Fifteen years after a beloved American University professor was found dead in her Maryland home, a dramatic international manhunt has finally reached its conclusion with a murder conviction. The case, which involved a staged burglary, massive financial fraud, and a fugitive who taunted police from abroad, is now being detailed in a new television documentary.
A Crime Scene That Didn't Add Up
In October 2010, the peaceful Bethesda neighbourhood was shaken by the discovery of 52-year-old accounting professor Sue Marcum's body at the foot of her stairs. The initial scene pointed to a violent burglary: a cut kitchen window screen, a television left on a sofa, and a smashed tequila bottle nearby. Marcum's laptop, phone, purse, and car were all missing.
Within hours, police tracked her stolen car and detained the driver, 18-year-old DeAndrew Hamlin. However, investigators quickly realised the evidence was misleading. The window screen had been cut from the inside, items on the ledge were undisturbed, and no forensic evidence linked Hamlin to the murder. He had simply found the abandoned car with the keys inside.
Two glasses with tequila remnants were found. Crucially, male DNA on one glass matched DNA under Marcum's fingernails, indicating she knew her attacker. The truth was a chilling betrayal: her killer had shared a drink with her, attacked her with the bottle, suffocated her, and then meticulously staged the break-in.
The Manipulator Behind the Murder
The investigation soon turned to Jorge Rueda Landeros, a Mexican-born Spanish teacher, yoga instructor, and stockbroker who had been in a romantic relationship with Marcum. Unbeknownst to her friends and family, their relationship had turned financial. Landeros, described as a "master manipulator", convinced the accountant to let him make joint investments for her.
Marcum took out a $300,000 mortgage on her home and placed the funds into brokerage accounts he controlled. While Landeros profited by approximately $250,000, Marcum was driven to financial ruin. Damning emails showed her despairing and begging for her money back. The final motive became clear when police discovered Landeros was the sole beneficiary of her $500,000 life insurance policy.
A Decade-Long International Game of Cat and Mouse
By the time an arrest warrant was issued in 2011, Landeros had fled to Mexico. Thus began an 11-year international manhunt, with Landeros placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list. From hiding, he began a bizarre and arrogant correspondence with Montgomery County detectives.
In emails exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail, he taunted investigators, corrected their grammar, and even invited Detective Paula Hamill to meet him in Juarez, Mexico, telling her to "bring your kevlar"—a thinly-veiled threat implying she would need a bulletproof vest. He lived under the alias Leon Ferrara in Guadalajara, teaching yoga and even self-publishing a book of poetry titled "The Fugitive Poems."
The chase finally ended in December 2022, when an FBI tip led to his arrest in Guadalajara. He was extradited to the United States to face trial.
Justice After Fifteen Years
In October 2025, a Maryland court found Jorge Rueda Landeros, now 55, guilty of second-degree murder in the beating and asphyxiation of Sue Marcum. He was acquitted of the more serious first-degree murder charge. His sentencing is scheduled for 6 February 2026, where he faces up to 30 years in prison.
The full story of manipulation, flight, and a relentless pursuit for justice is featured in a new episode of ABC's 20/20, airing this Friday, which details the detectives' long and twisted journey to catch a killer who believed he was beyond the law.
