20/20 - True Crime Vault: Toxic Love

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

A man is convicted and sentenced to life in prison for two counts of solicitation of capital murder after he and his veterinarian girlfriend attempted to hire someone to kill their exes. Originally aired: 03/30/18 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the True Crime Vault, home to 2020's most chilling stories. Why would you want your husband killed? I didn't wake up one day and just say, hey, I want to kill my ex-husband. Tonight on 2020, the explosive court case that just wrapped was accused of wanting to hire a hitman to kill his ex a prominent successful veterinarian and a single mom Recording her most private thoughts her handsome boyfriend doctor a ladies man with a past without sounding Hompous I've always understood women really well and they've always liked me together

Did this pair of doctors write a prescription for murder. Accused of hiring a hitman to kill their respective exes. I'm not some monster that wanted my ex-girlfriend killed and her ex-husband. Cooking up a plot at the Olive Garden. Police say the happy couple ordered something that was not on the menu. Tonight we're taking you inside the elaborate sting to trap them. Why are we being arrested? The actual body cam footage of their arrest, the gotcha moment. I have to go to the bathroom, please.

What was it like to see your best friend go from wearing doctor's scrubs to an orange jumpsuit? His jailhouse interview. I really wouldn't hurt a fly if I didn't have to. That's quite a qualifier. And the biggest shocker of all, those exes having to take part in staging their own fake deaths. I just can't believe I was there. What I'm trying to understand is are you Dr. Jekyll or are you Mr. Hyde? He thinks he's someone else. I want Bradley Cooper to play me in the TV movie. Toxic love.

Hello, I'm Elizabeth Vargas, and this is 2020. Now, Matt Gutman. Hey, it's Valerie McDaniel. It's March 15th, 2017. I'm sitting outside and I wanted to take time and tell my story from the beginning. Trying not to judge me. It's been said that memory is the diary we carry with us. Well, 48-year-old Valerie McDaniel put her memories into an audio diary she recorded on her iPad. Thoughts about her daughter. She's the most precious thing to me.

Her adventures as a new divorcee. 48-year-old woman, I'm trying to start a date. Not a good thing. And also in that diary, it sounds as if she's harboring a bone-chilling secret. I never wanted to fight anymore. I hate the idea that everybody thinks I'm a monster. A monster? That's not a word her friends would ever use to describe her. Valerie was an amazing human being. She had a light within her.

I felt honored to have her as my friend. She was so successful and so beautiful and funny and intelligent. She seemed to have it all. A veterinarian with a practice so successful, she was able to live in River Oaks, the Beverly Hills of Houston, and spend her weekends in a $700,000 beach home where she often invited her friends for parties. We always karaokeed. We can learn to love again. It was a lot of fun. We swam.

We just enjoyed each other's company. She would always prepare these amazing dinners for us. Now when you guys had these dinners, there was one thing that was always missing and that is Valerie's husband. What did she tell you about her marriage? She did not feel loved. Her husband was never around. Valerie complained to those friends

that Mack, her husband and business partner at the pet clinic, was always out doing his own thing, like hunting. But Valerie later confided to them she thought he was always out doing his own thing, like hunting. But Valerie later confided to them she thought he was really out hunting other women. She says a woman called the clinic one day claiming to have proof of that. She gave me lists of women that he had slept with. She knew that there had been some adultery. I knew that because she talked to me about

it. It's hard to watch someone in that much pain, so much pain she filed for divorce after 17 years citing conflict of personalities and adultery. It was a bitter split, but they did agree on the shared custody of their now 9 year old daughter. She was just unhappy. There was a void that wasn't being filled there. Until, that is, she meets this man, Leon Jacob, a brash doctor, eight years her junior. Valerie is one of the most amazing human beings that I've ever met.

