Man sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder and rape of two women in Fort Worth

A 36-year-old man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping two women and beating another to death in Fort Worth in 2019, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.

On September 7, 2019, police found 53-year-old Ruby Antionette Maeda beaten to death and left in an east Fort Worth parking lot. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Lee Joiner of Plano was identified as a suspect in Maeda's death. He was taken into custody on September 12, 2019, and charged with murder and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse.

Authorities said Joiner was also identified as a suspect in connection with the sexual assaults of two women on August 29 and September 3, 2019, near the parking lot where Maeda was found on South Ederville Road.

Police were investigating whether there were any other victims in connection with Joiner.

He was originally arrested for questioning by police in connection with the two sex offenses, and in the midst of that investigation, police discovered his involvement in the murder, a Fort Worth police spokesman said in 2019.

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