45: A Call for Change: Angie Leon's Story and the Fight for Justice

Angie Leon thought she had finally had the chance to start over, but a quiet morning in Nampa, Idaho, changed everything. Join Dani and Stephanie in this episode of The Lethal Library as they explore a true crime story that shook law enforcement, the courts, and an entire community. Angie, a young mother of three, faced horrific abuse from her ex-husband, Abel Ramirez Leon, who continually violated protection orders amid a failing justice system. Despite Angie's relentless efforts to protect herself and her children, she was tragically murdered. This episode not only recounts her harrowing story but also spotlights the systemic failures that allowed it to happen, and the powerful grassroots movements ignited in its wake. Through detailed reporting and deep respect for the victims, this episode aims to inspire listeners to take action in their own communities and to remember that positive change is possible when people unite for a common cause. Trigger warnings included for extreme instances of domestic violence.

Contact The Lethal Library at TheLethalLibrary@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!

Transcript

Dani 0:00

Angie Leon thought she had finally had a chance to start over. She had a new apartment, a new job, and plans to leave the pass behind. But one quiet morning in Nampa, Idaho, everything she'd built collapsed in minutes after the system meant to protect her, failed her at every turn. What happened next would shake law enforcement, the courts, and an entire community that realized too late, they should have done more.

Stephanie 0:59

Welcome back everyone, to another episode of The Lethal Library. I am Stephanie. And I'm Danny. And we're here again today to tell you another true crime story out of Idaho, out of Nampa, which is. You know, near and dear to us, the two C right in the two C Canyon County baby. So, I think I might remember this case, but I know that I don't know the details and from what Danny says, it's going to make me

Dani 1:25

very

Stephanie 1:26

angry. So I think we're gonna have,

Dani 1:28

we're gonna have some, uh, Mike shakes going on. Mike,

Stephanie 1:31

Mike punch the mic. Uh, apologies in advance

Dani 1:34

and although, the two C is near and dear. not, you're gonna be pissed off at the two C.

Stephanie 1:41

Oh, I, I can imagine. So I, I'm sure I know exactly what you're talking about. So,

Dani 1:46

sources used today are all articles from the Idaho Statesman.

Stephanie 1:50

Love you, statesman

Dani 1:51

love bitch. She's got my back.

1:54

We do have one update to share, which is that we will be taking the month of December off from publishing new episodes. our schedules are pretty packed throughout that month and it would be a challenge to get a new episode out weekly. So we will be returning with new episodes on Monday, January 5th. So mark your calendars for that. in the meantime, we will be sharing some of our favorite podcasts on our Facebook page throughout the month, so keep an eye there to maybe find a new favorite as well. additionally, we want to give a trigger warning for this episode. Uh, we deal with a lot of tough subjects here on the podcast, domestic violence being, one of the most triggering, and this case does have some very extreme instances of domestic violence. we will also be sharing some resources in this episode for anyone experiencing domestic violence. so please stay tuned for those. We wanna thank you guys for listening, and we will see you on January 5th.

Dani 2:52

Angie Leon was 21 when she tried to start a new life. She rented a small apartment on Ivy Street in Nampa, close to Northwest Nazarene University, and began a job in admissions at Health South. Treasure Valley Hospital in Boise. Friends says she was hopeful she was divorcing her husband, Abel Ramirez. Leon. She was focused on her children. A former coworker, Christina Reyes. Lived near the apartment and said Angie would do anything for anyone. Reyes cried when she had learned what had happened. She said Angie had very little, but worked hard and kept moving forward. Her children were her life,

Stephanie 3:39

well, and I mean, she was young. Only 21 more than one child already had been married and trying, I remember when I was 21. I certainly did not have my shit together and I didn't have kids. Right. And wasn't married. So she's got this job. Sounds like a good job. Nice small apartment. Getting her life, rewriting her life, you know? Yeah. She was, to be getting already divorced. I'm sure that that was a huge deal. That young,

Dani 4:07

a huge deal, and it needed to happen.

Stephanie 4:09

Really. Okay.

Dani 4:12

Angie had moved there because Abel had been in jail, and she thought the distance and secrecy could keep her safe. That safety did not Last Reyes said Angie lived in fear. Abel had broken into her home, followed her, and telephoned her constantly, despite civil protection orders that required him to stay 300 yards away and not contact her.

Stephanie 4:39

And that's a story that we've heard again and again and again, and women, you know, men too sometimes, but most women know this. If, if you're dealing with a character like this, that that protection order doesn't mean shit. Okay? Oh, it does not mean shit. And they do not care. No, they do not care.

Dani 5:00

not only does the person not care, but as we continue in the story, you're gonna see that, police don't care. It's like, it's

Stephanie 5:07

basically like, well, have they killed you yet though? Right. There's, there's not urgency behind it. And it, we see it escalate and escalate and escalate, and I'm sure that that's where we're going.

Dani 5:18

Court records showed a long history of violence and drug use. In 2001, Abel pled guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery, but prosecutors had the case dismissed for reasons. The records didn't explain he pled guilty. Why would it be dismissed?

Stephanie 5:37

Why would it be dis? Hello? Mm-hmm. Can someone explain how that's a thing? If you know, please reach out to us. The prosecution doesn't even have to do anything. He's pled guilty.

Dani 5:51

I think part of the, and I, I, I think part of the thing with that, and, and you're gonna hear further in the story, is that there was so many charges against him that they would often. Bundle'em up and then it would go for like, this is just wait till you hear the mess. Wait till you hear it.

Stephanie 6:12

It's already a mess. I'm already pissed. You didn't lie. I'm pissed off already. Thank you. We are what? I love you.

Dani 6:18

I know you. Six minutes in maybe, in June of 2001, he pled guilty to felony methamphetamine possession and received a withheld judgment. That's what it was

Stephanie 6:32

a with. A withheld judge in Idaho, they usually do not fuck around with, especially not meth. I mean, even marijuana, they, they will just nail your ass to the wall. What's happening here

Dani 6:48

in that deal, if he finished three years of probation without violations, the conviction would've disappeared. His heart deal?

Stephanie 6:56

Yeah.

Dani 6:56

But instead his behavior worsened with meth. No. In October of 2002, Nampa police filed eight cases that included 10 violations of protection orders and three charges of stalking. Most of those cases were dismissed. Only two counts of violating protection orders, and one count of stalking remained so outta 13 charges. He got three.

Stephanie 7:27

All right. I know that sometimes you have to lessen or whatever, but I'm already not liking this and it seems like, I mean, this is a very messy type criminal, like if you're getting caught up this many times, didn't fight. It's not like there's not evidence or something if you, if you can be charged that many times, but what do I know?

Dani 7:53

In November, 2002, officers arrested Abel again. That incident included two more violations of protection orders, possession of paraphernalia, resisting officers f fleeing police that, included a felony eluding charge after he drove 85 miles an hour in a 35 mile an hour zone.

Stephanie 8:20

So he's just fucking up shit everywhere. And usually police take it kind of personal once you start getting the resisting and fleeing and you know, you'll be targeted usually. So what's going on here?

Dani 8:34

He served at least 160 days in jail. but records number fully clarified what those days were. I think that those days were, he was just waiting. For the plea deal, right. Or whatever, you know? Mm-hmm. Just awaiting trial or the plea deal or whatever can make bail. Yeah.

Stephanie 8:51

Or maybe who knows what the bail was, if it was a bail or whatever.

