Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of Jorge Rueda Landeros, nearly 15 years after the death of American University professor Sue Ann Marcum, who had been beaten and asphyxiated in her Bethesda, Maryland, home.
Landeros was indicted in August 2023 for the first-degree murder of Marcum, who was found in her home on Massachusetts Avenue less than a half-mile west of the D.C. border on Oct. 25, 2010.
Montgomery County prosecutors have said Landeros, who had dual citizenship, fled to Mexico after Marcum鈥檚 death. He spent a dozen years on the FBI鈥檚 鈥淢ost Wanted List,鈥� before he聽was arrested聽in Guadalajara, Mexico, in December 2022 and聽extradited聽to the U.S.
Police and prosecutors haven’t specified whether Marcum and Landeros had a romantic relationship, but Landeros was the sole beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance on Marcum.
In addition, according to the FBI, Marcum had made the initial contribution of a joint investment account she shared with Landeros and had expressed concern about how he was managing the funds.
A 1099 form in Marcum’s home from 2008 listed proceeds of more than $100 million from the fund, which investigators believed to be “very unusual,” given her occupation as a university professor, according to charging documents.
Once the jury has been selected, the trial is expected to take about a week. If convicted, Landeros could face life in prison with no chance of parole.
Defense: Landeros maintains innocence
Landeros’ public defenders have said the scene of Marcum鈥檚 killing initially bore signs of a robbery, according to charging documents in the case. A rear window appeared to have been pried open and the house was partially ransacked.
However, several expensive items were left behind and investigators said evidence of a struggle indicated Marcum possibly knew her attacker.
The defense said several electronic items of value were stacked in the home, and the facts are consistent with the modus operandi in approximately 60 to 80 home burglaries that occurred in the Northwest quadrant of D.C. and in Bethesda, within several months of Marcum鈥檚 death.
鈥淒espite these facts, the state still alleges that Mr. Landeros killed Ms. Marcum,鈥� according to last week鈥檚 defense motion.
In recent motions, public defenders Meghan Brennan and Tatiana David asked the judge to exclude any suggestion from prosecutors that Landeros fled to Mexico to avoid being prosecuted in Marcum鈥檚 death. And they argued that prosecutors should not be allowed to mention that Landeros changed his name, because it would suggest he had something to hide.
Last week the judge ruled that all of the facts about Landeros’ time in Mexico after Marcum’s death are admissible, although prosecutors can’t use the words “flight” in opening statements. The state is prohibited from introducing any evidence about the name Landeros was using when he was apprehended.
The defense said it will challenge the prosecutorial argument that by not making himself available to Maryland officials, Landeros was demonstrating consciousness of guilt.
鈥淭here are a number of reasons why Mr. Landeros would avoid turning himself in to the authorities, including potential Internal Revenue Service penalties, that exist completely independent of the murder of Sue Marcum,鈥� the defense wrote.
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