The murder of Leesa Nascimento by Lorenza Sam is featured in the latest episode of The Killer Beside Me on Investigation Discovery.
Nascimento, 49, was the owner of a flower shop in Sugar Land, Texas, and when she didn’t report to work on July 7, 2010, family members reported her missing.
Two days later, Sugar Land Police found her body floating in a lake behind her establishment near Southwest Freeway and Sugar Creek Blvd.
The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the face.
An investigation revealed that she was murdered by Sam, who was employed as a handyman for her home and business. Nascimento fired him three months after hiring him because he was stealing money, jewelry, and other items from her home and purse.
Witnesses said Sam became angry, and he said he was going to get her back. About six weeks after he was fired, he went to her home and shot her. He then dumped her body in a lake and fled to Gibsland, Louisiana, in her vehicle.
Police caught up with Sam in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and arrested him. He was extradited back to Texas and booked into the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility on a $1 million bond.
During the trial, prosecutors said Sam’s DNA was found inside of Nascimento’s vehicle, and cell phone footprint led officials to believe he murdered his former employer.
Sam was found guilty of capital murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2016, he appealed his murder conviction as he claimed there was insufficient evidence in the case, but it was rejected.
The Killer Beside Me — Flowers In The Lake, airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.