Trial Date Confirmed for Fugitive Raymond McLeod in 2016 San Diego Murder Case!
A former U.S. Marine, accused of killing his girlfriend in 2016 and fleeing the country to escape justice, is scheduled to stand trial in January next year. The case has been a painful journey for the family of Krystal Mitchell, who was 30 years old when she was found dead in San Diego.
Police discovered her body on June 16, 2016, in the 7600 block of Mission Gorge Road in Allied Gardens. Authorities determined that Mitchell had been beaten and strangled.
Raymond McLeod, Mitchell’s boyfriend at the time, was identified as the main suspect. The couple had been visiting San Diego on a trip when the tragic incident occurred. After Mitchell’s death, McLeod fled the United States, leaving investigators searching for him for years.
The search for McLeod ended in August 2022, thanks to a tip received by officials in El Salvador. Authorities found McLeod teaching at a school in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
He was arrested and brought back to the U.S. to face charges. Before his capture, McLeod was one of the U.S. Marshal Service’s 15 most wanted fugitives.
Krystal Mitchell’s mother, Josephine Wentzel, has been deeply involved in the case. A former law enforcement officer, Wentzel worked tirelessly to help locate McLeod and bring him to justice. She traveled to San Diego to attend the court hearing on Wednesday.
Wentzel expressed her hopes for justice, saying she looks forward to the trial but knows that nothing will truly bring peace after the loss of her daughter. “I just can hardly wait for that to happen and be over with,” she said. “There’s no real true accomplishment or happiness because of the tragic death of my daughter, but I’m just glad that it’s moving along.”
Wentzel added that her role now is to speak on behalf of her daughter and to help protect others. “Nothing can compare to losing a child, nothing.
When you lose a child, especially to a violent death, a murder, it takes away something from your life,” she said. “So I’m her voice now, and I’m here to make it heard loud and clear and to protect other women from becoming his victim.”
McLeod’s trial is set to begin on January 9, with another court hearing scheduled in December. Mitchell’s family and supporters hope that the trial will bring some measure of justice for her untimely and tragic death.
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