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Ex-husband pleads guilty in Wheaton murder

After killing his ex-wife in late January, Lee Leinweber stole all her money and planned to "live out his days" on a Hawaiian beach.

But a plea deal he reached Friday morning all but assures he'll instead die in an Illinois prison.

Lee Leinweber, 56, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Jan. 30 slaying of his ex-wife, Erin Leinweber, 56, at her townhouse on the 1300 block of Woodcutter Lane in Wheaton. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison as part of the agreement and must serve the entire term.

DuPage County Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Lindt said Leinweber, who has a history of domestic abuse, decided to kill his ex-wife after she accused him of stealing her medicine. Despite the couple's relationship status and rocky history, Lindt said Erin Leinweber had agreed to let her ex-husband stay with her for a few days when he showed up on her doorstep on Jan. 27 and said he was homeless and hungry.

In her victim impact statement, Erin's daughter, Brehan Holoka, described how her mother spent those days driving Lee Leinweber to interviews at local PADS shelters and to look at other housing.

"Even though she had endured years of verbal abuse, physical abuse, lies, manipulation, betrayal, even a faked death, she still wanted to make sure that he was OK," Holoka said. "She had forgiven him yet again. But I don't forgive him. No one alive forgives him."

Wheaton police apprehended Leinweber on Feb. 4, and Lindt said he immediately confessed.

He then provided heinous details of the murder to police in two separate recorded interviews.

He assaulted Erin Leinweber by beating and trying to suffocate her, Lindt said. Ultimately the cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds.

Judge Robert Miller noted that Leinweber has been in custody for only 34 days and pressed him about why he was willing to plead so quickly - even before his public defender had reviewed all the evidence.

"It's important for me to accept responsibility for committing this crime and get it all settled as soon as possible to limit the trauma on the kids and get me to where I'm going," Leinweber said.

After killing his ex-wife, Leinweber called her boss and told her Erin was sick and would be out for a few days, prosecutors have said. He then ransacked the apartment and left a note falsely implicating her brother in the murder.

Leinweber then bought alcohol and cigarettes and used cocaine as he "partied" at an Ottawa hotel in the days after the murder.

Prosecutors have said Leinweber had $1 left in his pocket on Feb. 5 when he was arrested as he headed for O'Hare International Airport in his wife's red 2009 Kia Spectra.

Erin Leinweber filed for a legal separation in 2004 and then for divorce in 2006 after Lee Leinweber was found not guilty of a September 2005 domestic violence charge. The divorce was finalized in 2009.

According to court records, things were quiet between the couple until October 2016, when Erin was awarded past maintenance and interest totaling $34,688.18. The divorce decree states that her death is one of the events that would terminate any further maintenance obligation.

Prosecutors said police were at Erin's Wheaton residence three times in 2016, most recently on Dec. 28 when Leinweber threatened to kill Erin with a knife and then commit "suicide by cop." Leinweber ultimately surrendered unharmed after a brief standoff and was not charged.

"Just over one month ago, Erin Leinweber was savagely murdered by her ex-husband, Lee," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "The fact that (Leinweber) has taken responsibility in no way diminishes the grief and loss felt by those who loved Erin. His admission to this brutal crime and 50-year sentence, essentially a life sentence, will not bring her back."

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