He disliked the spelling of his own name: “On the ID it is with ye, but I prefer to write it with jota.” And Yhonier, suddenly, became Jhonier. His mother, Marleny Hernández, never preferred him and perhaps Jhonier (the Colombian newspapers also identify him that way, with an initial jot) I felt the castling of a letter as an act of (useless) rebellion in the family plot, punctuated by a grisly double murder.
Jhonier’s younger brother was Mauricio Leal, a stylist of unstoppable fame. A man of resounding success according to the parameters of screen society. If he dug himself, however, insecurities would emerge, the ungovernable pressure of perfectionismthe mandate of the permanent smile (how many times spontaneous? How many times camouflaged?) of someone who on the surface had almost everything and in his inner layers had almost nothing.
Mauricio and Marleny ended up dead: they were found in their house in La Calera, a rural area of Bogotá, lying on the bed. Mauricio’s body showed horrendous lacerations, signs of stab wounds and a knife stuck in his abdomen. Cornered by the forcefulness of the investigations, Jhonier confessed to the crime of his mother and brother, which occurred between November 21 and 22, 2021.
More than two years later, Jhonier’s attempts to reverse his confession and plead innocent have precipitated a twist. But Jhonier remains behind bars and the case, which shocked Colombia, has been internationalized through a Netflix film: Story of a crime: Mauricio Leal. Just over an hour long, the film by director Jacques Toulemonde is presented as “a work of fiction based on real events.”
Mauricio could not have inflicted such deep cuts on himself. The letter had not been written by the victim, or in any case Mau had been forced to write it.
Staging
On a Monday in 2021, Mauricio Leal (Mau for friends, press and the Cholula legion of the public, Maíto for family) had to sign a contract to become an advisor to Miss Universe, a goal long coveted by this celebrity of scissors. He never showed up. Hours later they would find his body. She was 46 years old, had a dream career and the well-deserved title of “celebrity stylist.”.
The first hypothesis was overwhelming. Apparently, Mauricio had killed his mother, a prelude to his own suicide. The discovery of a letter in which he apologized to Marleny and the family, in addition to emphasizing his desire to inherit relatives (including Jhonier), suggested that Mau “couldn’t take it anymore.”
However, the autopsy cleared up doubts: Mauricio could not have inflicted such deep cuts on himself. The letter had not been written by the victim, or in any case Mau had been forced to write it. It was, without a doubt, a murder.
All the guns were pointed at Jhonier: it was reconstructed that he first killed Marleny in her room, then he went to Maíto’s room to finish him off and – an atrocious corollary – finally moved his mother’s body to his brother’s room. And had drugged both with zopiclone pills, a sleeping substance.
That line of investigation, plus the acceptance of guilt by the accused through an agreement with the Attorney General’s Office, led to Jhonier, a Salieri of his refined profession, to prison.
Jhonier wanted to be like Maíto. He thought brother and mother were soulmates in a toxic relationship.
Parallel lives
With the status of a rockstar and the aura of glamour, Mau heard compliments from beauty queens, singers, models and even the first lady of his country. He transcended his profession. He was a character in magazines, television and networks.
Jhonier was part of the bright and spacious hair salons of Mauritius. And when one day he decided to open his, with the obsession of shining without being in anyone’s shadow, accumulated debts and melted. Jhonier aspired to be a singer, but the one who recorded an album was not him but his versatile brother. Indigestible achievement for someone who felt displaced.
Jhonier wanted to be like Maíto. He thought brother and mother were soulmates in a toxic relationship. Mau, overwhelmed by psychotropic drugs, never lost his temper, except when he saw Marleny drinking, insatiable with alcohol. Jhonier was impressed that, according to his observation, Mau and Marleny were “very sick.” Two years ago, Jhonier said, Mauricio had undergone a chest transplant.
“I achieved everything I have achieved with pain in my back and chest that nothing would go away,” Mauricio said a month before his death, in one of his last interviews. “The surgery was four years ago, but I had been suffering for 14 years,” Mau also revealed, suffering from pseudoarthrosis, a disease that occurs when the bone does not heal well after a bone fracture.
Mau had a chain of beauty salons. He planned to open more stores in Colombia and other countries. Miami was one of his top targets. He had built an expanding empire. Their clients were impressed: attending Leal’s hair salons meant “belonging.” It moved fortunes. Even alleged money laundering from its premises was investigated, with clues that led to drug trafficking and the support of mafia cells. In short, all the cinematographic and, at the same time, true seasonings.
More. Jhonier’s lawyer presented a witness close to Marleny, Francisca Teresa Muñoz González, who pointed out a half-brother of the stylist, Carlos Andrés García Hernández, as the new suspect of having participated in the double crime. García Hernández is imprisoned in Jamundí, Valle del Cauca, for sexual abuse of a minor. “Either you give me money or I kidnap Mauricio,” García Hernández threatened, according to the witness. “It’s worth killing them,” the convict reportedly said.
hot news
Since Jhonier’s arrest, the judicial process delivered a string of headlines, a feast for police news reporters:
• “Jhonier seeks not to lose his inheritance or go to prison with a psychiatric examination” (statements of the uncles’ lawyer, rejecting that they considered Jhonier unimpeachable, 9-2-2022).
• “I can assure you that I have acted under pressure and I renounce the pre-agreement” (statements by Jhonier, 4-22-2022).
• Mauricio Leal Case: judge denies Jhonier Leal’s request for house arrest (8-30-2022).
• Jhonier Leal once again pleaded innocent, while the Prosecutor’s Office asks for 60 years in prison for the death of his mother and brother (12-5-2023).
• Trial against Jhonier Leal: key witnesses took the stand (5-12-2023).
• The reasons of the Supreme Court for denying a protection filed by Jhonier Leal (1-2-2024).
During the hearing on February 2 of this year, in the Paloquemao complex, Bogotá, Jhonier refused to testify. He maintained that procedural guarantees were not given.
“I have a lot to say, but now is not the time or the day to do it,” he justified. There will be another hearing on the 26th. In the closing arguments, the prosecutor will ask for an “exemplary” sentence. Later, the judge will decide. Guilty? Innocent? One thing is certain: Jhonier does not have it easy at all.
Meanwhile, the accused asks if his name is trending on social media. Faced with any verdict, Jhonier’s need for figuration comes back onto the scene.