Woman faces trial for stabbing murder of woman in parking garage of shopping center in Rancho Palos Verdes

A woman arrested two weeks after robbing and stabbing a woman in a shopping center parking garage in Rancho Palos Verdes will stand trial six years later.

Cherie Lynnette Townsend, 45, is charged with one count each of second-degree murder and robbery in connection with the killing of Susan Leeds, 66, of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Although she was not the first suspect arrested for the crime, police linked Townsend to the murder shortly after it occurred, and there were many twists and turns regarding her connection to the case. After her arrest, she sued the county, was then released, and was arrested again over five years later.

Leeds was attacked in the middle of the day on May 3, 2018 in the Promenade car park on the Peninsula.

The retired nurse was found in her white 2016 Mercedes-Benz SUV on the ground floor of the mall’s parking garage. She had been stabbed 17 times in the neck and torso and had a wound on a finger that suggested she may have tried to defend herself, according to a deputy medical examiner who reviewed autopsy results.

A man who has been named as a person of interest was arrested the day after Leeds’ murder, but was ultimately ruled out as a murder suspect. He was, however, arrested for another crime.

Townsend was originally arrested for the crime May 17, 2018in Victorville. Homicide investigators said at the time they did not believe Leeds was targeted, but rather that it was a crime of opportunity. Townsend was released from custody five days later after prosecutors asked law enforcement to further investigate the crime.

Then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Townsend’s vehicle, a gold 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, was parked on the same floor, noting at the time that there was still “a tremendous amount of investigative work” to be done.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in November 2018, Townsend sued Los Angeles County, McDonnell and the then-mayors of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes, accusing them of false imprisonment, defamation, emotional distress, negligence and civil rights violations.

Following Townsend’s lawsuit in October 2018, the sheriff’s department described the investigation as “very complex but active,” adding that investigators would continue to accept public tips and follow all leads, continually re-evaluating physical and forensic evidence.

Townsend was arrested again in 2023 and has been behind bars on $2 million bail since then, according to prison records.

During testimony in a hearing that spanned parts of four days, the judge heard testimony that a phone belonging to Townsend was found under the driver’s side of the victim’s SUV and that she went to a Verizon store in Carson that afternoon to find out the whereabouts of her phone.

The lawsuit filed by Townsend was dismissed without prejudice last September, shortly after her arrest.

Her arraignment is scheduled for July 16 at the Torrance courthouse.