Dani 8:56

By April 23rd, 2003, Abel and prosecutors reached a plea bargain. That's what it was. They, they were waiting, you know, nearly every charge except the felony eluding count was dismissed. Why? He pled guilty and walked out of the jail on his own recognizance to wait for sentencing in June. Wonderful. Have you ever heard of a thing

Stephanie 9:22

pled guilty? Is is he like, I'm just spiraling right now because I'm like, is this, is he like an informant? What the fuck? What,

Dani 9:31

yeah. Uh, yeah. You can just take off. We'll see it when you're, when we're ready to send you to actual prison. I just,

Stephanie 9:38

yeah, you just, just come back when we ask you to. If that's not too much trouble.

Dani 9:43

We'll see you in a little bit. Judge Kerik ordered him to live with his mother on the north side of Nampa and to stay away from Angie Police said they warned Angie, that Abel had been released and they offered extra patrols around her house

Stephanie 9:57

as they

Dani 9:58

should. But the records show that no distress calls from her after April 23rd, except for one. About a reporting a, a lost item.

Stephanie 10:08

Hmm.

Dani 10:09

There's some things that's gonna come about that. friends believe she was worn down by the system and tired of reporting violations that never seemed to matter.

Stephanie 10:17

Well, yeah. They all are just getting dismissed. I mean, he pled guilty to the domestic or whatever the hell that was. And nothing happened. Yeah. She was burnt out,

Dani 10:27

so she did not take it. It had ground her down. Yeah. She's just like, why am I even Bo? Why do I even bother? Nothing comes of it. It's like complaining. It's

Stephanie 10:36

just more stress. Yeah. And more uprooting your life and you know it. I can see why someone would feel like that. If so,

Dani 10:46

she's like, don't even bother. Basically. Like I feel like I've, when we get down to the how. Frequent. This was, she probably was just like, it doesn't even matter. Yeah. extra patrols. What is that gonna fucking do for me? The fucker's breaking into my house. He's showing up here. Yeah. And you guys still, he still this crazy

Stephanie 11:07

meth head that alluded you and resisted you. Y'all didn't do shit about that either. Hello?

Dani 11:14

Yeah. She's just probably like, I'm fucking done. It doesn't matter. Yeah, I can totally see that. I would get, that'd be like going to work. And your coworker, let's just say they're saying something inappropriate, you know, uh, at work every day. And you're just like going to your manager and being like, this is happening, this is happening. This person is saying inappropriate things, and it makes me feel uncomfortable. And I'm talking like, you know, maybe sexist or racist mm-hmm. Or something on that level. Like it's a

Stephanie 11:45

problem. It's

Dani 11:46

definitely a problem. Right. And you go to your supervisor every week and nothing is done, nothing ever comes of it. And then pretty soon you're just like,

Stephanie 11:55

why go?

Dani 11:56

Yeah. You're like, fuck.

Stephanie 11:58

It's just another disappointment and task and you know, having to

Dani 12:03

waste your energy. Yeah. Explaining yourself. And you all know if you've ever called the cops or had to deal with the cops. It's not a five minute interaction. No. It's a fucking exhausting, and she had three young children,

Stephanie 12:13

and it takes over your life of all the reporting and retelling your story, and retelling your story again, and now to three different

Dani 12:21

cops that are on the scene. You're just like, yeah, I can just, I would get burn out. It would be really hard. It would be difficult.

Stephanie 12:29

Yeah.

Dani 12:32

Angie had already survived years of escalating abuse. She met Abel when they were both sophomores at Skyview High School. Her mother, Sylvia Flores, said, Abel called at all hours and showed early signs of possessiveness and disrespect.

Stephanie 12:48

Yes, this sounds like it. From the beginning was a not good. And that's what sucks is because especially in high school, there's not classes about this of. What is, what are red flags? And so you think, you might think that this is what having a boyfriend, a girlfriend is. Mm-hmm. This is how people act and this is normal. And starting it off that early is so toxic is just, you never know anything different. So you don't know that a relationship doesn't have to be that.

Dani 13:20

And her mother was, I don't know if I wrote this down or not, so, but her mother was like, instead of. Making it a bigger fight.'cause we all know how middle schoolers or young high schoolers can be. Mm-hmm. You're like, oh, you cannot see that person. Like, she's hoping she'd just grow out of it.

Stephanie 13:39

Yeah.'cause as soon as you say that, now it's my, my mom's against us, my dad's against us. It, us against the work drives them together even more. So, it's such a tricky s situation, even

Dani 13:49

though mom saw these things and was like, this is not good. She also said was like, but I didn't want the, make it a big deal, the bigger deal I've made at the, because then

Stephanie 14:00

Rebel, right and

Dani 14:01

right

Stephanie 14:02

even closer. So she was trying to

Dani 14:03

manage that. But

Stephanie 14:05

I will say, Heidi and Chelsea with Kim Fest or Kind Your Mind, they run a nonprofit called For You Network. And they have been going to schools to do presentations about, fuck yeah. Red flags in relationships and what is normal behavior and what is not normal behavior for both boys and girls. I love that. Yes. Just because if you guys that have been listening for a while, you may know this, but Heidi and Chelsea might good friends, they lost their little sister to domestic violence in an incredibly tragic way. and she was very young as well. I think that she might have been 21, I'm not sure, but. Very young and did everything right to get out of the situation, and it's still not enough. So they go to schools and give a presentation to try to be like,

Dani 14:50

just so you guys know, this is, it's not mom and dad like telling you this guy or this gal is not healthy for you. We are telling you, and this is

Stephanie 14:58

not a normal relationship thing, right? That is like adults are putting up with or that this is how it is if you're in the relationship. So I love that they're doing that and I think that it, those types of things help make a difference.'cause no one, there's not a class for it. No. You know? Yeah. I think that the awareness is a lot more nowadays with social media. Yeah. There's a lot more people talking about it, but I mean, especially in this time. No one was talking. There was not re easily attainable resources to learn about

Dani 15:28

at such a young age. No. Especially too, you're just like, oh, and everyone just brushes it off as mm-hmm. Oh, they're just kids. Crazy in love, puppy love. No, it can be very bad. And it just starts off with being like her mother said, disrespectful by, you know, I don't want that guy calling here at midnight. Mm-hmm. It's not okay that he just shows up over here. He's being very possessive. Yep. You know? By age 15, Angie was pregnant. Months after her daughter was born. Abel hit her and tried to force her and the infant into his car until Angie's brother intervened.

Stephanie 16:03

This is tragic. This is so imagining a 15-year-old with a baby. Yep. Getting hit like this is just terrible.

Dani 16:12

But they did reconcile and they married in 1998. Angie became pregnant with her second child a month later. Abel worked at times, but was reportedly arrested on drug and domestic violence charges. He was, Angie tried to keep the family together, but she spent most of her marriage living with her parents because he was in and outta jail.

Stephanie 16:38

This is so sad.

Dani 16:40

in 2001, they again attempted to. Reconcile only to separate again, when Abel was arrested, he always said he would change, don't they? Oh,

Stephanie 16:51

they, I, there is a TikTok of a gal that goes around asking, older ladies, Hey, I just wanna ask, do men ever change? And all of like the seasoned, older gals are like, absolutely not. No. No, they don't. They don't. And they don't. And they never do.'cause

Dani 17:10

they

Stephanie 17:10

don't,

Dani 17:11

with this. Especially with this type of possessive Yes. The if, if Kray.

Stephanie 17:17

Mm-hmm. You would have to go through an incredible amount of therapy and like classes to relearn how to interact in a relationship if it's already this bad.

Dani 17:30

She always tried to give them one more chance though.

Stephanie 17:34

And you know, people are good hearted. You got kids. She, there was love there. You know your high school sweetheart, you know you have this image of what you think it could be. Yeah.

Dani 17:48

in April of 2002, they had a third child and Angie finally told Abel she did not want him in her life.

