DOVER, Del. — A Maryland man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison for the horrific torture and murder of Jennifer Leyanna, a crime he committed on his 40th birthday in 2020. Leonard “Buddy” Church, now 43, was sentenced on Wednesday by Kent County Superior Court Judge Reneta L. Green-Streett after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. The sentencing follows an investigation that revealed Church brutally killed Leyanna in a bathtub at a Delaware home.
Church’s accomplice, Esther Wright, 41, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for her role in the crime. Wright pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy for helping Church restrain Leyanna and later bury her body.
The Delaware State Police began investigating the case after Leyanna’s mother reported her missing on November 1, 2020. Leyanna had not been seen or heard from since October 9, 2020. Months later, on February 22, 2022, Delaware State Police confirmed that Leyanna’s remains were discovered six days earlier in the backyard of a residence on the 25000 block of Schuyler Road in Henderson, Maryland—a remote area where Church had a residence, according to court records.
According to court documents obtained by the Delaware News Journal, the murder took place on October 10, 2020, at a home on Route 8 in Kent County, Delaware. Church, reportedly high on PCP, became enraged, believing that Leyanna had stolen his wallet. Enlisting the help of Wright, he restrained Leyanna in a bathtub, using tape to tie her down, and forced foreign objects down her throat. Church then used a belt to strangle her to death.
The sentences handed down reflect the severity of the crimes committed, with Church facing what amounts to a life sentence and Wright serving a significant prison term for her involvement in the gruesome incident.