She was nice and kind and giving and educated and a great mother. They met by happenstance when Valerie, still miserable in her marriage, lived next door to Leon's mother. Without sounding like a pompous ass, I can only describe it as this. I've always understood women really well and they've always liked me. Just describe the moment. You really noticed being attracted to her. I saw her in a bathing suit if you want me to be very open about it that's when I first noticed that she was a knockout and I was attracted to her. It was a man raised with privilege he attended the best private schools winter breaks were

spent skiing in Vail, summers in Maine. I'm an avid golfer and skier and I work out a lot. After college, he went to medical school in the Caribbean. I'm a very driven type A alpha personality male, but I have a heart of gold. I was lonely and he kept me company. He listened to me.

It was everything I needed. The now single mom finally finding love again. And it looked as if they're both finally free for one another after Leon and his girlfriend split up. One night we were laying on our balcony and she looked at me and she goes, do I have you? And I said yes. Soon after, Leon officially moves into that luxury condo. She was very much in love with him.

She said it multiple times. I'm completely in love with him. But Valerie's friend, Maggie, had some misgivings about Leon. What didn't you like about him? Very arrogant and full of himself. I've just never seen anything quite like that. And I've got a pretty strong

intuition about people and I did not feel good about it and I let her know that. But Valerie wouldn't hear it. The dashing doctors with seemingly so much in common. We talked science together. We both loved astronomy. We had a telescope in our apartment. We used to look at the, you know, the constellations. It sounds like 57 days of bliss, right? Isn't that the number you put on it? Yes. But you know what they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Prince Charming was not so charming. Turns out the good doctor's medical

background was hardly professional. Fired from two different residency programs, one where supervisors found him a threat to patient safety. When I hear he has a medical degree, I immediately think, oh, well, where is he practicing medicine? Nowhere! And by the time he met Valerie, the only surgery he was doing was cutting himself off from creditors by filing for bankruptcy and in the romance department a checkered history as well. For example, his first wife, Annie.

We would fight, fight, fight and love, love, love, fight, fight, love, love, love. It was one of those relationships that people were like, God, they're crazy, but they're there crazy and we love that. But after 11 years, Annie must have had enough crazy. She filed for divorce and would later press charges for aggravated stalking and intimidation. Court documents say he made calls, sent texts, and emails threatening to inflict bodily harm. I'm not going to f***ing hurt you.

I'm going to hurt your f***ing parents right in front of you. Do you understand me? Attempted cyber harassment is what I put guilty to. Yes, she went a little overboard with her complaints about me. Perhaps, but the complaints became a problematic pattern. He was about to start dating an attractive woman named Megan Varikis, and Leon had trumples with her too.

According to the police report, you busted her lip when you put a hand on her. I never put any hand on her. We were fighting. I probably shouldn't have put my hand even near her face. I didn't touch her in any way. I was simply trying to calm, but she bit my hand and at that time she bit her own lip. And subsequently that charge has been dropped because there was no evidence. Charges dropped, yes, but Leon won't let Megan drop off his radar.

But you kept on pursuing her despite the fact that she told you not to. I kept on pursuing her for a little bit, yeah. But cops do charge Leon with stalking. Ex-girlfriend says that he hides in the bushes and waits outside her workplace. Again, you're charged with stalking and with, you know, they caught you in the bushes outside her office building. There are no bushes outside her office building. They caught you loitering outside her office.

She says in the bushes. She says that. People can claim a lot of things, right? You can say, you know, Superman came down, took me to Kryptonite, you know, Krypton for the weekend. It doesn't make it true. What is surely true though is that apart from the stalking charge, Leon was also courting. And the newfound romance between Leon and Valerie would soon bloom into something very dark, very disturbing.