Stephanie 17:58

That's tough.

Dani 17:59

Abel refused to accept it. He knocked on her door nearly. Every morning, and he called late at night when Sylvia came before dawn to drive her daughter to work. That's, Angie's mom. Mm-hmm. Abel was sometimes already waiting at the doorstep.

Stephanie 18:20

When someone thinks they have a right to your life and your but you like, he, I feel like he felt like he owned her exact Yes. And that's just so wild to me that how some people get it in their heads that. Hey, I wanna break up. I don't wanna be with you anymore. And to say, Nope, what? I'm here. What do you mean? No? Yeah, like it takes two people and they're like, no, we're just gonna be in a relationship that means that you're a whole step further into delusion at that point that you think you can just like, well, no, I don't agree.

Dani 18:54

Yeah. So we're not breaking up.

Stephanie 18:56

Thank you. What? Oh, I hate this.

Dani 18:59

In October, 2002, Angie reported that Abel broke into her apartment and raped her. Oh my God. She began cooperating, but grew upset. When detectives repeated questions, she found painful,

Stephanie 19:14

and we know that a lot of times when things like this, some people don't believe in marital rape. They think, well, and this was,

Dani 19:21

you're married over 20 years ago. Yeah,

Stephanie 19:23

yeah. And I'm sure that it was very insensitive or maybe even accusatory towards her.'cause we've seen it a million times. Yeah. And again, who wants to deal with that when you've just been through something that traumatic and you know, that likely nothing's gonna happen.

Dani 19:38

So she's just like, you know what? And I, I totally w you're, when you're trying to deal with something and function through something that. You're no forward progress is being made. Mm-hmm. It's just easy to just, and we all

Stephanie 19:54

know how rape cases go of, it's going to, they, the defense is going to try to do anything they can to humiliate you, to make you look like a terrible person. There's no, there's no like coof No. That will end sensitivity. It's, it's literally a mud slinging fest. So you've been raped. Now do you wanna be like publicly shamed and humiliated and, and, and just the way, grilled way that

Dani 20:23

the detectives handled it? Yeah. You know, it was already painful enough and then it just made it worse. So she's just, yeah. but without her full participation, prosecutors couldn't bring the case. And if

Stephanie 20:35

even if there was full participation, would they have been able to, I mean, yes, of course it has to stop at that point, but I think we all know that there's many cases where people are participating to their absolute fullest and they don't think it's a good enough case or whatever. Or you know what I'm, I am pissed.

Dani 20:55

She did secure a protection order though against Abel and he ignored it.

Stephanie 21:00

Of course,

Dani 21:02

Namba police records showed violation after violation. Andy described threats in her journals. Abel said he would break her window and kill her and then himself,

Stephanie 21:14

and I just will never understand this because even as him. Does it sound like he's having fun, you're threatening to kill her and then yourself? maybe, maybe they do get some type of sick pleasure from this, but it's just like, who has the fucking time to be acting this out of pocket? It's just is wild to me.

Dani 21:38

Uh, and typically a narcissist pig like this guy, um, wouldn't have killed himself? No. Oh, no. when Angie asked, you know, what about the children, you know, when he would threaten to do that, they don't give a shit. He told her they were better off without her.

Stephanie 21:58

Sorry, my jaw just dropped. just that a 21-year-old is going through this. Mm-hmm. I don't know if I'd have a mental capacity to handle shit like this now at my age. this is

Dani 22:09

terrible. He stole her purse on another break-in and continued to appear near her home. Just

Stephanie 22:18

a con, a pest, a constant, mm-hmm. Pest. That's also dangerous. Completely dangerous. Ugh.

Dani 22:27

Angie moved again in January of 2003. She got a post office box and tried to start over in March. She got that job in Boise and planned to move there permanently. That was her goal. She hoped to start a divorce proceedings while Abel was serving time'cause he was in jail for that eluding police officer gig.

Stephanie 22:49

I bet that's the safest she felt the whole time. Just knowing that he can't be on her fucking doorstep every day.

Dani 22:56

but her mother said Angie couldn't afford to move that far. She had three children, limited education, no car, and very little money. But still she tried. So mom's helping out a mm-hmm. Lot here. Mm-hmm. Mom was driving her to work. Yeah. Helping with the children. Being her support system. She's, yeah, she's trying to get on her feet. When Abel pled guilty to felony eluding on April 23rd, Angie assumed he would remain in custody until sentencing and made plans accordingly. The news that he was released shook her. Yeah.'cause now your safety is gone. And she didn't even tell the police her new address. She didn't want anybody to know where she was. she did not attend mandatory classes That would've given her an aware alarm tied directly to law enforcement.

Stephanie 23:43

Why does she have to go to classes to get that? Yep. This is like, I have three fucking, she documented, I have three kids. I'm going to work. How many protection orders? I mean, why would you need to go to a class? What's an alarm gonna do? I, listen, I can appreciate if they want to try, try to give more awareness and whatever. But having that as a requirement to get these things, no, it should just be, and if you'd like to learn more, have this, yeah, we have this class for you. She's got three kids and is trying to make it work with this absolute psychopath. And they're like, well, if you don't attend their class, you don't get the special alarm. So, yeah.

Dani 24:25

and she told her mother, she was just tired of dealing with the police.

Stephanie 24:28

Yeah. I mean,'cause you feel like. Especially with how she was treated after her rape. I mean, I'm sorry, that probably sticks with you.

Dani 24:37

Three days after his release. Well, he's awai his sentencing hearing. Yeah. Just come back for your sentencing. We'll be all good. Abel saw Angie and her brothers at a restaurant. The brothers turned him away, but he began calling her from payphones. Because I'm assuming that they have and shame on you, this mutual friend or person who gave it up, you know that that happened for him to, for him to get her phone number? Yeah. Someone did it. Yeah. Somebody gave it to her and they were married, so they probably had family and blah, blah, blah. You know who, who knows? It could have been a cousin, his, maybe his mother. Mm-hmm. You know, a friend. Yeah. Yeah. She would not answer and she, she kept a journal. And she just said she was too tired to report each violation

Stephanie 25:23

because it doesn't matter.

Dani 25:25

Change

Stephanie 25:25

anything.

Dani 25:26

No, nothing happens. Wasted energy. Yeah, wasted energy. By 7:30 AM on May 19th, she was dead. That morning Sylvia arrived to take Angie to work. She rang the doorbell and since something was wrong, she heard Abel inside. She moved carefully trying not to provoke him together. Angie and her got the three children out to the car. Angie hurried towards the passenger side. Abel came out, hit her and pulled her away from the car. Sylvia ran to the other side of the car, and Abel pointed a gun at her.

Stephanie 26:10

Oh my

Dani 26:10

God. The children were crying. Angie screamed. Mom, take the kids. Mom, take the kids. Abel told Sylvia, just give me 10 minutes. Sylvia begged him not to hurt her daughter. She said Angie knew he would. Sylvia drove to the complex entrance and called police at 7:28 AM neighbors called a few minutes later to report gunshots. This

Stephanie 26:46

is like literally the worst. I cried

Dani 26:50

because she's like, just get my kids outta here, mom trying to get the kids out so that he and mom's like kids, you know, picking the kids over her daughter like I gotta get, like

Stephanie 26:59

it's an impossible choice. Yeah. And you know, you just try to do what you think is the best in the moment. This fucking sucks. I did cry while reading this. Oh, I might need a break. I don't know how much more of this. I can hear

Dani 27:17

all of this crying bullshit today. I know. We're just crying all day. Let me see where we're at because we can go down and have a cigarette and take a little break. I just wanna see. Yeah, this is like literally

Stephanie 27:31

one of the worst stories we've done.

