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Insets, left to right: Leah Breuer and Joann Cometsevah (McLennan County Jail). Background: The Village Square Apartments in McLennan County where David Peeler was murdered (Google Maps).
An Oklahoma woman has pleaded guilty to slaughtering her ex-boyfriend in Texas with help from her sister — plunging a knife into the victim’s torso more than 50 times and leaving it lodged in his neck for her sibling to grab and later hide, according to prosecutors.
Leah Breuer, 38, pleaded guilty to murder Monday for the “brutal” killing of her estranged boyfriend, David Peeler, 44, in April 2023 at the Village Square Apartments in McLennan County, the Texas CBS affiliate KWTX reports. McLennan County is around 100 miles south of Dallas.
Prosecutors said she was given a sentence recommendation of 35 years in prison in exchange for her plea, which was reportedly accepted by the judge overseeing the case. Breuer’s sister, Joann Cometsevah, 34, is currently facing charges of murder and tampering with evidence for her alleged role in the stabbing attack.
KWTX reports that Cometsevah and Breuer were both scheduled to go on trial Monday before Breuer’s agreement was made public. Cometsevah is said to have a deal worked out with the DA’s office, but there’s currently no date set for her next court appearance and details have yet to be released about it.
Police and the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office had previously accused the sisters of conspiring to kill Peeler and of covering up their involvement in his death. Breuer reportedly told authorities that her sister tampered with evidence by taking the murder weapon that they used from the scene and other things that were connected to the slaying. An informant at the jail where Breuer was being housed after her arrest told authorities about this accusation after speaking with Breuer.
“At a later date, detectives spoke with a jail informant that was housed with Leah at the McLennan County Jail,” Breuer’s arrest affidavit stated, according to KWTX. “The jail informant advised that Leah also told said jail informant that the defendant (Cometsevah) had Leah assist the defendant in gathering the weapon by removing it from his neck, the victim’s phone and blood-soaked items from the scene and threw them in a garbage dumpster.”
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Police reportedly found Peeler on top of a deflated air mattress at the Village Square Apartments after the sisters allegedly attacked him. He suffered stab wounds to his torso and neck.
“The facts of this case were brutal,” Breuer’s attorney, Bryan Cantrel, said in a statement, per KWTX. “He was stabbed 52 times. My heart is broken for this family. I feel like my client got up there and accepted responsibility and I’m glad the case is over.”
Peeler’s family delivered victim impact statements in court Monday as Breuer’s plea was entered, with one of his younger sisters saying: “I wonder how alone, betrayed and scared he must have felt that day. I wonder how many of the 52 stabs did he feel … There are no words to describe seeing your brother in his casket.”
Prosecutors said Breuer and Peeler had domestic issues in the past, including an alleged incident in which Breuer attacked Peeler with a car key in October 2022. But charges were never filed.
“Initially, this case presented several challenges, but thanks to the excellent investigation conducted by the Lacy Lakeview Police Department, along with follow up interviews and case research conducted by our office’s investigators, we were able to secure a guilty plea by Ms. Breuer,” prosecutors Ralph Strother and Duncan Widmann concluded in a statement to KWTX. “With this final conviction we gained a lengthy prison sentence, a waiver of appeal, and ensured Mr. Peeler’s family had some closure without the difficulties of a trial.”
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