A 24-year-old man, Richard Leyva, was arrested Tuesday for the murder of his mother, Jamison Webster after her body was discovered in the trunk of a car following a police chase through El Cajon and Spring Valley. Authorities say Leyva killed his mother, who had come to a Motel 6 in El Cajon to drop off items for him.
Leyva had reportedly checked into the hotel after leaving a mental health facility the same day he was admitted. “Jamison was just such a great person… always a smile,” said Karin Saunders, a friend of the victim. Saunders told CBS 8 she had recently spoken with Jamison about her struggles with Leyva’s mental health.
“I kind of wish I hadn’t said to her all we can do is keep trying. Maybe I should have told her, ‘Don’t try. Let him go.’ Maybe she’d still be here.” The tragic discovery was made by Leyva’s older brother, who went to check on their mother after not hearing from her for some time. He found her body in the trunk of her car at the motel.
Leyva fled the scene in the vehicle, leading police on a chase that ended in a crash on Mollison Avenue under Interstate 8. Officers used a taser to subdue Leyva before taking him into custody. Mike Webster, Jamison’s estranged husband, and Leyva’s stepfather, expressed his grief and shock. “I raised him [Leyva]. We’ve been together for a long time,” he said.
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Mike revealed that the family had called the police multiple times due to Leyva’s concerning behavior. “He was always just a little off. We had to collect all the knives in the apartment we were living in and put them away just because of our own safety.”
Friends of Jamison Webster remembered her as a kind and loving person. “Always such a smile and always so helpful to everyone I know,” Saunders said. “She’s going to be missed.” Leyva now faces a first-degree murder charge and is being held without bail. The case has left the community in shock, as friends and family mourn the loss of a woman described as selfless and full of life.
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