Are you a person who's capable of murder? No. I really wouldn't hurt a fly if I didn't have to. That's quite a qualifier. Stay with us. If you've benefited from therapy in the past, you know how useful it can be. It can help you to learn positive coping skills and how to set boundaries. Therapy empowers you to be the best version of yourself and it isn't just for those who've experienced major trauma. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. BetterHelp is fully

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That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash two zero two zero. Who doesn't love a good family mystery, especially one with as many twists and turns as June's Journey? You'll step into the role of June Parker and search for hidden clues to uncover dark secrets at her sister's estate and unravel the truth behind her sister's mysterious death. The roaring 1920s spring to life along this journey as you explore stunning hidden object scenes from New York parlors to Parisian sidewalks. And with all that mystery, danger, and romance you'll be left wondering just where each new chapter will take you. As you dive into

June's captivating quest, you'll also unleash your own creativity, customizing your very own luxurious estate island complete with sprawling gardens and stunning architecture. Along the way you'll collect scraps of information to fill your photo album and learn more about each character in the story. Chat and play with or against other players by joining a detective club. You'll even get a chance to play in a detective league that'll really put your sleuthing skills to the test. So escape reality and lose yourself in this captivating quest of mystery, murder and romance

set in the roaring 1920s. Discover your inner detective when you download June's Journey for Free today on iOS and Android. Houston, Texas. Affectionately nicknamed the Big Heart, the perfect backdrop for Leon Jacob, a wannabe surgeon whose LinkedIn page would have you believe he's transplanting hearts by day, all while capturing hearts by night? You know how to talk to women.

Yeah, I do. I respect them very much. And most men don't treat them that way. Right now, he's in the loving arms of a new woman, successful single mom Valerie McDaniel. But this couple has some obstacles before they can get to that happily ever after part. First of all, Leon's ex-girlfriend Megan may be gone, but her stalking charge still dogs him. I am not 100% sure to this day why she ran away like she did. And you can't get a medical license in Texas with a felony.

Could there be a prescription to cure that problem? And according to prosecutors, the way that he's going to eliminate that problem is by eliminating her. That's right. The man who took an oath to do no harm is allegedly trying to do in his ex-girlfriend Megan. Investigators say that's what leads Leon to this guy. His name is Zack, a former army sergeant.

He swears he can complete the mission in exchange for $5,000 in cash, two Cartier watches, and a laptop as a down payment. But here's the thing. The prosecutor said that Zack was much more of a con man than a hitman. According to investigators, Zach takes the money and runs without ever firing a single shot.

That was Zach's story. He said that he was never going to go through with the murders. Feeling swindled, the cops say Leon tries to hunt down Zach and begins his search with a guy who has seen his share of shady characters. How does a nice fella like you get involved in something like this? Well, I bonded somebody out of jail and his name happened to be Leon Jacob. Meet bail bondsman Michael Kubasch. His life is putting up cash to get people out of jail

and then tracking them down if they don't pay him back. Kubasch says when he bonded Leon out of the slammer for allegedly stalking Megan, Leon asked him if he could chase down Zach. And I said, well, why do you need Zach? He said, I've paid him a lot of money to take care of this matter. And I said, to take care of what?

He said, I want her out of the picture and the way he talked to me I felt like was I was talking to Satan himself Kubosh is rattled enough to call the cops and they contact Megan and get her to a safe house And then they haul in the would-be hitman Zack and turn up the heat on him He agrees to help investigators set a trap. They have Zach call Leon and say, hey, I got a guy, he's going to do the hit for us. But that new guy is actually an undercover cop named Javier.

We've been asked not to show his face. Once I am involved in the murder plot, then we are able to control the situation. Javier says that as the call continues, everything is going according to plan until Leon poses a jaw-dropping question. We're taking care of both problems. What about both problems?

Both of the individuals that we're talking about. Did he just say both issues? So HPD is learning, oh, there's a second person they're trying to take care of. Upon hearing that, I was shocked that Leon wanted two people killed. And that second victim, none other than Valerie's ex-husband, Mac.

Turns out the other obstacle in the budding, very dark romance was on Valerie's side. And she and Leon were both in on the scheme. Leon did tell me that he also wanted to have Valerie's ex-husband removed from the picture. At that point they decided to meet at the Olive Garden. The Olive Garden, with its family-friendly ambiance, not really the kind of place you'd expect a murder-for-hire strategy session to go down with an otherwise normal-looking amorous couple. It was very obvious to me during that first meeting that Leon was serious about killing Megan and Mac. So they were sitting at this table?

