Clara Jassmin Ledward (Odessa, Texas Police Department.)
A 31-year-old woman in Texas will spend several decades behind bars after admitting to killing her husband and then going on the lam for more than two months by fleeing to Mexico. Ector County District Judge Denn Whalen on Wednesday ordered Clara Jassmin Ledward to serve a sentence of 40 years in a state correctional facility for the May 2021 slaying of 24-year-old Jacob Ledward, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Ledward on April 12 pleaded guilty to one count of murder for fatally shooting her husband. Prior to entering the plea last week, Ledward’s jury trial had been scheduled to begin on April 24.
Judge Whalen also credited Ledward with 623 days of time served.
Officers with the Odessa Police Department on May 14, 2021, responded to a residence located in the 2000 block of East 7th Street regarding requests for a welfare check on Jacob Ledward. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders say they entered the home and found an adult male — later identified as Jacob Ledward — dead after apparently sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators immediately began searching for Clara Ledward, who was wanted for questioning in connection with her husband’s death. However, it soon became clear that she was evading law enforcement and a warrant for her arrest on suspicion of murder was issued.
Police later learned that Ledward had family near the Ojinaga border in Mexico and suspected that she fled the country.
In a two-month multi-agency investigation that included assistance from the FBI and Mexican authorities, investigators were able to locate Ledward in Mexico and take her into custody following a brief shootout with law enforcement agents. Ledward was shot in the process but survived her injury, police said.
“Our partners with the FBI assisted by issuing an Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution arrest warrant in order for us to work with the Government of Mexico in her apprehension,” ODP said following Ledward’s arrest. “On 07/29/2021, Clara Ledward was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. During her arrest, Clara Ledward sustained non-life threatening gunshot wounds. The Mexican authorities extradited Ledward to the United States and to Brewster County for medical care.”
Authorities have not released any information explaining why they believe Ledward killed her husband.
Ledward was indicted by a grand jury for her husband’s murder in September 2021. She has remained in custody since her initial arrest on a bond of over $1 million.
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