HOUSTON, TX – A man from Houston, Leonardo Llanes, 51, was handed two consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to two counts of murder on Wednesday. The charges resulted from a violent altercation over a custody battle in November 2020 that resulted in the deaths of his ex-wife, Iluminada Marrerro Perdoma, 27, and her boyfriend, Ernesto Carlos Aguilar Vasquez, 32.
The Houston resident escaped potentially facing trial for his crimes thanks to a plea deal, arranged by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. The fatal incident unfolded when Llanes returned home from work to find his ex-wife planning on moving their elementary-school-aged son into her apartment across the street. A heated argument ensued at Perdoma and Vasquez’s apartment complex in southwest Houston.
In what authorities describe as explosive rage, Llanes opened fire on Vazquez, chasing him down and repeatedly shooting him in the parking lot. Llanes also shot through a bathroom door to kill Perdoma, who had locked herself in out of fear.
Ogg pointed out the lethal potential of escalating domestic violence, referring to the tragedy as an instance where a woman trying to make a fresh start and her new partner tragically lost their lives. The prosecutors, Assistant District Attorneys Stephany Abner and Steve Walsh, highlighted the heartbreaking impact of the crime on the son, now left without parents.
The plea deal includes Llanes’s waiver of the right to appeal, offering a degree of resolution to the victims’ families. Also, it demands a minimum 30-year period before Llanes can be considered for parole.