After having used his dead ex-wife’s credit card to buy a one-way ticket to Hawaii, Lee Leinweber told police he was set to “live out his days” on the beach.
But Ottawa police officers caught up with the 56-year-old Leinweber leaving an Ottawa hotel and heading for the airport Sunday morning before he could get away.
Leinweber, who was identified as being unemployed and homeless, is charged in the Jan. 30 first degree murder of his ex-wife, Erin Leinweber, 56, in Wheaton. Judge Richard Russo set his bail at $2 million this morning.
Assistant State’s Attorney Tim Diamond said Leinweber, who has a history of domestic abuse, decided to kill his ex-wife on Jan. 30 after she accused him of stealing her face cream and swung a bag full of pills at him.
Diamond said Leinweber told police in two separate recorded interviews that he choked Erin Leinweber until she fell to the ground. Leinweber told police her cracking ribs sounded like china breaking as he bore down his weight onto her chest.
Prosecutors said Leinweber then found the face cream he was accused of stealing and sprayed it on her face before stuffing a plastic bag in her mouth and putting two plastic bags over her head. He then suffocated her for 10 minutes.
Diamond said Leinweber knew from watching “Law and Order” on television that he needed to make sure Erin was dead, so he got a pair of scissors and attempted to stab her in the chest. When that didn’t work, Diamond said Leinweber got a knife and stabbed her in the neck and throat between 10 and 12 times. He then stabbed her in her genital area and left the knife inserted there.
Prosecutors said after killing her, Leinweber called her boss and told her she was sick and would be out for a few days. He then ransacked the apartment and left a note implicating Erin Leinweber’s brother in the murder.
He then bought alcohol and cigarettes and used cocaine as he “partied” at the hotel in the days following the murder.
Diamond said Leinweber had $1 left in his pocket Sunday when he was arrested and headed for O’Hare airport in her red 2009 Kia Spectra.
Erin Leinweber’s son called police at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday. Prosecutors said he found his mother after arriving at her home to pick her up and take her to dinner.
Diamond said Leinweber was charged with domestic battery in 2005, but the charges were after dropped. The couple divorced in 2008, but police were at the Wheaton residence three times in 2016, most recently on Dec. 28 when Leinweber threatened to kill Erin Leinweber with a knife and then commit “suicide by cop.” Leinweber ultimately surrendered unharmed after a brief standoff.
Leinweber, who is currently only charged with first degree murder, faces between 20 and 60 years in prison if convicted. His next court date is at 9 a.m. Feb. 21 in Courtroom 2010.
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