Dani 27:34

No, I fucking bawled and bald and bald and balled and bald. I wish you could hear kids

Stephanie 27:42

had to see this. Oh, this is awful.

Dani 27:45

let's go take a smoke break, SISs, because that was hard.

27:51

Abuse thrives in silence and breaking that silence is the first step to safety. the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available twenty four seven. Call 1 807 9 9 SAFE or 7 2 3 3 or text start to 8 8 7 8 8. You can also chat@thehotline.org. Advocates can help safety plan with you even if you're not ready to leave. If you're worried that your device is being monitored, it may be safest to call. Teens and young adults can also contact. Love is Respect at 8 6 6 3 3 1 9 4 7 4 or text. Love is 2 2 2 5, 2 2. For Native American and Alaska native survivors strong heart's, native helpline offers culturally specific 24 7 support at 8 4 4 7 native. If you are someone near you is in immediate danger, please call 9 1 1. You deserve safety.

Dani 29:06

Abel fled on foot inside the apartment. Police found Angie dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the girls' bedroom. Sylvia collapsed at the scene while speaking to officers. I can't even imagine. the manhunt began immediately. Police described Abel as five nine, about 180 pounds with brown hair. Brown eyes and tattoos on his neck, left hand and upper left arm. He wore a dark blue trench coat, a light blue shirt and dark pants, and that he was armed and dangerous.

Stephanie 29:42

Yeah.

Dani 29:44

Officers combed Ivy Street, the surrounding blocks and the homes of Abel's relatives. They searched the Greyhound bus station and several area stores. Nampa Police brought in a dog team and contacted law enforcement in Oregon, Nebraska, and Mexico. They tracked all cases involving Abel's brothers.

Stephanie 30:03

So they were trying to look for any possible Yeah. Place he could be trying to flee to.

Dani 30:08

And let me, I wanna go back and just tell you a little bit about his brothers. So while they were checking all of those relatives and his brothers, they were chasing leads. One older brother, Felipe had shot another brother in 2000 and disappeared, and there was still an active warrant for him.

Stephanie 30:31

Oh my God.

Dani 30:32

but they believed that, they would have better luck catching Abel than his brother. We're leaving no stone unturned, said Lieutenant Craig Kingsbury. So they were

Stephanie 30:41

now, now we're leaving no stone unturned, which I appreciate. But again, the lack of urgency before this happens. And I know that, you know, there, law enforcement, there's only so much that you can do. But I mean, I don't, I just don't understand how this wasn't an iron clad. Case, mm-hmm. Of just the sheer amount of violations and interactions with police. And again, typically when you flee or resist the police, they get a personal vendetta about you. So where was that energy? Like? Very low energy, frustrating.

Dani 31:33

As police search County, county prosecutor, Dave Young held a press conference. He admitted that Abel was released because of poor judgment and because key criminal records were missing from the file. He said the deputy prosecutor who handled the case did not have access to Abel's domestic violence history.

Stephanie 31:55

Um, okay. Why? How? It sounds like this sh should have been a well-known dude to law enforcement and prosecution. What, what led to the, like, someone needs to lose their job or multiple people over this. Is that a spoiler? Does someone lose

Dani 32:17

their job? Eventually? Yeah. because, just so you know, the prosecuting attorney, is an elected position. Yeah.

Stephanie 32:25

Like. To protect people and go after criminals. And it seems like these cases are just served up on a platter of here's 75 different possible infractions. Can we get'em on of'em or something? No one. Or he pled guilty and we just were like, oh, thanks for pleading guilty. We'll see you. I guess, you know what? Nevermind, nevermind. What?

Dani 32:52

Uh, young acknowledge systematic failure and promise policy changes. He said all felony files would now include arrest reports, plea bargains, releasing defendants before sentencing would require top level approval. Defendants who pled guilty would no longer be released on their own recognizance.

Stephanie 33:14

Yeah,

Dani 33:15

great idea.

Stephanie 33:17

And I love how he's like, yes, there was a, a, you know, problem with judgment. Yes. From the judge, like, but residents were furious as they should be. I, this is our community and I am furious.

Dani 33:37

Editorials accuse the prosecutors' office of failing to protect Angie.

Stephanie 33:41

Yep.

Dani 33:41

They pointed out that Abel had been charged with 18 domestic violence related counts since 2001. And violated protection orders 25 times. So,

Stephanie 33:54

oh my, this poor young woman, 18 documented domestic violence. Imagine all of the times where it didn't escalate to where the cops were called or she couldn't call the cops, or it calmed down. And so she, in, in looking out for her best interest of, Hey, is it gonna piss him off more if I report this? Like. Eight. She was battered constantly. This is just so awful.

Dani 34:25

They also noted that Angie was killed less than a month after the plea agreement. Freedom until his sentencing. Mm-hmm. It's like, what were you fucking thinking? But the police said they worked day and night looking for Abel and they secured a white car he had ridden in and questioned people suspected of hiding him. Witnesses claim they saw him in stores and near the bus station and he, he did, God, I dunno if I wrote this down. Who is

Stephanie 34:52

hiding him?

Dani 34:53

Yeah. Who is

Stephanie 34:55

people? I'm sorry. There is absolutely people. If, if it was my best friend, some guy and he kills his spouse and there's no, there's no, he said, she said, or maybe it's on the fucking news. Yeah. You. Disgusting is all I can say.

Dani 35:18

Uh, and he, I don't know if I wrote this down. He did actually, they had a bus ticket in his name. Oh. And they were watching, but he never showed up. Oh, nearly two weeks later, on June 1st, Abel Leon walked into downtown Marsing and waved down a sheriff's deputy. Deputy Dennis Pep Lee said Abel appeared thin and tired. Abel told him he wanted to straighten things out, and that the community had the wrong idea. He claimed he had been living on the streets for days and denied being near Walters Ferry area where police had searched for him. He was unarmed. So lemme tell you, they spotted this, a car out there and also spotted some of his friends in the Walters Ferry area.

Stephanie 36:07

Mm-hmm. And

Dani 36:07

they all denied it. But they were bringing him food and shit. They were out there tending to their little murdering friend. and I think that it got too hot after the questioning by the police because the police questioned him out there, like, what are you doing out here? Kind of thing. And I just think they're like, sorry, bro. And just look, I can't, I can't

Stephanie 36:28

keep doing it. They can't

Dani 36:29

keep doing those masks. It's getting too hot. Too hot. Shouldn't

Stephanie 36:32

have ever fucking done it in the first place. Exactly. Like how gross is that? I do side note, um, detective Pepy, that's who handled my grandpa's four wheeler or side by side case. No shit that I was in contact with and everything. No shit. Yeah. Okay. Because we thought, remember, we thought that it was like in that area. Yeah. From like tips we had gotten and stuff.

Dani 36:52

Okay. Yeah.

Stephanie 36:53

So he was.

Dani 36:56

He's been doing a long time. This is a three.

Stephanie 36:57

Yeah. And that he was involved in that. He's the one that got flagged down.

Dani 37:02

Yeah.

Stephanie 37:03

Crazy.

Dani 37:04

It's like, yo see me. Hey, I'm wanted fucking dick. okay. Sylvia felt relief wash over her after Abel turned into something. Yeah.'cause you don't

Stephanie 37:17

know like, what's to say? He's not gonna come after you as a witness and that kind, I mean. He has no boundaries. None at at all. 0

Dani 37:26

25 protection in two years. It's like every couple weeks,

Stephanie 37:32

and that's, those are the ones that are getting reported again. Mm-hmm. The torment that she went through is just deplorable. I cannot believe that this young woman was subjected to this much in so few years of life. It's just an absolute tragedy. Like there's no other way to describe it.

