Mom guilty in killing of a retired nurse

A mother of two was convicted Thursday of the 2018 stabbing and killing of a retired nurse in what prosecutors said was a robbery attempt to pay for the assailant’s daughter to attend a cheerleading competition.

- SALVADOR HERNANDEZ

CHERIE TOWNSEND was found guilty of a robbery killing tied to her daughter's cheerleading trip.

Cherie Lynnette Townsend, 47, was found guilty of murdering Susan Leeds, 66, an attack that took place in the parking lot of a Rolling Hills Estates mail. Officials said Leeds was stabbed 17 times shortly after noon on May 3.

Investigators tested blood and DNA in and outside of Leeds’ white Mercedes SUV, but it was Townsend’s cellphone — found by deputies underneath the vehicle — that led to Townsend's arrest.

Thursday’s conviction brought an end to a seven-year legal ordeal. In public comments, in criminal court, and in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Townsend insisted she was innocent in the brutal slaying, claiming she had been unfairly targeted and arrested in the crime.

Townsend was initially arrested in May 2018 but released six days later, after prosecutors asked investigators for additional evidence.