By David Taylor / Managing Editor
A Galena Park man still sits in Harris County Jail after he was charged with the stabbing deaths of his wife and another man in Jacinto City late Thanksgiving night, November 29.
Jesse Leal, Sr., 38, is accused of stabbing to death his wife and another man in the garage apartment behind the main home in the 10300 block of Flaxman in Jacinto City.
“The individual, I believe, went into some kind of rage and ended up stabbing his wife Stephanie and another man, Randall Pannell who was at the home for the Thanksgiving celebration,” said Jacinto City Police Chief Joe Ayala.
When police arrived, the wife was still alive and transported to Ben Taub Hospital where she later died. Pannell, who was stabbed after trying to step in to intervene, was pronounced dead at the scene.
There were numerous other people at the home at the time of the murders including four of Leal’s own children, Ayala said.
Leal fled the scene and almost immediately after, JC police began to receive tips on his whereabouts.
“He was taken by a friend to a hotel where he cleaned up. While at the Econo Lodge, he was looking for assistance,” the chief said. “We received a lead where he was, but he was gone when we got there.”
Two days later, Jacinto City detectives received a tip that he could be found in the 16000 block of Wallisville. He was arrested by Jacinto City Detective Ronnie Barker, II with the assistance of Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Pct. 3 Constable’s deputies without incident on Dec. 1.
“We didn’t put out a BOLO (be on the lookout) for him. We didn’t want to alert him of what we were doing,” the chief said.
During his arrest, Leal also threatened the life of one of the Jacinto City police officers and was charged with retaliation.
He was booked into Harris County jail and charged with two counts of capital murder.
Leal allegedly admitted to the stabbing of the victims during the suspect’s interview after arrest.
Leal has a long rap sheet with prior run-ins with the law including a felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance in early March of this year.
Ayala said it wasn’t the first time the city had experienced a double homicide.
A shooting occurred in the early hours of Saturday, March 30, 2024, at a 21-year-old females birthday party on Muscatine Street that resulted in two fatalities.
The city experienced another double homicide in December of 2022.
At a “proof evident” hearing before the court, the judge denied bail pending indictment.
If convicted, Leal could face the death penalty for his crime.
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