What to Know

Cherie Lynnette Townsend was convicted of first-degree murder for the May 2018, killing of Susan Leeds, 66, of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Leeds was attacked May 3, 2018 inside her white 2016 Mercedes-Benz SUV, which was parked on the first floor in the parking garage of the Promenade on the Peninsula.

The crime led to a years-long investigation and the arrest, release and re-arrest of the suspect.

Townsend was originally arrested in May 2018, then released from custody five days later after prosecutors asked law enforcement to conduct further investigation into the crime.

Townsend was re-arrested in August 2023.

A 47-year-old woman was convicted Thursday in the stabbing death of a woman at a Rolling Hills Estates mall parking garage, a crime that led to a years-long investig

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