'Passion of Christ' moves man to confess killing 'suicide' victim

By ERIC HANSON
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

RICHMOND -- "Detectives say the death of a 19-year-old woman originally ruled a suicide has turned into a murder case after a repentant man who'd watched The Passion of the Christ confessed to killing her because she was carrying his child.

Fort Bend County Sheriff's Detective Mike Kubricht said today that investigators thought Ashley Nicole Wilson had hanged herself in January. Earlier this month, however, 21-year-old Dan R. Leach of Rosenberg turned himself in after watching Mel Gibson's controversial movie about the last hours of Christ and decided to seek redemption, Kubricht said.

The young woman's body was found by her mother Jan. 19 in her Richmond-area apartment. The Harris County Medical Examiner ruled her death a suicide caused by asphyxia due to external compression with a ligature.

Then, on March 7, Leach, who had known the victim for many years, walked into the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department headquarters and confessed to killing her.

Kubricht said Leach told investigators he carefully planned the killing to make it look like a suicide. The suspect allegedly strangled Wilson because did not want to raise her unborn child or be involved with her anymore, Kubricht said.

A grand jury issued a sealed indictment for murder on Leach Monday and he was arrested the next day. He is being held on $100,000 bond."

Houston Chronicle

Two questions:

(a) Will the defense try to suppress the confession as involuntary and attempt to call God as a witness? There's a writ of attachment I'd like to see ...

(b) More seriously, if the victim was pregnant, and he killed her knowing she was pregnant, couldn't this potentially be charged as a capital case under the new "prenatal protection" laws?