Deliberations continue in trial of duo accused of murdering woman and man

Jury deliberations are scheduled to resume Monday in the trial of a Jurupa Valley man and his nephew. The two are accused of killing the man's estranged wife and then framing her friend for the murder, which sent him to prison for nearly two decades.

Googie Rene Harris Sr., 67, and Joaquin L. Leal, 58, are charged with first-degree murder and lying in wait and committing murder for financial gain in connection with the 1998 killing of 33-year-old Terry Cheek.

The prosecution and defense concluded their closing arguments Wednesday, and the jury began deliberations Thursday. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz dismissed the jury Friday and ordered them to return to the Riverside Hall of Justice on Monday to continue hearing evidence in the month-long trial.

Harris' son, Googie Rene Harris Jr., 45, of Palm Desert, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting murder in February 2020. He is free on bail and testified before prosecutors. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26.

If convicted, prosecutors are demanding the death penalty for Harris Sr.

Harris and Leal are each being held at the Robert Presley Jail on $1 million bail.

According to a trial report from the prosecution, Harris Sr. and Cheek were involved in a divorce, and the proceedings reached an impasse because negotiations over the sale of the house they had bought together on Lindsey Street in Jurupa Valley had broken down.

The defendant and the victim had a son together, and Cheek had two young daughters from a previous marriage, while Harris had his adult son.

After separating from Harris Sr., Cheek began a romantic relationship with a co-worker, Horace Roberts, who lived in Temecula. He and the victim spent time there, but she continued to live in the home she and her estranged husband had purchased together, sleeping in a separate room.

According to court documents, Harris Sr. called the property his “dream home” and did not want to lose it in the divorce.

The defendant began to confide in Leal, noting that Cheek was “trying to take everything away from her” and that he wanted her “out of the way,” the brief says.

According to the prosecution, Leal, who had a previous conviction for sexual assault, showed understanding.

Harris Sr. began to scheme and eventually implicated Leal and Googie Harris Jr. in the alleged murder plot, and on the night of April 14, 1998, they agreed to put the plan into action, prosecutors said.

After the victim said goodbye to her son and daughters to go to work, she went into the hallway that connects the garage and the house to drive off in Roberts' pickup truck, which he had lent her when her own car broke down, the summary states.

As she entered the dark room, Leal grabbed her from behind, causing Harris Sr. to rush in and use him to strangle Cheek, who was able to scratch and bite the defendant, the complaint states. Harris Jr. was standing in the driveway but turned around because he “did not want to watch his stepmother get killed,” the complaint states.

Harris Jr. drove Roberts' pickup truck, with his dead stepmother next to him, south on Interstate 15 into the Temescal Valley, where he became agitated and took an exit toward Lake Corona. Leal followed in his vehicle, according to the story.

The men allegedly pulled the body from the pickup truck and dumped it near the lake. They then drove away in Leal's car, leaving Robert's pickup on the side of the highway. The remains were found along with the pickup truck three days later, and sheriff's investigators interviewed Harris Sr., who told them, “Terry was driving her own car and was planning to meet Horace to drive to work together that evening,” the filing states.

Investigators turned their attention to Roberts, suspecting that, despite repeated denials and alibis, he had gotten into an argument with Cheek and killed her. There were two criminal trials in which the jury could not reach a consensus. A panel wrongfully convicted him of murder in 1999. Harris Sr. testified for the prosecution in all three trials.

Deliberations continue in trial of duo accused of murdering woman and man

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