Dateline NBC episode Twisted In Texas, aired on April 29, 2018, has explored the harrowing details of Leon Jacob and Valerie McDaniel's murder-for-hire plot against their exes. Jacob was a former medical student who plotted to kill his ex-girlfriend Meghan Verikas and took help from his present partner, Valerie McDaniel.
He also tried to involve her in his plans by adding another name to his kill list - Marion 'Mack' McDaniel, Valerie's ex-husband. A six-day trial went on after the couple was convicted of an attempt to murder.
They even initiated negotiations with a hired assassin who was paid $10,000 by Jacob. However, the hired killer went MIA and Jacob had to resort to other methods to get the job done, only ending up making things worse for himself and Valerie. The official synopsis of Twisted In Texas reads:
"In a hard-to-believe case, a violent stalker attempts to arrange the death of his ex-girlfriend. He even convinces his new girlfriend that her divorced husband should be added to the list."
5 harrowing details about Leon Jacob and Valerie McDaniel's murder-for-hire plot
(1) An undercover cop staged as a hitman found the first breakthrough in the case
As per Dateline, Leon Jacob first hired a man named Zach to carry out the murders, but his plan failed as the killer vanished after taking money from him. After Jacob got in touch with bondsman Michael Kubosh, the latter led him to the police.
The investigators then set up a sting operation where an undercover cop named Javier was posed as the new hitman for Jacob's task. Jacob was thus tricked into paying him $20,000 cash and was consequently arrested by the police. This operation was a major turning point in the investigation. Javier mentioned in a statement that he remembered Jacob saying:
"'I want her gone. I want her to go away forever.’ And I took that to understand he wanted her dead."
(2) Jacob's ex-girlfriend, Meghan Verikas, was a victim of physical and emotional abuse
Jacob's ex-girlfriend, Meghan Verikas, was one of his targets. She later testified against him in court, mentioning how Jacob had physically and emotionally tortured her.
Jacob was described as a manipulative individual who could go to any extent to fulfill his desires. Meghan also talked about how the abusive relationship had a deep psychological impact on her. She further added in a court statement:
"I have no sense of trust."
(3) Jacob's partner-in-crime and life, Valerie McDaniel, killed herself
Jacob's then-girlfriend, Valerie McDaniel, was a well-known Houston veterinarian. As per Dateline, she got emotionally pulled into Jacob's murder-for-hire plot and was also persuaded to kill her ex-husband.
When things went sideways, she panicked and got scared of the consequences that might follow. As a result, she committed suicide on March 10, 2017, by jumping off her seventh-floor apartment's balcony in River Oaks Complex. Even her closed ones confirmed that Jacob manipulated her emotionally and convinced her to be his partner-in-crime.
(4) Jacob initially denied all charges despite incriminating evidence
Jacob reportedly said in a statement:
"I am innocent of these charges. I still maintain that throughout. I find them to be atrocious in manner because I'm not some monster that wanted my ex-girlfriend killed and her ex-husband… I’m a healer by nature."
According to him, he was not responsible for Valerie's death. He further added:
"That was a decision she made on her own."
Even during Jacob's trial, his attorney gave an argument that his client hired a private investigator to help mend things with his ex-partner Verikas. As per reports, his answers during the questioning were unsettling, and he mostly replied by saying "sure" or "if that's what you say."
(5) Leon Jacob was sentenced to life
Jacob was held guilty of two counts of solicitation of capital murder and eventually got life imprisonment without parole for 30 years. Though the defense had plans to appeal for a shorter sentence, it did not stand in court, as per reports.
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