that made him a risky witness, but leon wanted to testify. i never asked to have anybody hurt, killed, harmed, kidnapped. we had multiple discussions, or multiple conversations, about not wanting to harm or hurt anybody. reporter: the state said that was just semantics. on cross-examination, prosecutor samantha knecht pointed out that despite leon s claim he hadn t explicitly asked for meghan or mack to be killed, he didn t exactly shy away from violent talk. snatch her, put her in a room, and tell her if she doesn t [ bleep ] leave, i m gonna kill her parents, right? if that s what you say i said. did you say it mr. jacob? sure. reporter: as for leon s claim he never suggested killing meghan? if you injected someone with potassium chloride and stopped their heart that it would hurt them? yes. it would kill them? yes. and you knew that as a doctor?
hey, valerie. nice to meet you. nice to meet you. reporter: when the conversation started, leon didn t sound like someone trying to hire a hit man. he said he d be happy if meghan just went back to pittsburgh. i want her just to leave. yeah. i don t want her hurt. reporter: but, as they ate their pasta leon s tone hardened. make it very clear to her that if she doesn t leave this time, there s gonna be some severe consequences. reporter: during the conversation, leon said he wanted adam to try another tactic, plant some drugs on meghan. she gets pulled over, she has a little cocaine. she s not a credible witness anymore. reporter: and leon had a more sinister idea, which to the undercover officer sounded like an invitation to murder. give her an injection of potassium chloride to stop her heart, untraceable. it s up to you. do you have that stuff? i can get access to it, yeah. i have access to a pharmacy. valerie owns a pharmacy. she has a pharmacy at he
that leon was abusive. what did the defendant tell you? that was my punishment for calling the police was being held in the bed with a knife to my throat. reporter: this defendant cannot be trusted to live among us. a guilty verdict without the appropriate punishment is hollow. reporter: there s something you want out of the punishment phase? i would never want him to be able to do this to somebody else because if it wasn t me, if it wasn t valerie, if it wasn t annie, it s going to be somebody else. and that needs to stop. reporter: the jury sentenced leon to life in prison. afterwards, meghan addressed him directly. while you sit in jail i hope you think of me, the girl that you called poor and uneducated. it s because of me, you will be in prison for life. i was really proud of her. i think it took incredible courage on her part to see this through. reporter: meghan knows, in a way, she was lucky. every day, there are women that are in in situations like this t
yes. when we would ask him a question, if he didn t feel like we had phrased it right, he would rephrase it for us. you need to restate your question and put it into context. i believe that he felt like he was smarter than cameron and i. reporter: did you just want to smack him? yes. reporter: leon, they argued, didn t care who lived or died in his wake. he did nothing to stop this. in his mind his ex-girlfriend is sitting by herself in a warehouse somewhere in this city zip-tied, with duct tape around her mouth. he thinks he can just walk away from this. reporter: it took the jury all of an hour and 15 minutes to decide leon s fate. we the jury find the defendant, leon phillip jacob, guilty of solicitation of capital murder. reporter: guilty of all charges. and in texas, the jury can also decide punishment. in the penalty phase, prosecutors called a new witness, leon s ex-wife annie. she testified in vivid detail
she testified in vivid detail that leon was abusive. what did the defendant tell you? that was my punishment for calling the police was being held in the bed with a knife to my throat. reporter: this defendant cannot be trusted to live among us. a guilty verdict without the appropriate punishment is hollow. reporter: there s something you want out of the punishment phase? i would never want him to be able to do this to somebody else because if it wasn t me, if it wasn t valerie, if it wasn t annie, it s gonna be somebody else. and that needs to stop. reporter: the jury sentenced leon to life in prison. afterwards, meghan addressed him directly. while you sit in jail i hope you think of me, the girl that you called poor and uneducated. it s because of me, you will be in prison for life. i was really proud of her. i think it took incredible courage on her part to see this through. reporter: meghan knows, in a way, she was lucky. every day, there are women that are in