A Texas man who told his wife that if she wanted to pray, she needed to do it then – before he shot her with an assault rifle – as she bravely audio-recorded the confrontation, has learned his fate.
Dakari Jahi Lenear, 48, was sentenced on Tuesday to 65 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years for the murder of 45-year-old Rhonda Lenear, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced in a press release. He pleaded guilty on Monday as the trial was about to start. The jury was directed to find him guilty, and then he was sentenced.
The bloodshed happened on May 19, 2021, in the 9500 block of Walnut Glen Drive, north of Jersey Village, more than 17 miles northwest of Houston.
Dakari Lenear, who did not have a stable job, was at home with his wife, who worked from home as an engineer, and two teenage children who were being home-schooled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After he told his kids to go into the family’s truck, one of the teens saw Lenear through the window with his assault rifle, so they texted their mother that they were scared for her.