Yes. At this very table, somewhere between the breadsticks and the bolognese, sits one strange quartet. The vet Valerie, Bo, Leon Jacob, Zach and undercover officer Javier posing as a contract killer. What did they look like when they came in here? So Valerie had actually come from work so she was literally wearing scrubs from the vet clinic along with Dr. McDaniel monogrammed on on the scrub jacket. Wow so again not trying to hide her identity. No not trying to hide her identity at all. Cops say Leon has made his target clear. The good doctor even suggests a method, injecting Megan with potassium chloride to stop

her heart. He told me on more than one occasion that his survival is more important than hers that he was a lot more important than her. As Leon and Zach take a cigarette break, cops say the undercover Javier and Valerie are left alone to discuss intended target number two, Valerie's ex, Mac. And I asked her are you sure you want to do this and she said I have no other choice he's gonna take my baby from me. She was worried about him taking full custody of the girl. And he finally gets her to say that she does in fact want him to be killed. And that's when he said well if you want that done

it's gonna be another $10,000. And Valerie said, OK, I have to pay you out in installments of it, but I'll pay you $10,000. Money is tight for Valerie thanks to that divorce settlement. She agreed to pay her ex over a million dollars for his share of the vet clinic. She had just gotten divorced and taken a loan out

of $1.2 million to pay Mac McDaniel as part of that divorce. So liquidity may have been an issue for them. So she had to pay $1.25 million in the divorce? She had to get a loan out. It may not have been on the menu, but the cops say two murders were ordered here. Coming up, cops make a house call as cameras roll. I'm trying to get us in the house. make a house call as cameras roll. The elaborate charade by police to smoke out the alleged conspirators is caught on tape. Next.

Time for the check at this Olive Garden restaurant and picking up the tab for that delicious, affordable and conspiratorial lunch is Dr. Leon Jacob and his girlfriend, Dr. Valerie McDaniel. I believe Leon and Valerie paid for the bill. Feels very nice of them. Now remember, the cops say Leon and Val thought they'd been dining with a hitman, but Javier was really an undercover cop. So police spring into action, immediately reaching out to Valerie's ex-husband, But Javier was really an undercover cop. So police spring into action, immediately reaching out to Valerie's ex-husband, Mac,

to tip him off. And what they get Mac to do next is right out of a John Grisham novel. They do a series of pictures of him dead. He agrees to pose for these photos, staging his own death, complete with a bullet wound to the head. We wanted to make it look like he had been killed in a robbery. We took a series of them, one slumped over the steering wheel and shot in the head,

and the other one laying on the ground, shot in the head. Cops have also gotten to Leon's other target, his ex, Megan. Does she express any surprise that Leon Jacob, the man who loved her so much and then stalked her, allegedly, would want this to happen to her? She is in no way surprised that this happened. She knew that he had a temper, he would explode,

and now that she was denying him access to herself, like he became obsessed with her. Megan also agrees, staging her own set of pictures to make it look like she's been kidnapped. Leon kept using the word disappear or he would say I want her gone, I want her to go away forever and I took that to understand that he wanted her dead. But Javier says in the middle of depicting the harrowing scene it's suddenly all a little too real for Megan. She breaks down.

Megan became hysterical. She was very scared for her life. And she actually began to cry. And she began to tremble. The doomsday photo shoots are done and the cops are ready to take their next step in their elaborate sting operation, informing Leon and Valerie that Mack has been killed. Still posing as that hitman, Javier says he breaks the news in person at the condo. I began to tell Valerie and Leon that Mack was gone, that it was done. I then asked Leon if he wanted to see a picture, and he told me that he did not want to see anything.

