Motive sought in Yeadon shooting death

As a corporal in the Philadelphia police radio room, Viola Leigertwood is surrounded daily by the sound of violence.

But for six months that sound has been deafening.

"Every minute of the day is difficult," she said. "I never thought anyone in my family would become the victim of such a horrific crime."

About 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, Leigertwood's son, Veno Leigertwood Jr., 31, a Philadelphia School District college-prep counselor, was shot and killed in his Yeadon driveway as he was loading his car.

Dressed in a business suit, the Penn State graduate was on his way to make a presentation for his final master's class in business administration at Eastern University, in Radnor.

With no known enemies, investigators are continuing to probe several motives for Leigertwood's murder - including robbery and financial gain, Yeadon Detective Sgt. David Splain said.

Leigertwood said that her son had a $1 million life-insurance policy, which listed his wife as the primary beneficiary and his mother as the secondary beneficiary.

Leigertwood's wife and baby were inside the family's house on Church Lane near Yeadon Avenue - a block away from the borough's police headquarters - when Leigertwood was ambushed and shot in the head from behind by two men, according to police.

Although Splain recently declined to identify what was taken from Leigertwood when he was shot, Yeadon police said shortly after Leigertwood's death that his personal belongings, including his equipment, wallet and jewelry, were found at the scene.

Leads are still coming into the department and police have a witness, but no arrests have been made, Splain said.

"By all accounts, in his home, his work, his school and his personal life, he was an upstanding citizen," Splain said. "That was one of the questions from the beginning - that he wasn't of questionable character."

Leigertwood planned to devote his career to the school district and his life to his wife, Raven, and their 7-month-old daughter, Nichole, his mother said.

As a GEAR UP supervisor at Bartram High School, Leigertwood helped prepare students for college and inspire those who never thought that they'd have a chance to attend.

Leigertwood once told his mother that many of the students he worked with thought that their families had to be wealthy to go to college.

"For that reason, he wanted to make sure that every child that came through Bartram's doors knew they had the opportunity to go to college," she said.

Leigertwood's other professional passion was real-estate investment. It was an endeavor that he learned from his hardworking parents. He'd purchase properties, refurbish them and then rent them out, his mother said.

At his death, Leigertwood owned seven properties, including his own, Viola Leigertwood said.

Leigertwood's family came to the United States from St. Vincent and the Grenadines when he was still a toddler, and as a child he loved music and art.

When his father had a stroke in 1993 and became paralyzed, Leigertwood, then 15, dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon.

"He framed that goal in his room," Viola Leigertwood said, "so that every day as a high school student he'd get up and look at it and know exactly what he wanted."

Although Leigertwood decided instead to pursue a degree in psychology as an undergraduate, he held close to his dream of helping his father.

Instead of becoming a doctor, Veno became a friend and confidant who administered insulin to his dad, bathed and clothed him.

"Veno never complained," Viola Leigertwood said. "In all the work he had to do, he never complained. He loved his father."

Viola Leigertwood said her son was just as dedicated to his daughter once he became a dad.

"He was just a happy, joyful, proud father. He loved that baby," she said. "Nichole would have had one of the best fathers that the world ever produced."

In the aftermath of her son's death, Leigertwood said, her relationship with her daughter-in-law has soured.

She is fighting in court for visitation rights to her granddaughter.

"I can't understand," she said. "I just don't understand."

Since Leigertwood's death his wife has moved out of the area and could not be located for comment.

A reward, funded by Leigertwood's parents, for information leading to the arrest of his killers has been increased to $30,000.

Splain said anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Yeadon police at 610-623-1500 or on the department's tipline at 610-259-1228.

Leigertwood's two alleged shooters have been described as black men in their early 20s, about 5 feet 8, between 135 and 145 pounds, with dark complexions and closely cropped hair.

"Contact us with any information, whether you believe it is important or not," Splain said.

"Let us decide that."