GUILTY CA - Leslie Long, 20, raped & murdered, Palmdale, 3 Dec 1978

JoeFromLB

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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-palmdale-cold-case-20150527-story.html

Leslie Long had told her family she was proud to be working a “man's job” as a gas station attendant.

The gregarious 20-year-old had taken the job at a Chevron station in Palmdale to pay for a new bedroom suite in the house she shared with her three young children and her husband, her high school sweetheart.

On Dec. 3, 1978, Long was working a closing shift alone at the station at Palmdale Boulevard and Division Street when two men kidnapped her at gunpoint, raped her and shot her multiple times.

Nearly four decades later, two men linked to the crime by DNA have been charged in her death.

Terry Moses, 59, and Neal Antoine Matthews, 58, were charged Tuesday with murder and several special circumstance allegations that make them eligible for the death penalty, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

The allegations include murder during a robbery, murder during a kidnapping and murder during a rape, prosecutors said. At the time of Long's killing, both men were active gang members, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

la-me-ln-long-family-20150527.jpg

Leslie Long and her family (undated photo)
 
Wow! Leaving the children motherless - what human scum to have done this.
 
Just saw this, thanks for starting thread!
This is one of those cases that really makes your blood boil.
This poor woman, a mother to 3 children , working hard at a gas station, yanked away from everything and everyone, for the selfish and cruel pleasure of a pair of murderous losers.
Amazing that these guys are finally identified, hope that finally gives the victim's family some measure of peace. imo.
 
1 of 2 Men Linked by DNA to Cold Case Kidnap, Rape, Murder of Palmdale Mother of 3 Pleads Guilty

http://ktla.com/2016/01/13/1-of-2-men-linked-by-dna-to-cold-case-kidnap-rape-murder-of-palmdale-mother-of-3-pleads-guilty/

Thirty-five years after a Palmdale mother of three was kidnapped, raped and fatally shot, one of two men linked by DNA to the crime pleaded guilty to her murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today.

Terry Moses, 60, pleaded guilty on Jan. 7 to the murder of gas station attendant Leslie Long in 1978, the DA’s office stated.

Moses will be sentenced to three terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole after his co-defendant Neal Antoine Matthews, 58, goes to trial, prosecutors said.

Matthews was in court in Lancaster on Wednesday, but his arraignment was continued to Feb. 17, the release stated.
 
For so many years they must have thought they'd got away with it completely free. I'm so glad that we have DNA technology which can do amazing things like this, so many years later! So much damage caused just because these vile men felt entitled to take whatever they wanted in this world, cause as much pain and suffering, and believed life was worth so little. I hope that her family will find some closure that the people responsible are being brought to justice.
 
Sentencing set in murder cold case

A 60-year-old man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing a gas station attendant 35 years ago is scheduled to be sentenced March 15 to three terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Terry Moses, who was charged last May after DNA evidence linked him to the crime, pleaded guilty Jan. 7 to kidnapping and killing Leslie Long on Dec. 3, 1978 (...)

Moses also pleaded guilty to the murders of Carlton Goodwin and Michael Fuqua, who were slain Aug. 22, 1976; and to the attempted murder of Kenney Guevara on Dec. 7, 1996.

(...)

Moses, who is serving a 25 years-to-life sentence and housed at Soledad State Prison, was one of two men accused of killing Leslie Long. His co-defendant in the woman’s murder is 58-year-old Neal Antoine Matthews.

(...)

Prosecutors are expected to decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Matthews, the prosecutor said.

http://www.signalscv.com/section/36/article/149265/
 
Man pleads not guilty in 1978 murder of gas station clerk - March 18, 2016

http://theavtimes.com/2016/03/18/man-pleads-not-guilty-in-1978-murder-of-gas-station-clerk/

A man pleaded not guilty Thursday in connection with the abduction and killing of a woman who was working the night shift at a Palmdale gas station more than three decades ago.

Neal Antoine Matthews, 59, is charged in the Dec. 3, 1978, attack on Leslie Long, who was working a Sunday night shift at what was then a Chevron gas station on the corner of Palmdale Boulevard and Division Street.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegations of murder during a robbery, murder during a kidnapping and murder during a rape.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Matthews.
 
Jury deadlocks in 1978 Palmdale kidnap/killing

http://theavtimes.com/2017/06/05/jury-deadlocks-in-1978-palmdale-kidnapkilling/

Jurors failed to reach a consensus Monday in the trial of a man accused of the 1978 kidnapping, rape and murder of a mother of three who worked the night shift at a Palmdale gas station.

A mistrial was declared after the panel deadlocked 11-1 in favor of a guilty verdict, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

A hearing was set for Aug. 1, when prosecutors are expected to announce whether they will retry Matthews.
 
something needs to change when just one person can throw the whole thing off. In my opinion, a majority vote is needed. Sometimes you come across someone who just cannot send someone to prison no matter what evidence there is.

11-1 in favor of guilty, you can bet they will retry him.

I was recently on a jury in an attempted murder case where we were deadlocked 7-5 in favor of acquittal. The D.A. is retrying our defendant.
 
11-1 in favor of guilty, you can bet they will retry him.

I was recently on a jury in an attempted murder case where we were deadlocked 7-5 in favor of acquittal. The D.A. is retrying our defendant.

I hope you're right and the DA retries the case. Thirty years is a long time to wait for justice.
 
From that article, "The evidence revealed that two men were involved, and Moses implicated Matthews, according to investigators."

Does this mean there were two DNA profiles? Or, is Matthews only charged due to Moses' implication?

They were both connected through DNA evidence.

http://ktla.com/2015/05/26/dna-links-two-men-to-cold-case-kidnap-slaying-of-palmdale-mother-of-three/

DNA evidence later tied both Moses and Matthews to her death, prosecutors said.
 
Man Convicted in 1978 Kidnapping, Rape and Murder of Mother of 3 in Palmdale

Neal Antoine Matthews was found guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of a gas station attendant named Leslie Long, with jurors also finding him to be guilty of murder during a rape, murder during a kidnapping and murder during a robbery, the DA’s office said.

https://signalscv.com/2017/09/jury-convicts-man-murder-1978-killing/

Also charged in the case was 61-year-old Terry Moses who pleaded guilty to Long’s murder in January 2016. He also admitted the same special circumstance allegations.

Moses also pleaded guilty to the murders of Carlton Goodwin and Michael Fuqua on Aug. 22, 1976; and to the attempted murder of Kenney Guevara on Dec. 7, 1996.

Moses is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18 to three terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Neal Matthews also faces life in prison when he is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6.
 
https://signalscv.com/2017/11/murderer-sentenced-life-without-parole-cold-case-killing/

One of two men who murdered gas station attendant Leslie Long 39 years ago has been sentenced to life without parole, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told The Signal Thursday.

Terry Moses – a 61-year-old murderer already serving a life sentence in prison – was sentenced on Oct. 18 to life in prison without the possibility of parole, DA spokesman Ricardo Santiago said.

http://theavtimes.com/2017/11/06/man-sentenced-to-life-without-parole-in-1978-killing-of-palmdale-gas-station-clerk/

A man was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1978 rape and murder of a mother of three who worked the night shift at a Palmdale gas station.

Neal Antoine Matthews, 60, was convicted in September of first-degree murder for the Dec. 3, 1978, killing of 20-year-old Leslie Long.
 

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