Dani 37:55

Sophia said, I am thrilled. I'm not afraid he'll come around the corner. Yeah, it's been a nightmare. Can you,'cause she had those babies and he pointed the gun at her. Yeah. In the months after Angie's death, Canon County found itself under a microscope,

Stephanie 38:13

as you should with this level of fucking incompetence.

Dani 38:19

The prosecutor's office already strained and understaffed, faced sharp criticism for the decisions that allowed Abel Leon to walk out of jail despite a violent record that should have kept him behind bars.

Stephanie 38:30

Incredibly violent and incredibly persistent. Happening all the time.

Dani 38:38

It wasn't just one mistake, but a chain of them scattered across plea bargains, missing arrest reports, and a routine disregard for the danger that Angie had repeatedly reported.

Stephanie 38:49

Yeah.

Dani 38:52

As the criminal case moved forward, Angie's death ignited a grassroots movement. This is so badass. Yeah. Terry Ottens, a Canyon County resident, heard the news about Angie on the radio. She began to cry and pictured being forced to save her grandchildren while her daughter was killed.

Stephanie 39:11

Yeah,

Dani 39:12

an impossible choice. She decided she would not let this become another forgotten story. She organized a meeting of concerned citizens. 67 people showed up, and 17 of those became a core group. They dug through public record. Interviewed police, prosecutors, victims and probation officers, and attended court proceedings, Kennan County Court watch, and the Angie Leon Citizens Task Force formed. Oh, those efforts, and this is, these inspiring these people, and most of them were women. We're literally sitting in court every day watching the judicial system work through these domestic violence cases. And they were fucking taken, taking notes,

Stephanie 40:08

taking them to task, and this is. I love this'cause it's like, well, if no one else is gonna fucking help, these are supposed to be our resources. Thanks for fucking

Dani 40:17

words. Prosecutor Young, fuck you. We want action. And they were gonna hold them to account for a whole fucking year. They did this stuff and guess, and they, they had a fantastic report to let the cox suckers know how bad they sucked.

Stephanie 40:33

Yeah.'cause I mean, what happens when, when they say, oh, the Canning County was under a microscope. Yeah, it's usually the police investigating themselves. Mm-hmm. And we all know how that goes. So they said, absolutely not. We're gonna go ahead and step in. So good for them. This is so inspiring. Terry on is a badass. Yeah.

Dani 40:52

A year later, the group released a 69 page report detailing systematic failures in domestic violence cases. Okay. Like, look, it's happening everywhere all the time. This, these are the numbers.

Stephanie 41:06

I don't know if I want to hear'em, but go.

Dani 41:08

They found 59 contacts between Abel and law enforcement over five years. 35 were domestic violence related. What? The 25 were protection order violations, and only three of those were prosecuted.

Stephanie 41:27

Hello? Right. Why on earth like. That's why, that's why my mind went to, and I, this is conspiracy theory and not that's just the only logical explanation to me of why a police department would not be wanting to absolutely lock this person up. What, why was this not happening?

Dani 41:55

I love this task group. I love them. they analyzed 57 domestic violence arrests in Nampa, Caldwell, and Canon County between June of 2002 and June of 2003. Only four resulted in felony charges out of 57. 41 were pled to lower charges. Eight were misdemeanors. Eight were never charged. The report concluded that the system consistently downgraded domestic violence cases even when the victims had serious injuries,

Stephanie 42:30

which means you also have serious evidence. Like what? What an absolute failure. This is one of those moments, and I know we've talked about it before, Danny, where we love where we live. Both of us do. Mm-hmm. I love Nampa. I love my community, I love our state, but this is just another reason to that we care and it's just fucking disappointing.

Dani 42:57

Yeah. And Terry Ottens and this group, why was this the culture right? What in the fuck. That a judge couldn't see all of those arrests and contact that's, that should be taken into context when somebody's released on their own recognizance, like, dude, he's not a good person. Yeah, he was dangerous enough that you kept him in jail for 106 days until he. Plead it out and then you're gonna let him go. What's,

Stephanie 43:27

yeah, what's changed? Go stay

Dani 43:28

at your mom's house. Stay away from Angie. You better

Stephanie 43:31

not go and bother Angie. Like, yeah, fuck it. Even though you have done that at ev, he has pr, he has built the case against him for them. They haven't had to do shit. He's already built the case.

Dani 43:48

let me also remind you, he had a felony, right? He was not a legal resident and he should have been deported.

Stephanie 44:02

Really? Okay.

Dani 44:03

So INS felt as well, just slipped through the cracks. Yeah. They let'em go. There were so many avenues that they could have used. Yep. And that's just that, the only reason I'm saying that is just another failure of the system. Because he should have technically been

Stephanie 44:22

Yes. Deported. If, if

Dani 44:23

we didn't wanna deal

Stephanie 44:24

with it as us Idaho. Mm-hmm. Why? Why weren't they like, Hey y'all, this is your case. More clear cut solution. Yeah. The federal go, they don't have even failed

Dani 44:36

because he should have been after that conviction where he was a felon. He should have, but it wasn't like he was run. They knew where he was at it. They just clearly, they 59. Interactions with

Stephanie 44:49

police. How were the police? Not because, listen, I have, that's literally once a month. I've had friends that get pull when I was younger, constantly not having a license and no insurance, not getting into wrecks or driving recklessly. But once they would get them on that they couldn't go anywhere, even with someone else driving or walking or whatever like they were getting, having police. Holding a grudge for nonviolent things. What, where was the like passion on their part of this? This is the guy that tried to fight me when I tried to arrest him and having a little bit more umph to, to take care of this. Where was

Dani 45:33

that? Nampa Police Chief Curtis Homer embraced the findings of the task force. He told the audience. His own daughter had been severely beaten in the past. He promised more training and collaboration and supported efforts to build a family justice center. So they had a big news conference about this, you know mm-hmm. Reporting their findings. And that's when, uh, the Nampa police chief was like, yeah,

Stephanie 46:06

I, which is what you should do at that point?

Dani 46:10

Prosecutor Young said he appreciated the feedback but disagreed with parts of the report. I don't

Stephanie 46:16

give a fuck. Young.

Dani 46:18

He repeated that he had made policy changes after Angie's death. Advocates said the changes were too small and inconsistently implemented. It was true.

Stephanie 46:29

No, and listen, this is one of those things where when something like this happens, yes, you made policy changes after Angie was murdered, she's gone. The whole family was subjected to this trauma for years. Her poor children had to be part of this last day. Mm-hmm. Bullshit.

Dani 46:54

And who knows what they saw. So

Stephanie 46:56

I'm, if they, it clearly seems like this, a advocacy group had their ducks in a row and like really lined it out. If you disagree personally, I think you maybe just keep that shit to yourself like mm-hmm. Because at this point it just looks like why are we being defensive?

Dani 47:20

Why are being, he's a fucking defensive. He's being very defensive, and

Stephanie 47:24

he will, uh, and that's, that is the culture of, you know, most law enforcements that we know. And they were, I think they were mad because it wasn't them investigating themselves. It wasn't Jim Bob, who you've known for 20 years in the force doing the investigation, writing up a nice

Dani 47:40

report,

Stephanie 47:40

saying, yeah. Saying, gosh, look at all these people are doing. They, they had the numbers. Mm-hmm. Numbers don't lie. Facts don't lie. So. Young, I'm sorry, not a fan.

Dani 47:52

I will say that young, eventually, he didn't lose his job in the oh four election. I think it was still kind of new. He kept it, but in the oh eight it was a big thing of his opponent and I can't remember who his opponent was. I apologize, but. It was brought up. They pounced on it. Yeah.

