Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder for Killing 81-Year-Old Woman in 1980 Cold Case

Lenard Chester (DOB 04-22-61), of Oxnard, was found guilty by a jury of the first-degree murder of Leah Bullis, aged 81, with the special circumstances that the murder was committed while in the commission of rape and burglary.

Chester severely beat and raped Ms. Bullis in her home in Oxnard between the evening of November 30, and the morning of December 1, 1980. Ms. Bullis was found in her bedroom late that morning by neighbors and later died at the hospital. In 2018, Chester was identified using forensic DNA analysis. This case was investigated by the Oxnard Police Department.

Chester will be sentenced on July 20, 2020, at 8:30 a.m., in courtroom 48 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Chester faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Chester is being held in the Ventura County jail with no bail pending the sentencing hearing.

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