Clara Jassmin Ledward (Odessa, Texas Police Department.)
A 31-year-old woman in Texas will spend decades behind bars after admitting to killing her husband and then going on the run for more than two months fleeing to Mexico. Ector County District Judge Denn Whalen on Wednesday ordered Clara Jassmin Ledward to serve a 40-year sentence in a state correctional facility for the May 2021 murder of 24-year-old Jacob Ledward, the records court cases reviewed by Law&Crime show.
On April 12, Ledward pleaded guilty to one count of murder for fatally shooting her husband. Before entering the plea last week, Ledward’s jury trial was scheduled to begin on April 24.
Judge Whalen also credited Ledward with 623 days in jail.
On May 14, 2021, officers from the Odessa Police Department responded to a residence in the 2000 block of East 7th Street regarding Jacob Ledward’s wellness check requests. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders say they entered the home and found an adult male – later identified as Jacob Ledward – dead after apparently sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators immediately began searching for Clara Ledward, who was wanted for questioning in connection with her husband’s death. However, it soon became apparent that she was evading law enforcement and a warrant for her arrest on suspicion of murder was issued.
Police later learned that Ledward had family near the Ojinaga border in Mexico and suspected she had fled the country.
During a two-month, multi-agency investigation that included assistance from the FBI and Mexican authorities, investigators were able to locate Ledward in Mexico and take her into custody after a brief shootout with law enforcement agents. order. Ledward was shot in the process but survived his injury, police said.
“Our FBI partners assisted by issuing an arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution so that we could work with the Mexican government in his arrest,” ODP said after Ledward’s arrest. “On 07/29/2021, Clara Ledward was arrested by Mexican authorities in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. During her arrest, Clara Ledward suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Mexican authorities extradited Ledward to the United States and to Brewster County for medical attention.
Authorities have not released any information as to why they believe Ledward killed her husband.
Ledward was indicted by a grand jury for her husband’s murder in September 2021. She has remained in custody since her initial arrest on over $1 million bond.
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