A Jenkintown woman accused of helping her boyfriend murder her father was convicted of voluntary manslaughter by a Montgomery County Court judge yesterday.
Christina Rubin, 23, pleaded guilty to an open charge of murder in August, leaving a judge to determine the degree of her guilt. Although she and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Leinheiser, 21, had been charged with first-degree murder, both were convicted of lesser murder and conspiracy charges yesterday.
Defense attorneys said Rubin suffered years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her father, Marc. Hours before Leinheiser shot him, Marc Rubin held a gun to his daughter's head, said her attorney, Martin Mullaney.
"The only thing Christina did - through Jeff Leinheiser - was pull the trigger first," Mullaney said.
Prosecutor Kevin Steele said Marc Rubin was not abusing his daughter at the time of the murder. Christina Rubin could have walked away instead of planning her father's murder, he said.
"Ms. Rubin and Mr. Leinheiser decided to be judge, jury, and executioner," Steele said.
Leinheiser shot and killed a sleeping Marc Rubin, 46, on the day after Thanksgiving 2008 in the Jenkintown apartment Marc Rubin shared with his daughter. She provided Leinheiser with the loaded .357 Magnum, police said. The couple dumped the body in a wooded area of Hamilton, N.J., after a botched attempt at dismembering it with a chainsaw. A hunter found the body, which was wrapped in a carpet and duct-taped, according to investigators.
Both defendants faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder. Now, Rubin, a Pennsylvania State University graduate who was working toward a master's degree in psychology at Chestnut Hill College, faces a maximum of 23 to 46 years in prison, Steele said. Leinheiser, convicted of third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, faces a maximum of 43 to 86 years in prison. The judge could impose lesser sentences.
Both previously pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse, Steele said.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8. Both defendants have been held at the Montgomery County jail since their arrest in January.
Contact staff writer Joelle Farrell at 610-627-0352 or jfarrell@phillynews.com.
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