If this was a mistake, if they weren't supposed to go kill the person, kidnap the person, the response would be, oh my goodness, what have you done? Instead, cops say Leon produces the blood money. Leon gives me the cash and I count out $1,800. According to the cops and Leon in Valerie's minds, with Mac dead, Megan is next. Leon in Valerie's minds with Mac dead, Megan is next. And later that same day, Javier says he informs Leon that job too is done.

Megan is now a memory. She's dead, she's gone. You already took care of her? Yeah. I know you had concerns about the body and everything will take care of the body. So at that point, we've closed both cases, but we decided we wanted to go an extra step. And so that extra step was the death notice.

A death notice. Now, that's what cops call it when they have to notify a family member or next of kin that a loved one has passed. So now it's these police officers who have to give a performance. Just days after that Olive Garden meeting, Sergeant Frank Quinn and other officers show up at that apartment to break what should be shocking, tragic news for Valerie.

Now remember, it's all a ruse to get Valerie's reaction. And it's all being recorded as potential evidence on police body cameras. I'm afraid we have some bad news. Your ex-husband is being found. It looks like it turns out to be a fatality. Looks like my own robbery gone wrong. Sorry to have to tell you. Looks like they might have been robbery going around. Sorry I had to tell you.

Have you heard from them recently? I was there last night. Valerie's response doesn't seem particularly appropriate, according to Sergeant Quinn. It was not what you would expect in reality. And you want to know, are you sure it's my ex-husband? How do you know this? You definitely have a lot of questions and a lot of grief. In the video, Valerie sits quietly, putting her head in her hands.

I know you're a boyfriend. You might want to let me know what's going on, I'm sorry. Soon enough, Leon emerges from the bedroom. My ex-husband's been found today. Oh my God. It looks like there might have been a robbery going on. Oh, f***. If anybody knows anything or... No, we... I'll not be able to help you.

Now, listen carefully to what Leon says next because cops say it's sounding like he's establishing his whereabouts. Are you okay, baby? You've been here all night. says next because cops say it's sounding like he's establishing his whereabouts. Are you okay, baby? You've been here all night. You've been here all day with their daughter and we're watching movies. What he wants to do is establish an alibi that you know right away it's not him. You know, and then feigning that surprise, it was all rehearsed in my opinion. Is it strange for a man who hasn't been yet accused of anything to immediately offer

an alibi unsolicited? Absolutely. I think right there that's great evidence for us. More than enough, police now believe to end the masquerade. All right, so I'll tell you, we'll need you to come with us and uh... parade. Oh and there's yet another surprise in store for Valerie. As she's being hauled off to jail, someone's waiting outside her front door. It's her ex-husband Mac, back from the dead, waiting to take custody of their young daughter. He stands at the threshold of the apartment. They allow her to go get her daughter.

She brings the daughter to the threshold and then hands the daughter off to Mac. And that was the last time that she saw her daughter. It was. I wonder what was going through her mind at that moment that she handed her over to the man she tried to murder, knowing that it was all over. Her child, her career, her freedom, but Valerie's love for Leon endures for one final kiss. They were both on their way to face justice,

but only one of them will make it to the trial. Stay with us. That moment you realize you missed Roseanne, the number one premiere of the season. There, there. Catch the Encore Sunday 7, 6 Central. I thought you were dead. Sleeping. How does everybody else think I'm dead? Then Tuesday...

There's no books on how to raise kids. Yes, there are. There are literally thousands. It's another funny and relevant new episode. I'm on my way, and I mean business. Roseanne, Encore Sunday and New Tuesday on ABC. I'm this weird part of my life, I really am. Bill Burr, drop dead years, a hilarious stand up special is now streaming on Hulu.

I am getting along with my wife better than I ever have. All you have to do is agree to something that you would never do. Farmer's Market? Oh boy, would I? My buddy dies, I show up to the funeral, open casket. You told me he was dead, I believed you. Bill Burr, Drop Dead Years is now streaming on Hulu.

