Woman Gets 25 Years For Setting Up Brother’s Murder With Her Twin And Boyfriend
A Maryland woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after authorities say she conspired with her boyfriend and twin sister to kill her brother in 2017, according to reports.
Leaundra Matthews was sentenced on Monday after her 17-year-old brother Christian Matthews was strangled to death in his sleep in 2017. Leaundra’s boyfriend, Tysean Lipford, strangled Christian while another man, Daniel Howard, allegedly held him down.
Text messages between Leaundra and Lipford linked her to her brother’s murder. She also allegedly admitted to being involved in the murder to her mother and aunt. Leaundra was convicted of second-degree murder in August.
Leaundra’s sister, Lemae Matthews, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder in October 2021. She has not yet been sentenced.
Leaundra, who shares a child with Lipford and was pregnant with another at the time of the murder, allegedly told Lipford that Christian had threatened her and their child and that “he had to go.”
Lipford was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in 2017. In 2019 he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 30 years.
According to a 2017 statement from the Montgomery County Police Department, police were called on March 21, 2017, at 2:25 am to the Matthews’ residence after receiving a report of a loud commotion from the basement, which was where Christian lived.
The Matthews sisters asked officers to search the home, leading to them finding Christian unresponsive in his basement bedroom.
He was then pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. Officers also found suspicious marks on Christian’s neck.
Howard’s trial is scheduled for April 2024. Lemae will be sentenced after Howard’s trial concludes.