Stephanie 48:09

Because obviously, why, why wouldn't you? It should, yeah.

Dani 48:12

You're a horrible pro. You're a horrible leader. Yeah. Why did this happen? Yeah. so he did lose his job, in the election in oh eight. So for what that's worth a little too late. But, but the Idaho legislature took notice to this way to go task group. Thank you. Was it Task force? Yeah, I think it was Task force. Yeah. What, you know what I'm saying? lawmakers toughen, the state's stalking Law House Bills 6 68 created a first degree stalking charge for offenders who violated protection orders, had serious prior offenses or targeted minors. It carried up to five years in prison and a$10,000 fine. Legislators cited Angie's case as one of the reasons the law was needed. Good.

Stephanie 48:57

I'm. I am glad that something,

Dani 49:00

because that meth charge would've been a serious prior offense.

Stephanie 49:04

yeah, and Idaho usually is with drugs especially, I mean, even marijuana people are doing time, big time for personal amounts of marijuana in Idaho, not dealing for real. It it truly. So what's the

Dani 49:22

fine now? Just even 300 for paraphernalia even. Right.

Stephanie 49:26

I think so. Or a small amount. Like tiny amount.

Dani 49:29

Yeah.

Stephanie 49:30

Yeah. Okay.

Dani 49:33

Way to go Idaho. All right. on August 1st, 2003, so we're back in court. Mm-hmm. able pled not guilty to first degree murder, first degree kidnapping, and aggravated assault with a firearm, the charges carried a possible death sentence or life in prison. Angie's family cried. Yeah. They're just like, why is he pleading? I think they were hoping for not having a trust. Yeah. He

Stephanie 50:01

pled guilty to a domestic violence and got nothing. So you think maybe he wanted to swing that again?

Dani 50:08

Sylvia said the children struggled intensely. I'm sure they had nightmares and asked for their mother. Flores and Angie's father took time off work to care for them. She was their,

Stephanie 50:19

you know, main support. And her mom.

Dani 50:21

And her mom and, and Angie's mom and dad weren't together. and her dad lived in Ontario. Mm-hmm. And basically her death brought about this family. Just getting back together. Reconciling, yeah. And getting back together. So she had, you know, family members on dad's sides and mom's side and everybody was just, everyone coming together tomorrow, everybody to come together. This is a

Stephanie 50:46

lot like Kim's story.

Dani 50:49

Sorry sis. Gimme minutes. It makes me so mad. I'm sorry, sis. I wasn't trying to make you cry. No, it's okay. But good things there. I'm glad

Stephanie 51:04

we're talking. We have to talk about

Dani 51:05

it and there's, we have to talk about it and there's good things that evolved. It's so sad that, that it has to take a tragedy like this to make change. But if you can look at everything. And this guy is just a fucking dba. He's such a fucking absolute piece of shit. Right. So, uh, but something came out of it. It was not a waste. So to have an actual bill and it ignited the community and a task force Yeah. Of these strong women that said, Uhuh motherfucker, we're tattling on you.

Stephanie 51:40

Absolutely not. And I just appreciate that so much.

Dani 51:44

And they also created a charity golf tournament. That raised money for the kids' future. Good. Yeah. And it was, it was a big deal. And I think I saw it at least going up to, like five years after her death. Really? They were still doing it. Yeah. It wasn't a one-time thing, so that's awesome. so mama's mad and she should be. Yeah. Flores filed tort claims executing the prosecutor's office of failing to warn Angie and failing to oppose Abel's release. If they would've made one phone call to her, like, Hey, we're thinking about just releasing him. hey, maybe don't do that. Then she could have said, have you looked at his shit? This is what the, the big problem was, is that. They say they didn't know or have access. I'm, the judge didn't know how, how the judge didn't know because it wasn't required. The prosecutor didn't

Stephanie 52:41

bring

Dani 52:41

it. It wasn't required to have their arrest reports or anything. I think that it was just their convictions. Hello. Context isn't, is

Stephanie 52:50

that not Yep. The type of thing you bring up in court context and. I, it's just, I'm so glad that changes have been made because of this,'cause it's, there's just no excuse.

Dani 53:04

Sylvia alleged that Angie was not notified of her Right. To object to the plea agreement or of any hearing date changes. Yeah. That might be important. Yeah. It might be her one point to one time where he can't, where her say her, her saying means something and she can actually go and talk to the judge. Yeah. Her claims turned into a federal lawsuit in early 2005. Get them. She alleged that the Canon County Prosecutor's Office mishandled domestic violence cases in General Lodge proper training, clearly and referred to Angie Dismissively when she saw help. That's probably why. Yeah.

Stephanie 53:41

yeah, I think that's very clear in what, what we've talked about.

Dani 53:46

Her attorney said poor policies created a known danger for Angie. So one of the things that, and I don't know the exact law, but you cannot sue a prosecutor. Why? So they had to really dig deep. So this is why they're saying they had to

Stephanie 54:03

be creative with it. Right.

Dani 54:04

They mishan, you can't sue. It's almost like

Stephanie 54:07

a wrongful death or something. Yeah, right. You can't

Dani 54:09

handle it like that. So they had to really get deep.

Stephanie 54:13

And say, find an avenue to do this and,

Dani 54:15

and repeat not just her case, but repeated. They mishandled domestic violence cases. Yeah. They weren't training their

Stephanie 54:23

trust. She was raped and they were handling it poorly like and with all of the other data that you should have. Knowing that of what a fucking pest this guy is. I don't know why any detective would be treating someone in a way that they would be like, you know what, just fucking forget it. You have all the evidence. You've it 59 times in two years. You should know who this guy is.

Dani 54:54

So the courts allowed part of the lawsuit to move forward, which was a huge win.

Stephanie 54:58

Yeah.

Dani 54:59

judge Lynn Windmill ruled. That the equal protection claim could not proceed, and that Canon County and prosecutor Dave Young, were not immune from being sued over their policies, which is huge. Meanwhile, Abel's criminal case approached trial, but on August 18th, 2004, Abel Leon pled guilty to first degree murder in an Alfred plea.

Stephanie 55:30

Loser way to do it, but at least for the family's sake of not having to go through trial and everything, whatever. I mean, I, I say, I'll take it. It's not me my place to say that, but at at least it's something

Dani 55:47

he said. He would not admit guilt, but accepted that evidence would convict him because you did it.

Stephanie 55:52

Hello?

Dani 55:54

prosecutors dropped the death penalty and the kidnapping and assault charges. Dave Young said Abel changed his plea so that a 6-year-old son would not have to testify. Oh, how gracious of you. Wow, what a great parent.

Stephanie 56:07

Go fuck yourself. Amazing. Give him an award parent of the year, like, go fuck yourself, Abel.

Dani 56:18

But Angie's family supported the deal. Yeah, I think they really wanted closure and,

Stephanie 56:21

and honestly, it's. To not have to fight and go back and forth and or have her her be,'cause she would be smeared. They, that's what a defense is going to do. Yep. How was it her fault? What was she doing? What, you know, whatever they can pull up and dig up. And then to

Dani 56:38

have, to have those babies relive that moment and tell that in front, no, fuck that. Ugh. So, you're still a cocksucker, but I'm glad those babies didn't have to testify.

Stephanie 56:48

Yeah.

Dani 56:49

Angie's brother Ricky said that the family had been praying for a resolution that would spare the children further trauma. Yeah. Fair.

Stephanie 56:56

Yeah.

Dani 56:57

at sentencing, Flores told the judge that her grandson was terrified of Abel. So Angie's son, the children, she said, had trouble sleeping and struggled deeply during school events and milestones.

