, where he was in a Texas jail. A grand jury issued an indictment accusing Leland of killing his wife on or about Nov. 9, 1998. Warren Circuit Judge John Grise set Neal’s bond at $1 million, according to the indictment.
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“The (December 2012) arrest warrant was based on an affidavit in which the district court judge determined there was probable cause for the warrant to be issued,” Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron said. “Once Mr. Neal was located in Mexico and returned to the United States, that arrest warrant, along with four outstanding felony bench warrants, were served on him. Yesterday the case was presented to a Warren County grand jury. They returned an indictment for the charge of murder against Leland Neal.
“Mr. Neal also currently has two felonies pending in Warren County,” Cohron said. “Those are flagrant nonsupport for failing to pay child support on this two children and bail jumping for failing to appear on those charges. Then in Cumberland County, he is under indictment for cultivating marijuana and bail jumping for failing to appear on those charges.”
If convicted on the murder charge, he could serve up to life in prison and could be eligible for parole after serving 20 years. The case is not eligible for the death penalty.
“I am relieved for the family of Carol Neal that they’ll have the opportunity to see Mr. Neal face these charges for the death of their daughter,” Cohron said.
A company contracted to transport prisoners is in the process of bringing Neal from Texas to Bowling Green, Cohron said. He is expected to be in Warren County in less than a week.
Carol and Leland separated July 31, 1998. The two were scheduled for a court hearing Nov. 12, 1998, just days after her death, to set a date for divorce proceedings. Carol filed for divorce in August 1998. In October 1998, the couple agreed to joint custody of their two boys.
Prior to being picked up by Mexican officials this month, Leland was last seen crossing the Mexican border in 2008. On Feb. 14, the Bowling Green Police Department learned that Leland was being held by Mexican authorities, according to a news release from BGPD spokesman Officer Ronnie Ward.
According to the online Mexican news agency Noticiasnet, Leland was accused of taking part in a Feb. 7 armed robbery with two other people at a Super Six, a Mexican business that sells beer. On Feb. 13, Mexican authorities verified Leland’s identity and that he was wanted in the U.S.
Mexican officials contacted U.S. officials, and the two worked together to bring Leland back to the United States, Cohron said.
Carol’s body has never been found. In 2003, hikers in McCreary County found a portion of her skull on Parker’s Mountain in a densely wooded area inside the Daniel Boone National Forest, where the Neals frequently hiked, according to a 28-page arrest affidavit written by now-retired BGPD Detective Barry Raley. Forensic tests confirmed that the skull was Carol’s. She died of blunt force trauma to her head. Prior to her partial skull being found, Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby signed Carol’s death certificate Jan. 21, 2000, listing the immediate cause as “suspected homicide,” according to the affidavit.
Leland proposed to Carol on Parker’s Mountain, according to the affidavit. When Carol’s skull was found, Leland lived 20 miles away from where hikers found it.
About three months before her death, Carol filed a domestic violence report against Leland.
Carol’s friends and a relative told police after her death that she had been afraid of her husband. Her friends also told police that Carol had said Leland had threatened to kill her and place her body somewhere it would never be found, according to the affidavit. One of those same friends told police Carol confided in her that Leland sexually assaulted his wife.
Tony Sawyer, who is listed in the affidavit as a friend of Carol’s, reported her missing Nov. 10, 1998, after he visited her home at 1005 Shawnee Way and found her two children, ages 5 and 15 months at the time, home alone.
The Neals’ then-5-year-old son showed Sawyer the living room, where couch pillows were missing from the sofa and blood stained the wall, ceiling and floor, according to the affidavit. Police found tooth fragments and a trail of blood leading from the living room to the back door of the residence. In addition to the blood evidence, police found a micro-cassette recorder hanging from a garden hose on the rear exterior of the house. Police collected it as evidence, according to the affidavit.
Sawyer told police he thought the blood was spilled cough syrup, began cleaning the living room and later called police. A Warren Circuit Court jury on Dec. 18, 2002, convicted Sawyer of tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Sawyer was never charged with any other crime in connection with Neal’s disappearance or death. No additional people are expected to be charged in her homicide, Cohron said. While Sawyer was in jail, deputy jailers noted that Sawyer was someone who would have cleaned constantly if permitted. Often he used a toothbrush to clean corners.
On the day Carol was reported missing, police interviewed Leland and noted that he had several scratches on his face and arm that “could be” consistent with someone fighting with him, according to the affidavit. He said he got them while scouting for places to hunt deer. Leland was not known to hunt deer and had not obtained a deer tag.
Leland’s oldest son, Zachary, told police that his father could not stand cruelty to animals and that “his dad could hardly kill a deer,” according to the affidavit. He told police that one of the reasons his father could have killed Carol was Leland’s “temper.” Zachary told BGPD detectives in 2005 that on the night his mother disappeared, he heard her let someone into the home around midnight and that she talked to the person for about 10 minutes before he heard arguing, shouting and a scream, according to the affidavit.
Leland was the only beneficiary of a $50,000 life insurance policy on Carol, according to the affidavit. In addition to the life insurance, Leland also testified during Sawyer’s trial that he received Social Security survivor benefits of $1,200 a month for himself and the children after Carol’s death.
