P
March 30, 2026 | By: Kelli Telford, PCC Intern
Mae Lee Leonard was born into a large family, one of thirteen children, seven daughters, four sons, and two children who died during infancy. Mae went by the nickname Jane; Jane was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 29, 1955. Timmala, Jane’s sister, eight years younger, remembers Jane as a giving and loving person, a happy-go-lucky, bubbly person who loved to go out with friends and have fun.
Another sister, Robbie, remembers the rites of passage that sisters always share concerning clothes. Jane would breeze in and would have on one of Robbie’s blouses. ‘That’s my blouse, ‘ Robbie would protest. Jane would laugh and say, ‘I’m going to give it back, ‘ as she went out the door. Jane loved her hair-colored blonde, and that’s how she always wore it. Her favorite color was black, but she looked great in any color. She was a very pretty girl and grew into a beautiful woman. By the time Jane was sixteen, and Robbie was ten years old, their father passed away from a heart attack. This was the first of three tragedies that their family would endure.
By 1980, Jane had two children, an eight-year-old daughter named Erica, and a seven-year-old son named Kartemus. Kartemus’s Father was the son of a prominent businessperson in Venice, Illinois, who owned “The Pink Slip,” a Brooklyn-based strip club. He also owned and operated similar businesses in Madison and Venice, Illinois, for over 57 years. Sr. passed away in June of 2003. He was well-connected to the longtime Venice, Illinois, Mayor, Tyrone Echols, who served as mayor for 42 years.
Mae “Jane” Lee Leonard and her partner had a violent relationship filled with instances of domestic violence; Jane’s Daughter, Erica, stated, “He knocked all her teeth out with a pool cue, and she was forced to go to family in Chicago to get dentures.” Robbie goes further and states that, “He also knocked all of her dentures out too.” Her family knew she was a victim of domestic abuse and tried everything to get her away from him. When he finally lured her back with the promise of marriage, the family could not stop her from returning to him for what would be the final time. Louise, Jane’s mother, begged her not to marry him and told her she’d either end up in a wheelchair or dead. Jane got married anyway, and Louise attended, but did not consent to giving her away. Jane and her partner moved into a third-floor apartment on Baucum Street, in Venice, Illinois, which was directly across the street from the Cut Rate Liquors store and Garrett’s Disco, which her husband owned. By this time, Jane had sent Erica to stay with her younger sister, Mimi. Erica knows now that it was because of the violent pattern. Kartemus, Jane’s son, was not as fortunate, as he was a witness to the escalating violence.
March 26, 1980, would be the last time that anyone ever saw Jane. It was three days before her twenty-fifth birthday. A domestic disturbance broke out, and numerous witnesses saw Jane being beaten and dragged by her hair down W. Jefferson Street in Venice, Illinois, by her husband. She was bloodied and screaming, yet no one helped her; no one tried to stop it. She managed to get away and get to her cousin Calvin’s home nearby, but was followed and taken away again.
In 2001, the Venice Police Department and the new Mayor decided to reopen and reinvestigate the case. The first problem law enforcement encountered was a lack of reports, not a note, nothing in the logbook about her case. A 21-year-old handwritten report was discovered in nearby Madison, Illinois, written by an officer named C.J. Bridick. Bridick later became the police chief of Madison but is now deceased. Because of the proximity of Madison and Venice, Madison police sometimes took Venice calls. Bridick was contacted by dispatch and was told that several neighbors had called to report hearing gunshots around West Jefferson Street. Officer Bridick responded to the area and spoke to witnesses who saw Jane’s husband dragging and beating his wife across the street through a field and toward the bar. Officer Bridick then got the call about responding to the Leonard’s home. Bridick stated that when he arrived, Jane was already gone. At this time, officers from the Venice Police Department showed up and accompanied Officer Bridick to Garrett’s bar. The officers knocked on the door of the bar, but no one would answer. That was the end of the 1980 investigation into Jane’s disappearance.
A newspaper clipping from 2001 refers to reports from 1980 stating that Gary Marsala, a former Madison police officer, recalled hearing a call come in for a stuck vehicle and that a tow truck was needed. This was on the same day that Jane went missing in Venice. There was a new highway under construction, and Officer T. Simmons was standing next to the vehicle that was stuck, which belonged to Jane’s husband. The newspaper states, “The two officers looked at each other and surmised that Jane must be buried under the new road somewhere.” The report he filled out from that incident was never found.
Two months after Jane went missing, her family put up a $2,500.00 reward. Louise, Jane’s mom, would get the most horrific calls, Erica stated, “it was terrible for her”. It was reported that Louise was told, “You will never see that bitch alive again.” Louise passed away in 2009, never getting any type of resolution in her daughter’s case. Kartemus, Jane’s son, was shot and killed in 1993 at the age of 19. In the same town, his mother disappeared.The family is haunted by the things they witnessed. Robbie and Timmala are tormented by what they saw done to their beautiful sister, a pain that truly hurts them deep in their soul. Both sisters’ voices cracked with emotion when they talked about the things that they witnessed, a pain that will never go away.
Jane’s daughter Erica was robbed of a loving mother at eight years of age and robbed of all the memories that mothers and daughters make together. Proms, marriages, births, and deaths were all things that Erica had to navigate without her mom. Jane’s family is traumatized by not knowing what has happened to their daughter, sister, cousin, and mother since 1980; they so rightfully deserve answers and judicial resolution, and they so richly deserve to bring Jane home.
Anyone with information regarding Mae “Jane” Leonard’s disappearance is asked to call the Venice Police Department at (618) 877-2114. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, please call Crime Stoppers USA at (800) 222-8477.
Please consider using the buttons below to share this case in hopes that someone, somewhere, will come forward and give this victim and family the answers they need and the justice they deserve.
If you have a loved one who is the victim of an unsolved homicide, please submit their case here for consideration in a future Cold Case Spotlight post.
Share this entry
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Pinterest
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Tumblr
- Share on Vk
- Share on Reddit
- Share by Mail
Newspaper Clippings
PreviousNext
The Belleville News Democrat - December 10, 2001
The Belleville News Democrat - December 10, 2001 cont...
The Belleville News Democrat - December 15, 2001
Photo Album
PreviousNext
Image provided by the family of Mae “Jane” Leonard
Image provided by the family of Mae “Jane” Leonard
Image provided by the family of Mae “Jane” Leonard
Location of Homicide
The post Mae Leonard appeared first on Project: Cold Case.
Continue reading...