Stephanie 57:09

I bet. Because even before he killed her. They know he's dangerous. He's showing up at the house at fucking chaos. Yeah. And, and mom has to be like, no, we can't let dad in. Just the complete repeated trauma that he inflicted on her and these children is wild.

Dani 57:28

Counselor Wanda Newton showed the court, the children's drawings, Angie's son drew tombstones a gun, blood, and his mother being killed by his father. Because it's, it's traumatic, these poor fucking babies.

Stephanie 57:42

It's a life altering event and just, I hope, I can't imagine going through that at my age and then thinking of it as a kid of seeing something like that is hell.

Dani 57:56

Her five-year-old daughter drew black marks and said they were her dad's heart. Newton said the children would need therapy for the rest of their lives.

Stephanie 58:07

My heart goes out to them. This is just,

Dani 58:12

Angie's father described his grief as the loss of an entire piece of their family. Yeah. Quote, my whole family has been murdered. He said

Stephanie 58:22

It just, it's such a huge scar and that again. She was doing everything right. And it's not to say that even if you aren't taking actions to leave an abusive partner that you know you would deserve any blame. But she was really trying so hard and,

Dani 58:41

and she was excited he was in jail'cause she just saw a path fucking forward.

Stephanie 58:46

I bet it was such a relief while he was in jail. Hell yeah. Imagine some, a pest showing up at your fucking door every day. And now that's not happening, and you can just easily take your kids to daycare and mom can come pick you up and there's a future, and then it's ripped out from under you so that he can be out before he's sentenced. I just, the logic of that, like why are we letting them out if they're guilty? What? It's just so fucking stupid.

Dani 59:20

Angie's father also said he was furious that Abel would not take responsibility because he's a pussy. I hope he has a very large cellmate that beats his ass every day. Sorry,

Stephanie 59:32

not sorry. I, I am not sorry about wanting for that either.'cause I don't think that PE

Dani 59:39

Why don't she be tortured every day? He

Stephanie 59:40

inflicted fucking terror on her for years. Mm-hmm.

Dani 59:43

Torture, terror. I and

Stephanie 59:46

the children, the,

Dani 59:47

the mental and phys. It wasn't just physical abuse, the mental, oh my God, I can't even for it

Stephanie 59:53

to have this many reports, you know, I know I've already said this, but it was happening in so many other ways that weren't big enough to get reported or just weren't able to be reported. A fucking menace, an absolute menace rot.

Dani 1:00:12

Abel insisted he took the plea deal only to protect his children from testifying. Oh, you're such a man.

Stephanie 1:00:17

Aw.'cause someone else did it. Like, oh, you had a big defense, but you didn't wanna bring the kids in and defend yourself because you didn't do it. Oh, here's his defense. Shut up.

Dani 1:00:25

This is why he did the offered plea. He claimed he was at work during the murder and only heard about it on the news. Oh. Really, but that's why he was hiding out of Walters Ferry. Shut the fuck up.

Stephanie 1:00:39

And that's why you and Sylvia was there and witnessed it, and all your kids witnessed you pointing a gun. Wow. Wow. Oh, now Sylvia's the liar and all the, the kids. Yes. They were convenient for you. Yeah. Okay. Shut the fuck

Dani 1:00:54

up. What an absolute dipshit prosecutor Wolf said. Abel's employer confirmed he was not working that day.

Stephanie 1:01:03

Well look at that. I was at work. Yeah, an easily provable alibi that your work's not going to ride for you like your weird ass friends.

Dani 1:01:13

Oh no, this gets better. Police interviews showed that Abel called his sister for a ride after the shooting. He like walked up to like the jack in the box or something and called her from a payphone. God. Abel said he was sad that the community saw him as violent.

Stephanie 1:01:35

Pardon the fuck. Delusional the fuck. I am saddened that the community views me as violent. After my 59 interactions of my violence and my violence against police were publicized. Shut the fuck. Up.

Dani 1:01:56

What? I'm kind of glad he is in jail right now stuff because I think he might murder, like

Stephanie 1:02:03

I think that if he was out, I'm sorry, they've already got a task force and they're, they're on the do good side. I think there, if he was out and about there would be an a posse, an alternate reality task force of like, yeah, we're going to be Batman Uhhuh, like, and take care of this, and I hope that he's being taken care of. Very well in prison. I hope that he is just given every kindness and warm hug and that everyone is really wrapping their arms around him in support around his neck. Like I was waiting for the drop

Dani 1:02:48

Psychologist Richard Cervantes. Testified for the defense and described cultural and emotional issues in Abel's upbringing.

Stephanie 1:02:57

I don't wanna hear it. I don't, I don't wanna hear it. Cultural. What cul, what culture is this the norm?

Dani 1:03:07

Well, he is from Mexico and so they were saying that he grew up where kind of women were a, a possession, whatever, bullshit. Don't care. Be a fucking human being you deba. But the prosecutors countered saying that none of his emotional issues explained the long pattern of violence or the murder terror.

Stephanie 1:03:33

He was a terrorist

Dani 1:03:35

to her judge James Morphett called the case the most severe domestic violence case he had ever seen. He cited Abel's refusal to accept responsibility. The devastating impact on the children and his long history of abuse, he sentenced that motherfucker to life in prison without the possibility of parole wrought. Wrought.

Stephanie 1:04:00

Thank you.

Dani 1:04:02

Can we get a little,

Stephanie 1:04:04

a judge with some sense? Did Hey, wait, before they sentenced, did they let him out just for a bit on his own recall? Right. They, because you know, just while you're being sentenced, go stay with your mom. You better just stay at your mom's house and stay away

Dani 1:04:16

from those kids and we'll see you back here in, and you don't do anything in about six weeks, okay? Don't

Stephanie 1:04:21

you do

Dani 1:04:21

anything Naughty fucking dick. But guess what, mama? Her lawsuit continued good, and in August of 2006 it settled for$925,000. Triple it and give it to her. I'll take 14 more of those right now? Yes. Fantastic. Give her 14 more of'em. Flora said she had mixed emotions, but wanted to to help raise the children. Yeah. And continue pushing for change.

Stephanie 1:04:50

This helps her give them some type of benefit, some type of leg. They deserve it. They've lost everything. Yeah.

Dani 1:04:57

Because of the lack of the prosecutor, our public services

Stephanie 1:05:02

Yeah. That are supposed we pay for to protect us, so, so, yes. And you know what? You didn't give her all the money.

Dani 1:05:08

I'm telling you, if Angie was 21, mama was still, Sylvia was still working. Mm-hmm. That's like me trying to, everyone trying to come together and protect her. So she, she financially, what a blessing to be able for her to raising three ch Look, I'm old and if I all of a sudden had custody of three, three kids, young kids, we didn't plan for this. No. So. And there'll be some leftover, I'm sure for the kids, for college education. College

Stephanie 1:05:39

for

Dani 1:05:39

homes

Stephanie 1:05:40

would give them, let's go. They deserve something. Because this was an absolute SIS systemic failure. On MPAs part on

Dani 1:05:51

the Canyon County's part, Angie's Case transformed Canyon County. The court watched task force continued reporting on domestic violence cases. Hope's Door Shelter opened in Caldwell in 2005 and created a room in Angie's Honor. The community held that annual golf tournament in her name and a bench outside. Mercy Medical Center bore her photo next to White Roses, her favorite flower. They have tore down Mercy Medical. I wonder if that's still there

Stephanie 1:06:24

or if they like put it somewhere else or, right. I'd

Dani 1:06:26

be curious.

Stephanie 1:06:28

I hope they did.

