Sheriff: Man murdered girlfriend, sleeping children with hammer in New Orleans suburb

TERRYTOWN - A man has been booked on murder charges after an attack that left a woman and two children dead in Jefferson Parish Wednesday morning.

The sheriff's office says Terrance Leonard, 33, was taken into custody and booked with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

WWL reports Leonard admitted to attacking the four children with a hammer while they slept. He then allegedly waited for his girlfriend, Kristina Riley, to return from work around 2 a.m. and attacked her too.

The children have been identified as 10-year-old Ayden Riley, the son of Kristina Riley, and 9-year-old De'ryona Encalade, the niece of Kristina Riley. The two surviving victims, who are currently in critical condition, have been identified as Kristina Riley's 14-year-old and 12-year-old daughters.

Investigators believe Leonard used a hammer to strike all four children in the head. He then allegedly killed Riley, hid the hammer in a trash can and tried to clean the blood before fleeing the area.

Spoke with father and grandfather of victims in incident in 900 block of West Monterey Court. He says he can’t believe what happened. Says the original plan today was to go and ride horses @WWLTV pic.twitter.com/hWtDb8vnEe — Duke Carter II (@dcarterII) March 6, 2019

Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said Leonard returned to the scene with his mother later Wednesday morning. Lopinto said the woman, who didn't realize her son was the attacker, called 911. It's believed Leonard returned so that he might have an alibi.

Leonard is currently being held without bond in the Jefferson Parish Jail.