In the summer of 1974, a horrific act of violence shattered the peace of a Phoenix, Arizona home, leaving two people dead. On June 30th, Randy Leon and his 24-year-old wife, Linda Leon, were found murdered in their residence. The subsequent investigation would uncover a story of robbery, betrayal, and a calculated, cold-blooded killing.
The couple, who were known to be involved in the sale of large quantities of marijuana, became the target of 19-year-old Jose Jesus Ceja.
Ceja's plan was to rob the Leons of a substantial amount of the drug. He arrived at their home to find Linda alone. In the ensuing struggle, Ceja shot her twice in the chest with a. 22 caliber pistol before dragging her into the bedroom. In a brutal act to ensure her death, he used a pillow to muffle the sound as he fired four more shots into her head at close range.
After murdering Linda, Ceja lay in wait for her husband to return. When Randy Leon entered his home, he was met by Ceja, whose own gun was now empty. Ceja then retrieved another firearm from a drawer in the den and shot Randy four times, striking him in the chest, back, shoulder, and arm. An investigator on the case noted that Ceja also kicked Randy in the head as he was dying or already dead. Following the murders, Ceja stole approximately 70 pounds of marijuana. In an attempt to mislead anyone who might come to the house, he took the phone off the hook and left the television on.
In a chilling display of deception, Ceja attended the funerals of Randy and Linda Leon, went so far as to help their family move furniture, and even offered his assistance to the police in finding the person responsible for the heinous crime. However, his duplicity was eventually uncovered, and he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Ceja was subsequently convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. After spending 23 years on death row, Jose Jesus Ceja was executed by lethal injection on January 21, 1998, bringing a final, somber close to the case of the murder of Randy and Linda Leon.
