A child killer who strangled a two-year-old girl to death was granted parole two years early after authorities declared he had overcome “his triggers.”
David Leonardo was convicted of the murder of Priscilla Rose Hernandez in Castroville, California, in December 2011.
At the time of the gruesome crime, Monterey County deputies and firefighters said they saw Leonardo, the victim’s mother’s boyfriend, holding Hernandez, who was badly bruised and unconscious.
Officials noted that although her airway was open, the girl appeared pale and was motionless. Her extremities were also cold to the touch.
David Leonardo was convicted of the murder of Priscilla Rose Hernandez in Castroville in December 2011.
A subsequent autopsy report revealed that Hernandez had suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen, which caused tears in the lining of his abdomen and colon, leading to internal bleeding. He died within minutes.
Facial injuries indicated she had been asphyxiated sometime during the 24 hours prior to her death.
The boy was also found covered in bruises on his chest, abdomen, head, legs and arms.
Leonardo eventually told officials during an interview that he became angry and punched Hernandez in the stomach.
An autopsy report later revealed that Hernandez had suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen, causing tears in the lining of his abdomen and colon.
He claimed the girl was throwing a tantrum because her mother was leaving, so he put her in a corner.
But when she urinated and defecated in his pants “in defiance”, he furiously punched her in the stomach.
In February 2014, Judge Larry E. Hayes sentenced the killer to 15 years in prison.
The brutal child killer was initially granted parole in October 2022, but the decision was overturned by California Governor Gavin Newsom in March 2023.
Leonardo eventually told officials during an interview that he became angry and punched Hernandez in the stomach.
Facial injuries indicated that she had been asphyxiated sometime within the twenty-four hours before her death.
But on April 23, the California Board of Parole Hearings again granted Leonardo parole, despite protests from the boy’s parents and grandmothers.
“A Parole Board panel had stated that its award was based on the work the inmate had done during incarceration to transform and rehabilitate himself,” the district attorney’s office said. saying.
According KSBWThe board said she had sufficiently mitigated her risk of family violence, deepened her knowledge of her triggers and developed coping skills to maintain healthy relationships.
Under the new order, he will likely be released after serving less than 13 years in prison.
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