In the quiet community of Muskegon Heights, Michigan, the life of 63-year-old Anna Lawson was tragically cut short on October 14, 2014. Her death would unravel a chilling story of a serial killer who had evaded justice for decades.
On that Tuesday, a concerned friend discovered a gruesome scene at Lawson's home on East Sherman Boulevard. The door was ajar, and inside, signs of a violent struggle were evident, with overturned furniture and bloodstains. The friend quickly alerted the authorities. Police arrived to find Lawson deceased inside her home. The initial investigation treated her death as a homicide, and the Michigan State Police were called in to assist the Muskegon Heights Police Department.
The investigation into Anna Lawson's murder took a swift and startling turn. On the very same day, the body of another woman, 62-year-old Judy Bushman, was found in her home just a few blocks away. The proximity and timing of the two deaths raised immediate concerns of a potential connection.
Within a short period, investigators identified a person of interest: Leon Means, a 61-year-old ex-convict with a violent past. Means was arrested and, during questioning, confessed not only to the murders of Anna Lawson and Judy Bushman but also to two cold-case homicides from 1989. In that earlier crime, he had murdered his estranged wife, Cynthia Means, and her mother, Linda Herrera, after escaping from prison.
Means was charged with four counts of open murder. In June 2015, he entered a no-contest plea to the murders of Anna Lawson and Judy Bushman. During his sentencing, family members of his victims had the opportunity to address him directly in court, expressing their profound grief and anger. Anna Lawson's niece, Tesa Lee Griffin, called him a 'cold-blooded' and 'serial killer.' Means offered a brief apology to the families before he was sentenced to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of Lawson and Bushman. He was later sentenced for the 1989 murders as well, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
