A Friend Forever

Leydis was married to Anthony Whitney Norman Jr. on June 27, 2003 in Harris county Texas. Anthony was convicted of murdering his wife on December 1, 2008 at their house in Houston. At the time of her murder, they had three children, the youngest of whom was a 2 week old infant. Anthony met Leydis when he was in Cuba, her native land. Leydis, shortly after they met, moved to Houston and the two married. It seems that Anthony subsequently became physically and verbally abusive. One weekend in December, Anthony and their 4 year old son went to stay with Anthony's brother in McKinney Texas. They were there to do construction work on a joint property that Anthony and his brother owned. Leydis stayed home with their 3 year old daughter and infant son. On the Monday following that weekend, at about 5am, Anthony and their son returned home and discovered Leydis' body. He called 9-1-1 about 15 minutes later. This was Anthony's version of events. But the prosecution contended that he arrived home earlier and that he pretended to discover her body. The coroner said that Leydis had died from a "perforating" gunshot wound to her head, and that the gun was pressed against her skin. She was naked except for mismatched men's socks, one of which was "placed sideways". A diaper bag was near her body. In the diaper bag, besides the normal items, were 9 one-ounce gold bars. Anthony's semi-automatic Glock lay at her feet. On the kitchen counter lay a casing from the Glock. Anthony was eventually arrested and found guilty in a jury trial. He was sentenced to twenty-two years. He later appealed and the appeal was denied.