Preliminary Hearing Begins for Ex-Marine Accused of Strangling Girlfriend, Fleeing U.S.

A hearing began Tuesday to determine if an ex-Marine accused of killing his girlfriend at an Allied Gardens apartment more than eight years ago should stand trial on a murder charge.

Raymond Samuel McLeod Jr., 41, is accused of strangling Krystal Mitchell, 30, on June 10, 2016, then fleeing the country.

McLeod and Mitchell, who lived in Phoenix, at the time, traveled to San Diego on June 9 to visit with a friend of McLeod’s from his days in the U.S. Marine Corps. McLeod’s friend found Mitchell dead in a bedroom at the apartment the following morning.

McLeod spent the next six years on the run, during which time he was on the U.S. Marshals’ 15 Most Wanted List, according to authorities.

In 2022, he was arrested in El Salvador, where U.S. Marshals’ officials say he was teaching English under a different name.

Following his arrest, he was extradited to San Diego, where he’s remained in county jail without bail. He faces 25 years to life in state prison if convicted.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last around three days. Much of Tuesday morning’s proceedings featured arguments from the prosecution and defense regarding what evidence will be allowed during the hearing.

Deputy District Attorney Franciesca Balerio argued to allow testimony regarding two prior alleged domestic violence incidents involving McLeod.

Both involve ex-wives of the defendant, with one allegedly occurring in 2009 and the other about three months prior to Mitchell’s death. San Diego Superior Court Judge Kimberlee Lagotta granted the prosecutor’s request.

McLeod’s defense team is arguing that Mitchell’s death was an accident that occurred during consensual sex. The judge granted the defense’s request to present witness testimony from several women McLeod dated. They allegedly stated they engaged in consensual, rough sex with McLeod, including choking.

The first witness to take the stand was Justin Seydell, the friend who allowed McLeod and Mitchell to stay in the spare bedroom of his Mission Gorge Road apartment. Seydell testified that he and his girlfriend had drinks with McLeod and Mitchell, but went to bed early because they had a newborn, while McLeod and Mitchell planned to go out.

In the morning, he went out to play volleyball with friends and when he returned home, the apartment was quiet. Seydell testified that he entered the spare bedroom to find Mitchell on the bed and that through his experience in the Marines and as an emergency medical technician, he was fairly certain she was deceased.

He also testified to seeing “a good amount of blood on both the bed and the floor” of the bedroom.

A declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed in 2016 states that blood was also found in a bathroom and an elevator at the apartment complex. Mitchell’s injuries included three fractures to her voice box, bruising on her arms and legs and facial contusions.

The document states that after Seydell and his girlfriend went to sleep, McLeod and Mitchell went to a local bar, where McLeod got into a fight with another patron who attempted to intervene when McLeod slapped Mitchell.

About an hour later, the pair were spotted on surveillance footage from the Mission Gorge apartment complex, where the document states McLeod can be seen grabbing Mitchell by the throat and pulling her into an elevator.