Former Antioch Mayoral Candidate Charged With Killing His Wife

A nightmare came true for Contra Costa residents Michelle Wonders and Monica Tagas when in 2015, their mother was killed. Mrs. Brenda Joyce Leon, 52, died in her Antioch home on the 28th of September, 2015. Police found her with a gunshot wound to the head in an apparent suicide, per the note she allegedly wrote. Investigators ruled her death as such and closed the case, but her daughters remained unconvinced. 

Ten painstaking years later, the sisters’ suspicions were finally proven correct.

Upon her death, Brenda Joyce Leon had been married to Mr. Michael Anthony Leon for 33 years. Their adult daughters Michelle and Monica expressed strong doubts about Brenda’s death from the beginning. (SFGate) Whether they suspected their father right away is not a matter of record. But in 2021, the sisters filed suit against a Mr. “John Doe” for their mother’s wrongful death. The suit claims a man “intentionally shot” Brenda, then “forged a suicide note and otherwise falsified evidence at the scene of the killing to give the impression that (their mother) had killed herself.” (SF Chronicle)

Prosecutors reopened the case in 2024. With a search warrant, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office acquired information linking Michael Leon to the crime. The Cold Case Unit had “uncovered previously unknown digital evidence and new factual details that were central to the decision to file charges,” wrote SFGate Managing Editor Katie Dowd. Attorney Matthew Guichard could not disclose the nature of that evidence, though he did say “electronics” were involved. 

“The family is ecstatic,” Guichard told the Chronicle. “[They] first reached out to me in 2017…It’s been a long, hard road.”

In 2015, police responded to a call from the 3900 block of Bedrock Court and found the body of Brenda Joyce. An accompanying suicide note seemed to confirm implications of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Brenda’s memorial service was held in Antioch on October 3. The late wife and mother’s obituary celebrated her “unconditional love” for her family. “Her greatest pleasure and ultimate solace came from being a doting grandmother to her grandchildren, Michelle Wonders’ daughter Audrey, age 4, and son Elliot, age 1½.” (Antioch Herald)

In haunting retrospect, the obit also stated she was survived by “her loving husband.” 

Like with Scott Peterson, many that knew Michael Anthony Leon initially thought well of the man charged with murdering his wife. In 2012, Leon’s neighbors encouraged the self-described HVAC marketing associate to run for mayor of Antioch. They felt Leon showed mayoral potential when he eliminated squatters and “problem Section 8 tenants” from their neighborhood. During Leon’s campaign, he described himself as a business owner, a “regular Joe the Plumber” type. 

The election did not turn out in his favor. Wade Harper earned 12,594 votes (40.77%), becoming Antioch’s first Black mayor. Runner-up was city councilmember Gary Agopian with 10,129 votes (32.79%). Former Antioch Mayor Don Freitas missed re-election with only 6,329 votes (20.49%). In last place, candidate Michael Leon, who earned just 1,740 votes—5.63%. (Antioch Herald) 

Michael Anthony Leon was arrested at his residence in Antioch on Thursday, January 22nd and charged with the murder of his wife the following day. The three years between his crushing defeat and Brenda’s death will lend crucial context for the upcoming trial. The 66-year-old suspect is currently in custody, held on a bail of $1 million. He is scheduled to appear before a judge today, Monday, January 26th. Meanwhile, the wrongful death lawsuit is still going forward, with a case management conference set for April. 

“Brenda Joyce’s family never lost faith that the truth would come to light,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said.