Overview
- A jury convicted Harvey Marcelin last month of first-degree murder, evidence tampering and concealing a corpse and Justice Danny Chun sentenced him to life without parole on Wednesday.
- Prosecutors linked Marcelin to the Feb. 27, 2022 killing of 68-year-old Susan Leyden with surveillance video showing her entering his apartment and later footage of him moving a bag containing remains.
- Investigators said they found Leyden’s dismembered body parts in a bag and in Marcelin’s apartment along with a saw, cleaning supplies and blood, and the medical examiner ruled her death from blunt force trauma.
- Marcelin has two prior homicide convictions from the 1960s and 1980s and was on parole at the time of the 2022 killing, a record the judge and prosecutors cited as evidence he remains a danger.
- The sentence closes a case that has raised questions about parole decisions and supervision for people with violent histories and offers the victim’s family formal legal finality while prompting scrutiny of the parole system.