FIRST ON 3: Body found in Wilmington woods, woman charged with murder

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A woman is in custody this morning at the New Hanover County detention facility, charged with second degree murder. Johanna Christine Leitch, 38, is being held without bond at this time.

Leitch has no fixed address. She is charged with killing Richard Alvey Partello III, 43, in the homeless encampment where both had been staying.

The incident originally was reported around 7 p.m. Friday when EMS responded to a call for a man down in the wooded area adjacent to Emerson Drive and the 200 block of S. Kerr Avenue. The victim was dead at the scene. He had multiple external wounds.

Witnesses reported that the victim and Leitch had been fighting. WPD investigators worked through the night, interviewing witnesses and canvassing the area. Leitch was charged early Saturday morning.

The preliminary cause of death is being withheld at this time, pending results of an autopsy scheduled for Sunday.