Newly released photographs show the scene and evidence Joshua Lelevier says proves he was attacked and choked until he was unconscious in his backyard the week after his step-daughter was found dead in the desert near Vail.
Lelevier is charged with killing his 13-year-old step-daughter Jayden Glomb.
Lelevier told deputies he was in his backyard smoking a cigarette at about 1:30 a.m. when he heard a noise near the air conditioning unit on the side of the home. He said he walked to the area but turned around when he heard the unit’s motor start. Lelevier says when he turned around someone grabbed him, hitting him and choking him until he lost consciousness.
Lelevier says the attacker then jumped over the fence and ran away. When he regained consciousness he went back into the house, woke up his wife, Jessica, and asked her to call 911.
Deputies who responded to the home noted in their reports they didn’t see anyone walking or running through the neighborhood which has few entrances and exits.
One of the deputies who interviewed Lelevier at his home noted the he made little eye contact while describing the attack.
Investigators took photos of Lelevier’s injures at both his home and later at Banner UMC. Photos released to KGUN9 show a cut on Lelevier’s neck, blood on his head, and a cut to one knuckle on his hand.
A detective who interviewed Lelevier at the hospital and then later visited the home noted a drag mark in the dirt near where Lelevier said the attack happened. But that detective wrote in his report, "…through my training and experience I thought was a little off due to the fact if someone was struggling there should have been at least two."
Lelevier and a family friend staying at the home both told detectives they thought the attack may have been related to his step-daughter's death. The family friend showed a deputy screen shots of messages which the deputy noted were possibly fake.
Ten days later, Lelevier was arrested and charged in his step-daughter's death. Prosecutors charged him with murder and sexual exploitation of a minor after investigators found what they say is a photo and a video of Glomb in a bathroom.
