Woman admits she lied to Fresno police to protect husband, who’s now on trial for murder
Irene Gonzalez Leyva testified Tuesday that she is no longer going to lie to try and keep her husband, accused killer Michael Leyva, out of prison.
Michael Leyva is on trial for the stabbing death of 38-year-old Miguel Garcia in 2018. He has a manslaughter conviction from 1991 and if convicted in the new case, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Police said the defendant is accused of plunging a knife into Garcia’s chest after arguing with him over making a pass at his then-girlfriend, Irene Leyva.
Irene Leyva admitted on the stand to misleading police about her husband’s involvement in Garcia’s death. She also admitted to disposing of the weapon and helping to hide the defendant when police were looking for him.
When asked by the prosecutor why she is now cooperating with police and prosecutors, Irene Leyva said she has turned her life around wants to take responsibility for what she has done.
She testified about kicking her addiction to methamphetamine, saying she is in therapy and attends church. She also served a prison sentence for a felony battery charge.
On Tuesday, Irene Leyva explained to the jury what happened the day of the killing.
She and Michael Leyva drove to a strip mall at Sixth Street and Belmont Avenue to have her phone fixed. As she was walking out of the Metro PCS store, Irene Leyva said Garcia began talking to her, but she ignored him.
When she returned to their Ford F-150 pickup truck, she testified that Michael Leyva insisted on knowing who she was talking to. She told him several times that she didn’t know, she testified.
She told Michael Leyva she wanted to leave, but he got out of the truck and confronted Garcia.
She told prosecutor Amy Cobb she saw the two men arguing, and Michael Leyva fall to the ground, but didn’t see him stab Garcia.
Michael Leyva got back up and walked over to their truck. She noticed immediately that he had a shocked look on his face.
“He told me he stabbed him, like prison stab, straight to the heart, but that he should have fallen right away and he didn’t,” she testified.
She also described how Michael Leyva took the knife he stabbed Garcia with and handed it to her to check for blood.
“I asked him ‘what are you talking about?’ and he started to scream that he was ‘going back to prison for life,” she testified. “He said he needed to know how deep the knife went in so I opened it up and saw a little bit of blood on it.”
Irene Leyva said she tossed the knife over the fence of a tire shop owned by a friend. Garcia managed to slash the tires of their pickup truck moments before police arrived.
During much of her testimony, Irene Leyva tried hard not to look at her husband, who was seated next to his attorney Douglas Foster.
She focused her eyes downward as she explained to prosecutor Amy Cobb why she gave misleading statements to police.
“I was trying to protect Michael, I did not want him to go to prison for life,” she said.
Cobb asked her if she still loved him. “Yes,” she replied in a quiet voice.
Irene Leyva testified that while she feels badly that telling the truth will hurt her husband’s case, she felt she had no other choice.
“I am testifying because I want to do what is right,” she said.
The trial continues Wednesday in Dept. 62.
