Restauranteur and convicted murderer Greg Leon has been found dead just days after he began serving his sentence at South Carolina prison.
Prison officials confirmed Saturday that Leon died at a local hospital Friday night. He had been found unresponsive in his cell at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia around 12:30 p.m. Friday. Corrections employees attempted lifesaving measures Friday and he was taken to the hospital for further aid, officials say.
Leon had a cellmate but was alone at the time of that officials found him. No foul play is suspected.
Leon was staying at Kirkland Correctional Institution off Broad River Road, which is the state prison system’s main intake unit for new detainees. They’re evaluated there and then sent to another facility after several weeks.
Leon's friend, attorney Eric Bland, tweeted out a remembrance of Leon Saturday morning.
" Yes Greg made a decision that had incredible consequences, and he took another person’s life and I don’t discount that," Bland said. "But five seconds of a man’s life should not define him."
He also thanked hospital staff and mentioned how many people had gone to visit Leon at the hospital in his final hours.
Leon, 56, was found guilty by a Lexington County jury back on July 6 following an over two-week long trial. He was then sentenced by Judge Greg Walton to 30 years in prison.
The jury concluded Leon killed Arturo Bravos Santos on February 14, 2016 after he found his wife and Santos in a parked truck at a Lexington County park and ride.
Prosecutors said this the slaying was a malicious plan by Leon to catch his wife having an affair and murder the pair. During the trial, they claimed Leon had installed a tracking device on his wife's vehicle a month before the killing and decided to track them to that location on the night of the killing.
Prosecutors showed pictures of Leon's wife and Bravos that the couple had taken together. The state said the wife locked the private images into an app on her phone that couldn't be unlocked without a passcode. They also claimed he discovered $50,000 was missing from a safe at the couple's home.
While testifying in his own defense, Leon told the jury he thought his wife might have been involved in drugs and didn't come to the crime scene that night intending to kill anyone. He said he heard his wife screaming inside a vehicle and then saw Santos, who he claimed threatened him.
Both sides brought out competing pathologists who tried to determine what position Bravos was in when Leon shot him. The defense claimed he was moving his arms, which could have made Leon think he was in danger. But the prosecution said that wasn't the case, and Leon was never in danger since Bravos had no weapon.
The state also played audio from the 9-1-1 call Leon made moments after the shooting confessing to catching his wife cheating and shooting his wife and her lover. They said Leon did it to defend his honor.
Leon's family and friends defended his character in court before the judge made his sentence, calling for him to enforce the minimum sentence. Leon owned a group of Mexican restaurants in the area and was well-known in the community.
Leon’s attorney had said his client intended to appeal the sentence.