UMVA has learned that a shocking case of serial murder has come to a close with the sentencing of an 88-year-old individual to life in prison without parole for the brutal killing and dismemberment of a 68-year-old woman.
The convicted murderer, who identifies as a woman, was found guilty of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse in connection with the 2022 murder of Susan Leyden in an East New York apartment.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the sentencing was handed down after a Brooklyn jury deliberated for less than one hour, concluding that the individual was responsible for Leyden's gruesome death, in which her body was dismembered using a reciprocating saw and parts of her body were found in a plastic bag and the individual's apartment.
The investigation into the murder was aided by surveillance video, which captured the individual purchasing the saw and cleaning supplies at a hardware store, as well as riding an electric wheelchair with one of Leyden's severed legs while disposing of evidence at a discount store.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that this was not the individual's first conviction for murder, with two previous cases of killing women spanning over six decades, leading the court to conclude that the individual would "kill again" if ever released.
The sentencing of the individual to life in prison without parole brings closure to the case, but also raises questions about the failures of the justice system that allowed a serial killer to go undetected for so long and claim multiple victims over the years.