Dani 1:06:29

I don't think they probably tore it down. I'll have to jet through there and see. Right? and Flores became an advocate. Go, mama. Go. She worked full time and RA raised Angie's three children. She answered calls from mothers and daughters looking for help and task force leader, Terry Otten said Flores never turned away anyone.

Stephanie 1:06:49

And that's, I think there's a lot to be said about that because if you've been through something this awful. It's hard to hear other stories, you know, like it, it's triggering, it punches you Right. In the gut. Right. And so, you know, I think there's a lot to be said for people that,

Dani 1:07:11

how strong is her mom? Yeah. And fuck yeah. Terry Ottens. Mm-hmm. You. To this whole task force. Like, I fucking love it. It's so badass. There's not as much de like I read all of these articles. These women were like,

Stephanie 1:07:27

they were, had a fire lit. Mm-hmm. And did it. And that's, you know what, when there's a failure on the level that's supposed to support us, that this is why being a part of your community and and finding things that you're passionate about are so fucking important.

Dani 1:07:48

People remembered Angie. They remembered May 19th. They remembered how close she came to escaping that marriage at the end of 2002 and early 2003, she had been the happiest she'd been in years. Abel was in jail on the eluding charge. She was motivated, ready to go, and she believed go. She believed he would serve a 10 year sentence. Yeah. And she dreamed of attending Idaho State University and becoming a pharmacist. And within that 10 years, by the time Abel got outta jail, she would've been hightailed outta here. She would've been gone. And

Stephanie 1:08:21

what she was stolen from her family and from the community and from her kids, like she to be that motivated and still going through. This is just, Danny and I talked about this when we had our little break of. I would not have handled it as well as her. No, she's no way. She's strong, not at 21, not at my present age. Right. Of her motivation to keep going and keep trying to build a life. It's incredible. And so what, what a loss.

Dani 1:08:56

so her mom gave an interview, five years after Angie's death. And she talked a little bit more in depth about some of the things that, around that time she said that, when Abel got out of jail in 2003, that Angie felt dread. Yeah, I bet. They were driving to a family funeral and she told her mother she wanted to be cremated and that she wanted Sylvia to raise her children. She, she's completely aware of how fucking dangerous, how bad she is. How bad. Yep. Absolutely. flora said she tried to steer the conversation away like you're being, but she's trying to be realistic. Yeah. And it is

Stephanie 1:09:38

realistic. This is what really happened. She knew like terrible, and she told her

Dani 1:09:41

mother, if Abel gets out, I know he's going to kill me. Oh my god. Flora said the grief was the deepest in the, in the morning after Angie's death. She said she thinks of other parents who lose children and remembers that. Morning feeling of disbelief. She sometimes avoids the news because the empathy is so overwhelming and she's talking about, and she

Stephanie 1:10:06

knows exactly what people are going

Dani 1:10:08

through. Right. And she's taking those phone calls. Yeah. Like Terry Otten said, she's taking those phone calls, she's helping others, even though her own struggle. Because she said she did. It's painful. Just wake up and just this didn't happen and just absolutely be so

Stephanie 1:10:22

much easier to try to block it all out and pretend that that wasn't part of your life.

Dani 1:10:30

But Angie's children kept Sylvia moving

Stephanie 1:10:34

good.

Dani 1:10:34

They stopped formal counseling, but they still talk about their mother. And Flores is watching, you know, was watching for signs of trauma, anything that was triggering. She said that they became their own small therapy group and that she would never cry each other in front of those babies.

Stephanie 1:10:51

Ugh.

Dani 1:10:52

She said she was raising them the way Angie would want. She said Angie was a devoted mother who loved being home with her children. She kept Angie's baby books that she had created for her children, exactly how they were hospital wristbands, footprints, photographs. Oh, people remembered Angie because she embodied a painful truth. She tried to start over. She tried to follow the rules. She was, she tried to survive within a system that kept letting her abuser walk free. Her death forced a community to confront its failures. It sparked a movement, a shelter, and a legacy of reform. Flora said that helping others helped her survive. She believed Angie would want that.

Stephanie 1:11:39

Yeah.

Dani 1:11:40

She said when she faced a hard decision, she asked herself, what would Angie do?

Stephanie 1:11:48

Oh, you'd have to give me a moment. Wow. I'm so pissed that this happened. You gotta have another

Dani 1:12:08

moment. This is a rough one. Yeah. Because this isn't some from, you know, it's not some random burglar, some random crime.

Stephanie 1:12:26

Yeah. Or some, or someone gets in a bar fight or, you know, whatever.

Dani 1:12:31

This was systematic. Torture and abuse that the system let happen, which makes it more tragic.

Stephanie 1:12:40

Yeah. So what I'll say is I'm so glad that positive things came about this, and that's, that's the way to move forward really, you know? Mm-hmm. That's, it's, it's so right in line with confess stuff, so, oh, I'm so sorry To her family and her kids.

Dani 1:13:03

I hope that they are thriving, that they found strength in what their mother went through and are kick in the world's ass. Yeah. And Sylvia, you're a badass mom, right? Badass mom.

Stephanie 1:13:20

And Terry, you're a badass too. This is just, it's

Dani 1:13:23

just a random community member saying, this is not right. Saying

Stephanie 1:13:26

it stops with me. Yep. We're gonna come together. So thank you guys. So yeah, like we said, tough, tough episode. Um. Thank you guys for listening. Please get involved. Yeah. In your community. See what

Dani 1:13:41

can happen. Yeah. However you see what can happen. Look at the change, like there was a bill introduced into law and we know how

Stephanie 1:13:50

slow legal things work and how complicated they are, and so finding the like inspiration to do that is huge. So get involved with causes that you care about. It's. Incredibly rewarding, and it's the only thing that really makes change. It. Really? Yep. The Canyon County would've never made these changes. No. If these people were not pushing and pushing and pushing

Dani 1:14:15

and watching them, yes.

Stephanie 1:14:18

Fucking eyeballing them. Be the eyes, be the ears, be the change. Um, if you have any info or you want to email us questions, concerns the Lethal library@gmail.com, you can follow us on TikTok, Facebook, wherever you want. Um. That's all I got. Danny. Any anything else?

Dani 1:14:37

No. I'm gonna go drink about it.

Stephanie 1:14:38

Yeah, I'm gonna drink about it too. Uh, ten four River Ducky. Fuck yeah.

1:15:02

On this episode of The Lethal Library, we talked about Angie Leon, and it's been a tragic reminder of how domestic violence devastates families and communities in the face of such loss, healing, and connection are essential. That's why Danny and I really wanna share the work of For You Network and their annual event, Kim Fest. Kim Fest began as a memorial for Kimberly Larson, who was murdered in a domestic assault. In 2018, her family transformed grief into action, creating a festival that honors lives lost to tragedy, whether through domestic violence, suicide addiction, mental health struggles, accidents or illness. Each year, chem Fest brings our community together with live entertainment. Local artisans, delicious foods, tons of activities for kids, and most importantly, resources for healing. It's a free, family friendly event where you can connect with support groups, classes, and seminars offered by for you network and it's partners year round. their mission is simple but powerful to minimize the impact of trauma. Prevent violence and help people find a path forward. Healing isn't one size fits all for you. Network meets people where they are, guiding them toward compassionate connections and transformation. Kim Fest is more than a festival. It's a movement to kind your mind. Choosing kindness over judgment, blame and shame To learn more, get involved, or support their mission. Visit four. You network and join the community at ChemFest. Together we can honor those we've lost and build a culture of healing and nonviolence for you. Network for healing, for connection, for all of us. To get connected, please visit kim fest.com. That's KYM fest.com. There are links to donate, volunteer, or become a vendor for the festival. You can also email Kind Your Mind idaho@gmail.com. Again, thank you all for listening.