She was fifteen years old when her stepfather assaulted her. She reported it. She gave up his illegal guns. She documented his death threats in a police report. And the Clark County District Attorney's office let him walk out of custody three days later.
Eleven days after that, Leonard Woods stabbed Josie Kate Jones sixteen times in a Walgreens parking lot while her daughter watched.
In this episode of No Tears For Black Girls, we tell the story of Divina Leal, a Las Vegas woman whose life became a masterclass in surviving the unsurvivable. Her story is not just about one murder. It is about what happens when a domestic violence system fails a Black woman who did everything right, reported everything, documented everything, and still could not outrun the consequences of a paperwork error made by a public official who is still in office today.
We trace Divina's full story from a childhood built on love and chaos in equal measure, through the assault, through the murder of her mother Josie Kate Jones, through the compounded grief of losses that kept arriving before the last one finished breaking her, all the way to Indianapolis in 2024, where the man she had finally allowed herself to love again was shot and killed in what his family believes was a case of mistaken identity. His murder remains unsolved.
This is black true crime told the way it should be told. With full humanity. With accountability. Without apology. No Tears For Black Girls exists to cover black women stories that mainstream media picks up too late, covers too briefly, and moves on from too quickly. Divina Leal's story is one they never covered at all.
This is not a cold case. This is an open wound. And we are not moving on.
SHOW NOTES:
Episode: She Watched Him Kill Her Mother. The DA Let Him Out First.
Josie Kate Jones. Age 41. Murdered August 5th, 2015 in the parking lot of a Walgreens at Tropicana Avenue and Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stabbed sixteen times by her former partner Leonard Ray Woods in front of her fifteen-year-old daughter.
Leonard Ray Woods was arrested on July 18th, 2015 following the sexual assault of Divina Leal and the discovery of illegal firearms in the home. He was released from custody approximately three days later by the Clark County District Attorney's office. Public reporting cited a paperwork error. He was rearrested following the murder of Josie Kate Jones on August 5th, 2015.
In March 2019, a Las Vegas jury convicted Leonard Ray Woods of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, invasion of privacy, gross lewdness, and illegal firearms possession. Deliberations lasted less than twenty minutes. He was sentenced to life without parole.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has held office since 2012 and as of early 2026 is running for a fourth term unopposed.
Charles Lovelady Jr. Age 28. Shot and killed October 12th, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Co-owner of Chuck's Coney Island restaurant. Community leader and businessman. His family believes his murder was a case of mistaken identity involving an identical vehicle.
His murder remains unsolved.
If you have information about the murder of Charles Lovelady Jr., contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477. A substantial reward has been offered by his family.
If this episode brought anything up for you, text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
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