Don't miss Good American Family. We have a little girl here for adoption. She has dwarfism. Hulu. How old are you? You should get a lawyer. You have no idea how those people hurt this girl. The Hulu Original Series. Good American Family. Premieres March 19th. Streaming on Hulu. Ordinarily, doctors wear scrubs. But not these two.

At least, not today. Led into court wearing orange jumpsuits. Charged with allegedly hiring a hitman to kill both of their exes. Enough of the state, your honor. No, Judge, thank you. Four days after the arrest, Valerie was released on a $50,000 bond. After a couple of days in the cooler, she says it's to chill out and goes to see her friends.

Why would you want your husband killed? She really did not talk about it at all. I think she knew that it was an uncomfortable situation for everyone. We were all trying to be upbeat and positive and like it's gonna be fine we can work through this you know we'll help you out. But she seemed a little resigned maybe a little defeated. There was a look in her eyes that I hadn't quite ever seen before. A haunting look that becomes a final moment between friends. And then in hindsight, I immediately realized she came there to say goodbye.

Just two days later, in a move that stuns those friends and the community, Valerie leaps to her death from her seventh floor balcony. The death of a murder-for-hire suspect who jumped from her own condo balcony today. People fell to their knees crying. I was completely, just completely shocking. I don't know what I'm saying. I got a call and I didn't want to believe it. And in one final loving gesture to her friend Maggie, she pens this letter just before jumping to her death.

Can you read it? Dear Maggie, I'm so very sorry for what I have done, but I'm just not strong enough to fight all the battles ahead. I'm tired and so scared and so weak. Be well and stay safe. All my love, Valerie. Losing her career and her reputation, I just think she just didn't want to live like that anymore. Mostly losing her daughter was the biggest thing. It was just as much a shock to me

as it was to everybody else around her. Did you hold yourself responsible for her suicide? No. That was a decision she made on her own. So you never thought for a minute that maybe you'd put her in a position that she just couldn't handle and that it drove her to commit suicide? No. She had so much pressure on her and I wasn't there to help support her. Leon, who was never released on bond, asked the judge to allow him to attend Valerie's funeral, but his request was denied.

The Valerie McDaniel left a note detailing her final wishes before apparently jumping to her death from that condo. She also left behind that audio diary she recorded, a suicide note in her own voice from beyond the grave. I didn't wake up one day and just say, hey, I want to kill my ex-husband. Things just gradually happened. However it happened, prosecutors say there's no question Valerie wanted her ex-husband dead and actually confessed to it after her arrest on that video outside her apartment. We keep having her tell her to speak up and she says things like, you know,

so you wanted your husband killed, you know, you can't nod, you have to say yes. I'd be like, yes, that's what I wanted. No matter how educated she was, no matter how brilliant or loving she was, seemingly fell under the spell of Leon Jacob. Val's friends blame Leon. Do you think he's responsible for her death? She wouldn't be where she is now if it wasn't for him. How does Valerie get from well-respected vet to hiring a hitman to suicide?

I think that you're going to find this linchpin of that is Leon Jacob. I do want people to understand that this was not something that she wanted to happen. It's something that happened to her. I truly believe that. This was not something that she would have ever done. Maggie points out in the short eight-week period Leon and Valerie were together she saw her friend only once. She wouldn't hang out with her friends anymore which is all classic stalker method of operation. You cut them

off from their friends, you seclude them. Leon denies keeping Valerie from her friends. You know when you're first in a new relationship, you kind of isolate yourselves with each other. But despite everything that's happened in her recorded suicide note, Valerie never turns on Leon. I know it's going to upset other people. I love him. note, Valerie never turns on Leon. She may have loved him, but she also left him to stand trial alone. But Leon says prosecutors got him all wrong. I am innocent of these charges. I still maintain that throughout. I find them to be atrocious in manner because I'm not some monster that wanted my ex-girlfriend killed and her ex-husband. I'm a healer by nature.

