A man who fatally stabbed his wife and seriously wounded their 1-year-old daughter in Pentagon City has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Leonardo Antonio Reyes was sentenced today (Friday) to 40 years with 15 suspended for second-degree murder and 20 years with 15 suspended for aggravated malicious wounding — 30 years to serve, followed by 10 years of probation, according to the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.
Reyes pleaded guilty to both charges in April.
The attack happened the night of Dec. 14, 2024, near the entrance to the Target at 900 Army Navy Drive. Reyes stabbed his wife, 26-year-old Iman Gaye, multiple times while she was holding the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, prosecutors said. The couple’s 3-year-old witnessed the attack but was not hurt.
Officers found Reyes hiding under a parked car in a nearby parking garage and took him into custody.
The 1-year-old needed emergency surgery for multiple stab wounds and internal injuries, and survived. Gaye was hospitalized for more than two weeks before she died on Dec. 30, 2024. The D.C. medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide caused by complications from multiple sharp-force injuries.
Investigators recovered surveillance footage and other evidence tying Reyes to the attack, and he made statements taking responsibility for it after his arrest, the prosecutor’s office said. A psychological evaluation found he was experiencing psychosis at the time, and noted a history of bipolar disorder, that he had recently stopped taking prescribed medication and that he had reportedly used PCP in the days beforehand.
Virginia law does not allow a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity — which would require indeterminate hospitalization — when it isn’t clear whether psychiatric illness or drug use caused the criminal behavior, according to the prosecutor’s office. Drug use alone cannot support an insanity defense, and when both are in play, the illness must be the clear cause.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in a press release:
This was a devastating act of violence that took the life of a mother and left a young child with serious physical and emotional trauma. Our thoughts remain with the victims’ loved ones and with the children whose lives were forever changed by this tragedy.
The resolution of this case reflects the hard work of Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nassir Aboreden and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Colleen L’Etoile, victim advocates Deena Ware and Ada Lado, investigators, and medical professionals, who each helped secure accountability while sparing surviving family members the burden of a lengthy trial. Although no court outcome can repair the harm caused, we hope the Court’s decision provides a measure of closure to those affected.
The case became a political flashpoint in the weeks after the attack. Reyes was on probation at the time for the attempted robbery of a Crystal City CVS in 2021, and Arlington’s police union called that plea deal too lenient, a characterization Dehghani-Tafti rejected, saying the sentence fell within state guidelines.
The local Republican committee and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) also seized on the case, with the Arlington GOP setting its sights on the 2027 race for Commonwealth’s Attorney.
