Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Jorge Rueda Landeros Sentenced to 25 Years for 2010 Killing of American University Professor

Defense lawyers said they will appeal.

Overview

  • Montgomery County Circuit Judge Rachel McGuckian imposed a 25-year term, below the 30-year maximum, citing the killing’s brutality, a breach of trust, and a staged crime scene, while noting Landeros had no prior record.
  • The sentence includes credit for roughly three years already served since his 2022 arrest.
  • A jury found Landeros guilty of second-degree murder in October 2025 after less than a day of deliberations.
  • Prosecutors said DNA under Sue Marcum’s fingernails and on a tequila bottle used in the assault tied Landeros to the attack.
  • Landeros, formerly Marcum’s Spanish and yoga instructor with personal and financial ties to her, fled to Mexico before his December 2022 arrest and later extradition.