When we come back prosecutors tell a jury Leon's not a healer he's a hirer of hitmen. Leon Jacob does not stop until he gets what he wants. What I'm trying to understand is are you Dr. Jekyll or are you Mr. Hyde? And for the first time, meet the would be victims, the people behind those gruesome and fake photos. These have tied my hands and my feet and put duct tape around my mouth to make me look as if I had been kidnapped. Stay with us. Last week, Leon Jacob walked into a packed Houston courtroom ready to face down charges that he masterminded the planning

of a double murder. Jaw dropping testimony and riveting photos. How they wanted their exes to be quote, taken care of. Jacob's attorney says it would be a quote, quantum leap to believe that Jacob wanted dead the ex-girlfriend he once so loved. Our ABC station KTRK there every step of the way. All right good morning ladies and gentlemen of the jury we're ready to proceed with that as a state ready.

One of the things you learn about Leon Jacob is he has to be in control. Leon Jacob does not stop until he gets what he wants. Prosecutors tell jurors that what Leon wanted was a new life with a new wife, Valerie. There was two obstacles to the defendant's new life with Valerie McDaniel. It was Mac, and it was men. Like many of us here today, Leon's made some mistakes in life.

Leon's defense starts with that classic refrain. There's no perfect man, but... Does not make him guilty of solicitation of capital murder. Instead, they point the finger squarely at the police, saying they're undercover hitmen and trapped Leon for their own purposes. They realized this could be the case that makes their career. They were trying to force these people into making the decisions that they did not want to make.

Prosecutors waste no time in calling the two people who were never supposed to testify because they weren't supposed to be alive. All right, we're ready to continue and with that with the state call your first witness. Thank you. The state of Texas calls Megan Varikis. First up, Leon's ex-girlfriend Megan Varikis, who tells jurors about the abuse she suffered that ended their relationship. And ultimately did the police file charges in that case?

Yes. Assault against a family member. She then characterized his continuing efforts to contact her as a man who was desperate and she said certainly she was beyond frightened. He was calling, texting, emailing. He actually showed up at my place of work. Did you seek further protection from the defendant? I did everything I could to stay away from him. Prosecutors say Leon didn't just want to see Megan, he wanted to see her dead. And that's where those staged pictures come in. Do you know why they wanted to take photos of you?

Because somebody had been paid to kill me. Valerie's ex-husband, Mac McDaniel, those staged pictures come in. You know why they wanted to take photos of you because somebody had been paid to kill me. Valerie's ex-husband Mac McDaniel also tells jurors about his gruesome headshots. Did the officers ask you to do something for them stage my own death. A sound that grass that takes blood. Yes, ma'am he said the entire time in the back of his mind

were thoughts of his young daughter. If they would have been successful, now they would have not had any parents. And that thought upset you? Unimaginable. But the centerpiece of the prosecution's case will be the audio secretly recorded by that undercover hitman. Yeah, isn't that cool? It's petrified. Clearly the strongest evidence against Leon Jacob were his own words.

If she's gone, all this goes away. At least you start out with the $2,500 payment. Just get it done and you'll get the payment. Okay. The potassium injection, whatever you said it was. You think I can do it myself? Yeah. It's easy.

You got an injection in the groin. In the groin? Not in the heart? No, hell no. You can't have a needle mark. But even his own damning words can't dissuade a guy like Leon Jacob from doing what we rarely see. Take the stand in his own defense.

State your name for the latest jury. Leon, Leon Jacob. I never asked to have anybody hurt, killed, harmed, kidnapped. But what about his words on those recordings? Jacob says he was just following the lead of the people he was talking to. I felt a lot of pressure from them to sort of commit to this idea of killing people and that was never my intent and so I think that I took a much more aggressive tone with them. We're

taking care of both problems. What problems? Her and him. But when prosecutors get their shot at Jacob, it doesn't take long to ruffle his feathers when they bring up how quickly he moved on from Megan to Valerie. That would have put you sleeping with Valerie McDaniel just seven days after you and Megan broke up, correct? If the math is correct, yes.

