Murder-For-Hire Defendant Hires His Mother As Co-Counsel

HOUSTON, TX — Leon Jacob was back in court on Thursday, and was again denied bail. He also, according to his attorney, George Parnham, retained his mother as his co-counsel. Jacob was arrested in March along with his girlfriend, Valerie Busick McDaniel, who committed suicide in April while free on bail.

"I don't think a bond is appropriate," the judge presiding at Thursday's hearing said, as reported by KPRC. "There will be no bond. I am not granting a bond."

Parnham stated at the hearing that Jacob had a job waiting on him and would be able to work if granted bail. Jacob, according to Parnham, would reside at his mother's home if released on bond.

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At the hearing, prosecutors discussed recordings that captured Jacob and McDaniel telling an undercover officer — the pair thought he was a hitman — that they wanted to get rid of their ex-partners.

"Mr. Jacob told the undercover officer that he may need his services or his mother may need his services again in the future," Nathan Moss, one of the prosecutors, said at the hearing. According to officials, Jacob and McDaniel offered the "hitman" $20,000 and two Cartier watches in return for the murders.

The plot went awry when a member of the Houston City Council, Michael Kubosh, who is also a bail bondsman — he worked with Jacob on an earlier charge — went to the police with something Jacob told him: that he planned to hire a hitman.

"I received information from a reportee that the defendant, Leon Jacob, was seeking to get rid of a witness on a stalking case," Capt. Jimmy Turpin, who is with the Special Crimes Bureau of the Harris County District Attorney’s office, testified at Thursday's hearing. "That worried Kubosh because of the nature of his comments and how they related to the victim of the stalking case for which Jacob was on bond."

Jacob's criminal history includes domestic violence, cyberstalking, and aggravated stalking, according to court documents.

See also:

Update: Houston Veterinarian Charged With Hiring Hitman Is Out Of Jail On Bond

Montrose Veterinarian Accused Of Hiring Hitman Commits Suicide

Prominent Lawyer Withdraws From Houston Murder-For-Hire Case

— Image of Leon Jacob and Valerie Busick McDaniel: Houston Police Department