Man Indicted in Machete Attack on Family

July 1, 2020 – A 35-year-old man was indicted Wednesday in a machete attack earlier this year in which his teenage daughter was killed and his wife was critically injured, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Ledis Sanchez of the 3800 block of Vernon Ave. was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

The incident occurred on Feb. 16, 2020, when witnesses said Sanchez arrived at the house to gather his clothes because he was moving out. Instead, he grabbed a machete and began attacking his wife, fracturing her skull and cutting her arms and hands.

She managed to escape and call for help, but Sanchez then attacked his 18-year-old daughter Sierra Howard with the machete. She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Sanchez fled, but turned himself in to police hours later.

The case is being handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Shelby Patrick and Chief Prosecutor Greg Gilbert of the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) which handles cases of domestic assault and homicide committed by intimate partners. Cases are handled in General Sessions Division 10 and in Criminal Court Division 5.

The DVU works closely with the Family Safety Center and with numerous other victim service providers to provide assistance to victims and their families.