Leroy Mann was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of Janet Houser
According to court documents Leroy Mann would be fired from his job by Janet Houser. Mann would ask to meet Janet Houser the next day to which she agreed to and disappeared
Leroy Mann would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Leroy Mann Photos
Leroy Mann Now
| LEROY E MANN | |
| Offender Number: | 0255136 |
| Inmate Status: | ACTIVE |
| Probation/Parole/Post Release Status: | INACTIVE |
| Gender: | MALE |
| Race: | BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN |
| Ethnic Group: | NOT HISPANIC/LATINO |
| Birth Date: | 07/22/1968 |
| Age: | 55 |
| Current Location: | CENTRAL PRISON |
Leroy Mann Case
At trial, the State presented evidence tending to show that the victim, Janet Noble Hauser, was defendant’s co-worker at Advanced Plastics, Inc. (API). On Sunday, 3 December 1995, API notified defendant that, because of a general reduction in the work force, he was being laid off from his employment and need not report to work the following day. On Monday, 4 December 1995, defendant called Hauser, the executive assistant and bookkeeper at API, and asked her to meet him for lunch to discuss his unemployment benefits. Hauser agreed and, at 12:15 p.m., left the office to meet defendant at the Fresh Market in Falls Village, across the street from the apartment complex where defendant resided with his wife and her daughter.
At approximately 1:00 p.m., Ronald Van Goor, the occupant of the apartment directly below defendant’s, heard loud thumping noises coming from defendant’s apartment. Van Goor testified that there was also an inordinate amount of vibration emanating from the upstairs apartment, the force of which caused a picture to fall from Van Goor’s bedroom wall. According to Van Goor, the ruckus was so intense that it prevented him from taking a nap, and the commotion continued well over an hour.
Sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m., Donna Timm, a receptionist at API, received a telephone call from Hauser, during which she stated, “This is Jan. I went to Chi-Chi’s and had lunch. I’m not feeling well, I’m not coming back to work.” The call originated from defendant’s telephone number. Shortly thereafter, another call was placed from that number to defendant’s wife, Cynthia Mota Mann, at her place of employment, the Department of Labor. After receiving the call, Mrs. Mann complained that she was not feeling well and asked a co-worker to drive her home. Mrs. Mann returned home at or around 2:15 p.m.
Minutes later, a series of financial transactions involving Hauser’s credit and bank accounts began. At 2:26 p.m., someone purchased gasoline at the Tower Texaco gas station with Hauser’s credit card. Video surveillance of the gas station revealed defendant as the person who used Hauser’s card. Then, at 2:55 p.m., a $100.00 withdrawal was made from Hauser’s account at the State Employees’ Credit Union, using her ATM card. In the hour that followed, six additional withdrawals of varying amounts were attempted, three of which were completed successfully, at ATM machines located at Beacon Hill Plaza and Knightdale Crossing Shopping Center. Video surveillance of the ATM locations showed defendant in Hauser’s presence when several of the transactions were made.
When Hauser failed to return home on the evening of 4 December 1995, her husband reported her missing to the Raleigh Police Department. Proceeding on information that Hauser had left work to meet defendant for lunch, the officers investigating her disappearance went to defendant’s home to question him. Upon entering the apartment, the investigators detected a strong odor of bleach and what they believed to be paint or paint thinner. At the request of the officers, defendant voluntarily accompanied them to the police station for questioning. While at the station, defendant told the investigators that Hauser never showed up for their lunch appointment, that he had not seen her, and that he had no idea what had happened to her.
On the afternoon of 5 December 1995, Hauser’s body, wrapped in a blanket, was discovered at the bottom of a ravine below the Falls Lake dam. An autopsy of the body revealed a gunshot wound to Hauser’s chest, which the medical examiner determined to be the cause of death. Hauser’s body also exhibited various facial bruises and lacerations, swelling around the eyes, and a broken nose. The medical examiner could not pinpoint the time of death, but concluded that it had occurred within twenty-four hours of her discovery.
Upon a search of defendant’s apartment, officers discovered that one wall of the master bedroom had been freshly painted and that the carpet had been recently cleaned with a chemical solution. Using an alternative forensic light source, the officers saw blood spattered on the wall underneath the new paint. A crime scene specialist testified that the pattern of the bloodstains was consistent with someone of Hauser’s stature sustaining a severe beating about the head. A subsequent search of the car belonging to defendant’s wife revealed a carpet-cleaning machine, cleaning chemicals, and a loaded nine-millimeter pistol.
Hauser’s car was later discovered in a subdivision near Falls Lake. Investigators found a bullet hole inside the trunk of the car and recovered bullet fragments later determined to have been fired from the pistol found in Mrs. Mann’s vehicle. They also found fingerprints on the underside of the trunk’s lid at an angle suggesting that the owner of the prints was inside the trunk when they were left. The prints were later identified as Hauser’s.
