Man pleads guilty to shooting woman, dumping body in West Philly trash can

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 61-year-old man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing a woman and dumping her body in a trash can in West Philadelphia last year.

Ricardo Ponds admitted to shooting Deborah Leatherberry in the head in January 2025, then putting her body in a garbage bin in Lucein Blackwell Park, near 47th Street and Fairmount Avenue.

Someone who worked in the park discovered the 54-year-old victim’s body. Detectives eventually identified the woman and Ponds as their suspect; the two were in a relationship…

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