Leon Means: Four Murders Across Twenty-Five Years
Overview
Leon Means is an American serial killer responsible for murdering four women in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. His known crimes occurred in two distinct periods separated by approximately twenty-five years. The first two victims, his estranged wife and her mother, were killed together in June 1989. Means then remained free from prosecution for those murders until October 2014, when he killed two more women in their homes only a few blocks apart.
The 2014 investigation moved rapidly because the two victims were discovered within hours of one another and appeared to have been attacked under similar circumstances. After Means was taken into custody, he confessed not only to the recent killings but also to the long-unsolved 1989 murders. His admissions finally connected him to four deaths that had caused grief and uncertainty in the Muskegon Heights community for decades.
Confirmed Victims
- Cynthia Lou Herrera Means, 30 — Killed on June 15, 1989, inside her mother’s home in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. Cynthia, Leon Means’s estranged wife, was stabbed repeatedly.
- Linda Lou Herrera, 48 — Killed on June 15, 1989, inside her home in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. Linda, Cynthia’s mother, was shot and stabbed during the same attack that killed her daughter.
- Judy Kay Bushman, 62 — Killed on October 13, 2014, inside her home on Wood Street in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. She was discovered the following morning with a cord or rope around her neck.
- Anna “Red” Lawson, 63 — Killed on October 13, 2014, inside her home on East Sherman Boulevard in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. She was strangled and stabbed, and her body was concealed beneath household items.
The 1989 Prison Escape
In the spring of 1989, Means was serving time in the Michigan prison system. During a medical transport on April 13, he escaped from custody and remained at large. While authorities searched for him, Cynthia Herrera Means was separated from him and had reportedly expressed fear of what he might do. The relationship had become troubled, and Cynthia was staying with her mother, Linda Herrera, in Muskegon Heights.
On June 15, 1989, Cynthia and Linda were found murdered inside Linda’s home. Investigators discovered evidence of an exceptionally violent attack. Cynthia had suffered numerous stab wounds. Linda had been shot in the chest and stabbed repeatedly. A handgun that had apparently been fired once before malfunctioning was recovered from the residence.
Means was an obvious person of interest because he was Cynthia’s estranged husband, had escaped from prison and was believed to have returned to the Muskegon area. However, investigators did not have enough evidence at the time to obtain murder convictions. Means was eventually captured and returned to prison for his escape and other offenses, but the deaths of Cynthia and Linda remained officially unresolved for more than two decades.
The Murder of Anna Lawson
On the night of October 13, 2014, Means went to the Muskegon Heights home of Anna “Red” Lawson. Lawson was known in her neighborhood as a friendly and generous woman who was willing to help people in need. Means was familiar to her, and investigators found no evidence that he had forced his way into the residence.
During the encounter, Means attacked Lawson. She was strangled with a cord and stabbed. Her home was left in disarray, and her body was covered with cushions and a blanket or sheet in what appeared to be a hurried effort to conceal it. A friend who visited the home shortly after midnight noticed that the front door was open, saw signs of violence and contacted the police.
Officers arrived during the early hours of October 14 and located Lawson’s body. They also learned that her silver Chevrolet Malibu was missing. The disappearance of the vehicle gave investigators an immediate piece of information they could circulate to surrounding law-enforcement agencies.
The Murder of Judy Bushman
Only several hours after Lawson was found, police were summoned to Judy Bushman’s home on Wood Street, approximately three blocks away. Bushman’s daughter had spoken with her the previous evening but became worried when she could not reach her the next morning. A relative entered the home through a window and discovered Bushman in her bedroom.
Bushman had been strangled with a rope or cord. The ligature was not attached to any fixture, allowing investigators to quickly dismiss the possibility of suicide. Her residence had also been disturbed, adding to the suspicion that she had been killed during a violent confrontation.
Means had previously lived in Bushman’s home and knew her personally. According to investigators, he later admitted that he had argued with Bushman before killing her. The close proximity of the two crime scenes, the timing of the deaths and the similarities in the attacks caused police to suspect that one person was responsible for both murders.
Arrest and Confession
Investigators soon identified Means, then 61 years old, as a person of interest. His connection to both women, his criminal history and his possible access to Lawson’s missing automobile made him a central focus of the investigation. Early on October 15, 2014, police arrested him and recovered Lawson’s Chevrolet Malibu.
During questioning, Means admitted responsibility for killing Lawson and Bushman. His confession transformed two rapidly developing homicide investigations into prosecutable cases. He also made a far more unexpected admission: he confessed to murdering Cynthia Means and Linda Herrera in 1989.
The confession provided the breakthrough the Herrera family had awaited for twenty-five years. Means was subsequently charged with four counts of open murder, covering both the 1989 double homicide and the two killings committed in 2014.
Convictions for the 2014 Murders
On April 28, 2015, Means entered no-contest pleas to two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Anna Lawson and Judy Bushman. A no-contest plea does not require a defendant to verbally admit every allegation in court, but it allows the judge to treat the case as a conviction and impose the same sentence that would follow a guilty plea.
On June 22, 2015, Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks sentenced Means to two terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The sentences guaranteed that Means would never be released from prison. Members of the victims’ families addressed him in court, describing the devastation caused by his actions and condemning the apology he offered before sentencing.
Resolution of the 1989 Murders
The prosecution of Means for the deaths of Cynthia and Linda continued after he had already received life sentences for the 2014 murders. Because the older case involved evidence collected decades earlier, prosecutors had to prepare for the possibility of a trial based on a combination of the original investigation, Means’s confession and the circumstances surrounding his prison escape.
Means eventually entered no-contest pleas in the 1989 case as well. In November 2015, he received additional prison terms of 20 to 47 years for the murders of his estranged wife and mother-in-law. Although he was already serving life without parole, the additional convictions formally held him responsible for all four deaths and brought a legal resolution to a case that had remained open since 1989.
A Killer Who Returned After Decades
The case of Leon Means is notable for the extraordinary twenty-five-year interval separating his two sets of murders. His first known attack was directed at members of his own family after he escaped from custody. Decades later, following his release from prison, he murdered two older women whom he knew in the same small Michigan community.
Means did not become publicly recognized as a four-time murderer until the 2014 investigation forced authorities to examine his past. The quick identification of Lawson’s missing vehicle, Means’s connections to both recent victims and the coordinated work of local investigators led to his arrest before he could disappear or attack anyone else.
The convictions ensured that Means would spend the rest of his life in prison. They also gave the families of Cynthia Means, Linda Herrera, Judy Bushman and Anna Lawson official acknowledgment that their loved ones had all been killed by the same man. What began as two apparently separate homicides in October 2014 ultimately solved a double murder that had haunted Muskegon Heights for a quarter of a century.
