A man murdered his girlfriend last June in Kensington because the relationship appeared to be ending, a prosecutor said Tuesday
Alejandro Jose Perez de Leon, 48, of Kensington, was arrested on June 18 after Montgomery County police say he fatally shot Silvia Elenia Fernandez, 33, in the basement of a home at 10724 Shaftsbury St.
Police said Perez de Leon and Fernandez had been living together in the basement of the house when he shot and killed her during an argument.
In opening arguments of Perez de Leon’s murder trial on Tuesday, his attorney acknowledged that his client killed Fernandez, but said it was out of anger and not premeditated.
Perez de Leon was charged with first-degree murder and felony use of a firearm.
Assistant State’s Attorney Katherine Getty told the court Tuesday that Fernandez had told her landlord in the days before the shooting that things “weren’t going well” in her relationship with Perez de Leon.
“It’s undisputed Silvia wanted out of the relationship,” she said.
Getty, addressing jurors, said the state planned to call witnesses who “knew Silvia best” that would testify to the “breakdown of a relationship.”
Getty said Perez de Leon and Fernandez had been dating for about a year at the time of the shooting.
Fernandez moved into the basement apartment with Perez de Leon in January 2019. For two months that spring, Getty said, Fernandez was away from Kensington, and the relationship began to deteriorate when she came back in May.
Getty said police received a 911 call from a neighbor around 10 p.m. on June 18 that a shot had been fired and something was wrong.
“[The neighbor] recognized that something was wrong when they heard a shot and they heard Silvia scream,” she said.
Perez de Leon, Getty said, called his girlfriend’s stepfather and told him he had shot her. Later, when questioned by police who were in the home at the time, Perez de Leon answered, “Myself and the one who was my lady,” according to Getty.
Police found a gun, casings and a bullet that had gone through the basement door at the scene, she said.
Getty said that because Perez de Leon shot Fernandez during an argument about their relationship, it is clear the killing was premeditated.
“The defendant made a decision … to prevent the breakup of his relationship with Silvia,” she said.
Defense attorney David Felsen told jurors that his client doesn’t dispute the facts, but said the killing wasn’t premeditated.
“He shot her. There is no question that Alejandro shot Silvia,” he said.
Felsen told jurors that they would not hear any evidence of “premeditated malice” during the trial and that his client shot Fernandez, not out of self-defense, but out of anger.
“In the course of this argument. In a moment, he shot her,” he said.
Felsen noted that Perez de Leon has cooperated with police during the investigation.
“Is that evidence of someone who would premeditate and plan?” he said.
Prosecutors began to call witnesses in the case following Tuesday’s opening arguments. The trial is expected to last four days.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media
