SPRINGVILLE, Utah — After his mother went missing last month, double homicide suspect Matthew Leonard put two rooms up for rent in a Springville home that he didn’t even own.
That's when four tenants spent nine days living with an alleged murderer.
Nineteen-year-old Devon Radebe and his friends thought they’d found a good central location after Leonard posted rooms for rent on Facebook Marketplace.
“[Leonard] seemed nice at first. So we were like, ‘Let’s move in!,’” shared Kiah Royeton.
But red flags appeared within a day of the group settling into the home at 750 South 400 East.
"The biggest red flag, I had asked him, ‘What’s the lease agreement? How does that work?,’ and he went, ‘Oh, there’s no lease,’” shared renter Abigail Stone.
The group explained how the rooms weren’t move-in ready when they arrived on April 3, and they described Leonard, whose missing mother owned the home, as antsy.
Man arrested on suspicion of killing 2 people, including his mom, in Springville:
“The house had like a weird smell to it," said Radebe, "and [Leonard] was in there like burning sage, saying he was cleansing the room, clearing it of spirits and stuff.”
Even without knowing what would soon be alleged of the man they were living with, they were already preparing to move out.
“We were worried that if we stayed there any longer, something might have happened to us,” said Radebe.
On Saturday, police showed up in full force to execute a search warrant.
“Like a whole SWAT team was here," Radebe explained. "They had screamed out, ‘Residents of 750, come out with your hands up!’”
The tenants later found out they were actually living under a ‘false lease’ created by Leonard, who they say scammed them out of $2,400. The group was also detained and questioned as police scoured the home for a double homicide suspect.
“The whole house got basically trashed," said Radebe, explaining how floorboards were also pulled up in the house.
Court documents show that under those boards were pools of blood, and police also found bullet holes in the wall. Although Leonard wasn’t home at the time, police arrested him that same night during a nearby traffic stop.
With the house in disrepair and the young tenants with no real lease, they were evicted.
“It’s really frustrating too, considering that we saved up a ton of money to move in, only for it to last less than ten days," Radebe explained.
As police continue to search for the missing Sarah Johnson, who is Leonard's mother, and John Handricks, the group of four is now searching for new apartments and grateful to be leaving the ordeal behind.
“It would be amazing," said Radebe, "actually having our own space and not worrying about our lives.”
Johnson was reported missing on March 26 after she was last seen with Handricks, who was also reported as missing, on March 19.
Earlier this month, police received a tip that Johnson and Handricks had possibly been shot and killed. A witness said they saw Leonard at the Springville home on March 20, and they said they heard possible gunshots inside.
A GoFundMe page has been created as the group hopes to raise the funds they say they lost to Leonard.
