Iowa man convicted of hacking 3 people to death with machete

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A 25-year-old man has been convicted of hacking to death his girlfriend, her teenage daughter and their landlord in central Iowa.

A Dallas County jury on Tuesday found Carlos Hernandez-Ventura guilty on three counts of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Hernandez-Ventura used a machete on Oct. 29 to kill 34-year-old Lourdes Flor De Leake, 14-year-old Melany Barraza and 78-year-old Juan Jimenez Tejada at the home in Perry, about 30 miles northwest of Des Moines.

Hernandez-Ventura testified that Leake’s estranged husband ordered him to kill the three because the man feared they knew about his drug dealing. He testified that Daniel Leake told him he would kill Hernandez-Ventura and his family if he didn’t kill the three.

Investigators testified that they found no evidence that Daniel Leake was dealing drugs.