So when you tell the members of this jury that your heart's sick over Megan, that's not really true, is it? I have no problem sitting here and saying that I slept with Valery seven days after Megan and I broke up. But I'm not on trial for being a womanizer. I'm on trial for solicitation of capital murder. So you can assassinate my character all you want up here. It doesn't make me guilty of what you charge me with. Prosecutors say what does make him guilty of that are those recorded conversations they have. Megan will be taken care of too this week? Yeah. I was just having a conversation about possible scenarios. I wasn't giving him any directions. Did you not want anybody hurt when you said inject her with potassium chloride,

stop her heart, untraceable? I said that was a something you could do. I didn't say that for him to do that. I'm going to show you what's been entered into evidence as states exhibit number 22. And when confronted with that picture of Megan tied up and terrified, Leon acknowledges he saw it and thought it was real. And in seeing this picture, you'd agree with me at no time.

Did you tell officer to ran? Well, time out stop the scanty far. I don't want any part of this. You never said that, did you? Not those exact words that did not. Remember your monitors for stop to discuss the case and we'll see you back at 9.30 in the morning.

With Leon Jacob's testimony wrapped up, both sides rest their cases. And now the only words anyone is waiting to hear are from the jury. What will they decide? And even from jail, Leon has big plans to cash in on the crime. I want Bradley Cooper to play me in the TV movie.

Stay with us. Even before the verdict is in, Leon, ever the optimist, ever the planner, seems eager in this jailhouse call Hey, Pentecostal, how are you doing? to capitalize on his newfound notoriety. The Leon Jacob trial. Yes, it's a good story. It's something you'd want to read a book about.

I want Bradley Cooper to play me in the TV movie. Oh, that's not me, you know. Back in this downtown Houston courtroom, it takes the jury barely an hour to come to a decision. I think that spoke volumes in this case. All rise for the jury. We the jury find the defendant, Leon Philip Jacob, guilty of solicitation of capital murder

is charged in the indictment. You did not see a physical outward change in emotion. I think you may be seated. On his face or in his body. And now the jury will determine if he should go to prison and for how long. To help them do that, prosecutors call a bombshell witness. Annie Morrison.

Do you know an individual by the name of Leon Jacob? Yes. How do you know him? He's my ex-husband. If there was any doubt for jurors about what Leon Jacob is capable of, his ex-wife and the mother of his two children puts all that to rest. There was a time that we got into a fight and he pulled a knife on me. He would push me, grab my arms or my shoulders, kick me, push me against the wall.

He threatened that if I ever left that he would kill me. He said that nobody would ever find my body because he was a doctor and he had access to chemicals that would dissolve my body. This defendant cannot be trusted to live among us. He's terrorized too many people for too long. The only appropriate punishment in this case is life. Police go to the bailiff. And the prosecutors get their wish. Sentenced to life in prison.

The man of so many words suddenly had a loss for them. Do you have anything to say? No, sir. And it's Megan Varikis, the woman he wanted dead, who gets the last word, addressing Leon directly. I believe everything happens for a reason. You took away my sense of security, but you can get that no more. You're a guy with some of the best pedigree around.

How does a guy like you end up in a place like this? That's a really good question. I don't necessarily have an answer for you. You know, I've been knocked down a bunch of my life and I always got back up. But it seems that this time, it'll be tougher to do that. While you sit in jail, I hope you think of me. Because it's because of me, you will be in prison for life.

Enjoy life in prison. Leon Jacob's defense team is appealing his conviction. He'll be eligible for parole in 30 years. In the meantime, our question for you tonight, how much of a role do you think Valerie played in the plot? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime, that's our show for tonight. Thanks so much for watching. For David and all of us at ABC News and 20 20, have a good night and a great weekend. You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault. You can find all new broadcast episodes

of 2020, Friday nights at 9 on ABC. I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising prices technically violates those onerous two-year contracts, they said, what the f*** are you talking about, you insane Hollywood a*****? So to recap, we're cutting the price of Mint Unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.