A Jefferson Parish man is sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in prison for beating his girlfriend and three children to death with a hammer in their Terrytown apartment.
A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday sentenced 36-year-old Terrance Leonard after he pleaded guilty as charged to four counts of first-degree murder in the 2019, deaths of 32-year-old Kristina Riley, her 14-year-old daughter, her 10-year-old son, and her 9-year-old niece.
The D.A.’s office says Riley, her son, and her niece died in the apartment. Her 14-year-old daughter died days later at a hospital.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office agreed to not seek the death penalty.
Leonard also pleaded guilty as charged to the attempted first-degree murder of another of Riley’s daughters, who was 12 years old at the time of the attack.
Leonard received a 50-year sentence for the attempted first-degree murder, run consecutive to the four life sentences, and a 40-year sentence for the obstruction of justice.
The crimes happened in their apartment in the 900 block of West Monterey Court. On the morning of March 6, 2019, Leonard’s mother found the victims suffering from head trauma and notified the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs’ Office.
The D.A. says after Riley’s mother provided impact testimony, Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Leonard.
