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Man convicted of 1990 child murder denied parole
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Board of Parole Hearings has denied parole to a former Kelseyville man convicted of murdering a child in 1990.
At a hearing Thursday, March 21, the Board of Parole Hearings denied parole for convicted murderer and child abuser Leonard Scott Snider, 53, according to Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who attended the lifer hearing at the High Desert State Prison in Susanville to argue against Snider’s release.
Snider was found guilty by a jury on Aug. 31, 1990, of the first-degree murder of a 3 and a half year old Lakeport boy, and felony child abuse of another young boy, and sentenced to 31 years to life.
He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Robert L. Crone Jr. Snider was originally prosecuted by District Attorney Stephen Hedstrom, who is now one of Lake County’s Superior Court judges.
According to investigation reports, between 1988 and 1990 Snider was involved in several incidents of domestic violence against his girlfriends, including threats and physical violence.
The 8-year-old son of one of Snider’s girlfriends, during a 1990 interview, reported to a District Attorney’s Office investigator that Snider had been abusing him for a long time.
The victim reported being beaten by Snider many times, including beating him against a wall, slapping him, placing him in steaming hot water in a bathtub numerous times, smashing his face into things, giving him a black eye, kicking him in the groin with hiking boots, holding his head under water, pulling hair out of his head, tying a rope around his neck so he had difficulty breathing, and repeatedly beating, bruising and threatening the victim.
The child victim also reported Snider put a rubber band around the child’s genitals and repeatedly snapped it while covering the victim’s mouth so he could not scream.
On April 7, 1990, Lake County sheriff’s deputies and Lakeport Police responded to the hospital in Lakeport regarding a 3 and a half year old boy, the son of Snider’s new girlfriend at the time, who was dying from severe trauma.
Snider initially claimed that the boy had fallen off of a deck and injured himself. However, doctors at the UC Davis Medical Center determined the child had died from blunt force trauma to the head.
At the time the child had severe bruising to his body, cerebral trauma and swelling, scars on his body, scarring of his genitals, burns on his legs, and a fractured arm.
Police responded to the child’s home in Sixth Street in Lakeport and found several areas of blood inside the house. During the investigation Snider finally admitted he lost it and spanked the child too hard.
During the investigation an adult relative of the child advised investigators she had previously witnessed Snider beating the child, and had seen severe bruising to the child and chunks of hair missing from the child’s head. When asked at the time the child said Snider caused the injuries.
During a post-conviction interview Snider claimed that both children loved him, he loved them and he was like a father figure to the children. Snider blamed the child’s mother for the death and denied abusing the children.
In an October 2012 interview in prison Snider continued to deny committing any child abuse and claimed he was wrongfully incriminated.
During his time in prison Snider has been a disciplinary problem and has been caught with inmate manufactured alcohol 10 times and has been disciplined for incidents of violence seven times.
At the March 21 hearing, Hinchcliff advised the parole commissioners that because of the severity, gruesomeness and callousness of the crimes committed against the children, along with Snider’s conduct while in prison, the Lake County District Attorney’s Office would be attending every parole hearing for Snider and making every effort to keep Snider in prison for the rest of his life.
Pursuant to a stipulation that included the agreement of the parole commissioners, parole was denied was for five years, and Snider’s next parole hearing will be in 2018, Hinchcliff reported.
Hinchcliff reported that the District Attorney’s Office will be at that 2018 hearing to oppose parole.