In June 2020, Jacksonville, Florida, 37-year-old Leonard Whitaker was living what seemed like an ordinary life with his wife, Mon’nique, and their two children.

By all appearances, he was a devoted husband and father working as a warehouse supervisor.

However, beneath the surface, Leonard had been hiding a secret for months.

For nearly eight months, he had been involved in an affair with 29-year-old Dominique Price, a transwoman who lived across town.

Their relationship, which had started through a dating app, was conducted in secrecy, with Leonard insisting on meeting only at Dominique’s apartment or in rented motel rooms.

Dominique, at first willing to accept this secrecy, began pushing for more.

She repeatedly asked to see Leonard’s home, to meet his family, but Leonard resisted, continuing to hide his family life from her.

Meanwhile, Mon’nique noticed unsettling changes in her husband’s behavior.

His phone, once open to her, was now locked.

He came home later than usual, offering inconsistent excuses, and became defensive when questioned.

Mon’nique confided her suspicions to her sister, believing her husband might be cheating but without proof.

Then, on June 19th, 2020, everything exploded.

While Leonard was grilling outside, Mon’nique answered a knock at the door.

To her surprise, it was Dominique, standing at the doorway and demanding to speak with Leonard.

As the confrontation unfolded, the tension between them escalated rapidly.

Dominique, frustrated and demanding answers for Leonard’s secrecy, made it clear she was done being hidden.

The situation quickly turned violent.

Leonard, panicked and desperate to conceal his affair, grabbed a handgun from a drawer near the door.

The first shot struck Dominique in the shoulder, and she fled into the yard, attempting to escape.

But Leonard pursued her, firing a second shot that struck her in the back, causing her to collapse onto the grass.

Neighbors who heard the gunshots alerted authorities, and Mon’nique immediately called emergency services.

When police arrived, Leonard was standing on the driveway, his hands raised, his gun lying on the ground.

Dominique was declared dead at the scene, having suffered fatal injuries from the second gunshot wound.

Witnesses, including Mon’nique, provided conflicting accounts of the incident.

Leonard claimed he acted in self-defense, insisting Dominique had entered his home aggressively and threatened him.

However, Mon’nique’s testimony painted a different picture.

She described Dominique as calm when she arrived and said the confrontation only became heated once Leonard entered the hallway.

Forensic evidence backed up Mon’nique’s version of events.

The first gunshot, which struck Dominique’s shoulder, was fired at close range inside the doorway.

The second shot, which killed Dominique, was fired as she was retreating, running away from Leonard.

Further investigation into Dominique’s personal belongings revealed an unsettling truth.

Her cell phone contained a series of unanswered messages from Leonard, showing how he had repeatedly told her he would introduce her to his family—promises he never intended to keep.

One particularly telling note in Dominique’s purse listed Leonard’s workplace address, suggesting she had attempted to locate him after being ignored.

In interviews with Leonard’s co-workers, they confirmed his growing anxiety and irritability as he cut off contact with Dominique, despite their ongoing affair.

Dominique’s friends also corroborated her distress, detailing her repeated attempts to reach Leonard and her desire for honesty.

The final blow came when investigators reviewed surveillance footage from a neighbor’s security camera.

The video clearly showed Dominique fleeing after the first shot was fired, only to be pursued by Leonard, who fired again.

This video evidence proved crucial in undermining Leonard’s self-defense claim.

As the investigation continued, the contradictions in Leonard’s story became impossible to ignore.

In his second interview, Leonard reluctantly admitted to the affair but claimed Dominique had become unstable, demanding to expose their relationship.

He suggested that he shot her out of fear for himself and his family, a claim that did not hold up under scrutiny.

On the opening day of Leonard’s trial in 2021, the prosecution painted a clear picture of a man who sought to protect his secret rather than defend himself.

They argued that Leonard’s actions were driven not by fear, but by a desire to silence Dominique when she threatened to expose him.

The physical evidence—from the ballistics to the blood trail—supported the prosecution’s case.

The final blow came from Leonard’s own wife, Mon’nique, who testified that Dominique had not acted aggressively or forced her way into the house.

The medical examiner also testified that Dominique was shot while fleeing, not advancing toward Leonard as he claimed.

Leonard was found guilty of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and firearm possession in the commission of a felony.

He was sentenced to 40 years in state prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

For the family and friends of Dominique Price, the justice felt bittersweet.

While Leonard would be behind bars, their loved one was gone forever, taken by a man who had refused to acknowledge the truth and made a tragic decision to protect his own secrets at all costs.

In the end, Leonard Whitaker’s decision to keep his affair hidden was the very thing that led to his downfall.

His inability to confront the truth caused a senseless loss of life and destroyed his family in the process.

As for Dominique, her last efforts to seek the truth and gain honesty from Leonard ultimately led to a deadly confrontation—one she never deserved.