Overview
- A jury returned the guilty verdict on Dec. 4 in Torrance Superior Court for the fatal stabbing of 66-year-old Susan Leeds in a Rolling Hills Estates mall garage.
- Investigators linked Townsend to the scene through a cellphone found under the victim’s SUV that carried DNA traces matching her, according to trial testimony.
- The defense maintained Townsend’s innocence and highlighted the lack of fingerprints, matching blood DNA, surveillance footage, or eyewitnesses tying her directly to the killing.
- The case spanned years with an initial 2018 arrest and release, a reassignment and renewed probe in 2022, a rearrest in August 2023, and trial proceedings beginning Nov. 12, 2025.
- Sentencing is set for Jan. 23, 2026, with reports indicating a possible term of up to 26 years to life, and the victim’s family publicly thanked investigators.