Death of Kent Leppink

Death of Kent Leppink

Kent Leppink died by gunshot in 1996. His former fiancée, Mechele Linehan, was convicted of murdering him, but the judgment was reversed on appeal.[1] After originally being sentenced to 99 years in prison,[2][3] Linehan is currently free on bail awaiting a new trial.[1]

Contents

Kent Leppink's murder

Kent Leppink was a Michigan native who moved to Alaska to work as a fisherman. He met Linehan at a striptease club. Between 1994 and 1996, Linehan was romantically involved with Leppink and a man named John Carlin at the same time. For several months the three lived in the same house in Anchorage.[4] On May 2, 1996, Leppink (age 36) was found dead in Hope, Alaska, with three .44 caliber bullet gunshot wounds.[2] Linehan was arrested over 10 years later in October 2006 and convicted of his murder, but the verdict was overturned.[2]

Trial and appeal

At trial, Linehan was accused of conspiring with John Carlin to kill Leppink.[1] The government said that Linehan's motive was that she was the beneficiary of Leppink's $1 million life insurance policy.[5] Leppink changed the beneficiary on the policy a few days before his death.[6][7]

On October 22, 2007, Linehan was convicted of murder. On April 2, 2008, she was sentenced to 99 years and transferred to Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River, Alaska.[8] Carlin had also been convicted of murder in April 2007.[4] He was found bludgeoned to death in his cell at the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska, on October 27, 2008.[9][10] His conviction was set aside on December 12, 2008, because he died before he could complete his appeal.[4]

On February 5, 2010, the Alaska Court of Appeals overturned Linehan's conviction.[5][4] The court concluded it was improper for the trial court to allow two pieces of evidence into the trial: testimony about the movie, The Last Seduction, and a letter written by Leppink in the days before he died. The letter, which Leppink wrote to his parents, said Linehan, Carlin, or Scott Hilke were "probably" responsible if he died under "suspicious circumstances".

Until May 11, 2010, Linehan was incarcerated at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River. On April 28, 2010, a judge set as a condition of her bail a $250,000 appearance bond. On May 11, 2010, an east coast corporate executive, Brian C. Watt, from Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, donated the money necessary to release Linehan from prison, paying a $25,000 bail bondsman fee.[1]

Media reporting

On July 27, 2008, Linehan's case was profiled on Dateline NBC. An update aired on May 22, 2009.[11]

In 2009, Linehan's case was profiled on the Oxygen Network series Snapped.[12]

Also in 2009, Linehan's case was profiled on Investigation Discovery on the series 48 Hours on ID. The episode was named "Love and Death in Alaska".

Linehan's case was also profiled in 2009 as part of the E! network program, Fatal Beauty: 15 Most Notorious Women. [13]

Publications

References

  1. ^ a b c d Holland, Megan (May 13, 2010). "Stranger puts up bail, Linehan leaves prison". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/2010/05/12/1274765/linehan-out-on-bail.html. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c Alex Tresniowski (November 5, 2007). "Alaskan Temptress". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20160734,00.html. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  3. ^ "Ex-stripper sentenced in plot to kill former fiance". CNN. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20080407051605/http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/03/linehan.trial.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2008-02-03. 
  4. ^ a b c d Alaska Court of Appeals Opinion
  5. ^ a b Holland, Megan (February 6, 2010). "Court overturns Linehan conviction". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/2010/02/05/1126105/appeals-court-overturns-linehan.html. Retrieved February 4, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Ex-stripper accused in plot similar to the 1994 movie". AP via MSNBC. October 11, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21230656/?GT1=10450. Retrieved 2007-10-31. 
  7. ^ Megan Holland (April 3, 2008). "Linehan sentenced to 99 years". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/stripper/story/364106.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03. 
  8. ^ Megan Holland (April 30, 2008). "Linehan adds heavy hitters to legal team". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/stripper/story/391155.html. Retrieved 2008-05-01. 
  9. ^ Joling, Dan (2008-10-28). "Triggerman in notorious AK murder found dead". Associated Press. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008321465_webseductioncase28m.html. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  10. ^ Holland, Megan (October 31, 2008). "Prison inmate Carlin beaten to death, troopers say". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/stripper/story/573978.html. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  11. ^ "The stripper and the steelworker". msnbc. July 27, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25876168/ns/dateline_nbc-crime_reports/. Retrieved February 4, 2011. 
  12. ^ http://www.oxygen.com/tvshows/snapped/photos/episode4.aspx Oxygen.com - Episode 4: Mechele Linehan
  13. ^ http://www.livedash.com/transcript/fatal_beauty__15_most_notorious_women/6834/EP/Tuesday_August_25_2009/80245/ Fatal Beauty: 15 Most Notorious Women

External links


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  • Mechele Linehan — Infobox Criminal subject name= Mechele Linehan date of birth= Birth date and age|1972|10|12|mf=y place of birth= New Orleans, Louisiana charge= First degree murder penalty= 99 years in prison status= Imprisoned spouse= Colin Linehan children= 1… …   Wikipedia

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