CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- The Chesterfield woman who disappeared without a trace after she left work at Altria on April 4, 2012 was both scared and angry over a violent situation with a boyfriend.
In day three of Michael Edwards' murder trial, a police detective read a journal entry from Leyla Namiranian's diary.
"I'm going between fear and anger," the journal entry, dated February 19, 2012, read. "I broke up with Mike [Edwards] for the fourth and last time. He choked me, but thankfully let go, thank God. I slept at [a friend's house] because I was afraid he'd come back."
A few weeks later, Namiranian was reported missing. Police have declared her dead, though her body has not yet been found.
Edwards was later charged with her murder.
Jurors also watched video Wednesday of Chesterfield Police detectives questioning Edwards about Namiranian.
In the video, police questioned Edwards about his wife and children.
Edwards told detectives that at first Namiranian did not know he was married to someone else. He also said his wife knew Namiranian was one of his girlfriends.
Edwards also mentioned other "lady friends," one of whom he shared a home with -- part-time -- in Richmond.
He told police Namiranian bought him things, including a cell phone.
It was a cell phone that provided key evidence that helped lead to Edwards' arrest.
In the police interrogation video, detectives informed Edwards they obtained his cell phone records which pinged him near Namiranian's home for five hours the April 2012 day she was last seen.
They confronted him, and told him he was not being truthful because he initially told police he did not wake up until 11 a.m. that day, but cell phone records showed he was near Namiranian's Chesterfield home around 5:15 a.m.
He later told detectives he "forgot he went through that area, but didn't go to her house."
Detectives kept asking Edwards to explain why he was there in the area for five hours. He never directly answered the question and kept saying he loved Namiranian and never went to her home.
Detectives appeared frustrated in the video as Edwards kept changing his story and not directly answering the detectives' questions.
Jurors also heard from Edwards' boss at Vitran Express where he was a dock shipment worker. Justin Toomy said Edwards "looked exhausted" when he reported to work on the day in question. He said he was not the type of manager to pay too much attention to employees, as long as they get the job done.
A DNA expert testified that a blood stain found in Michael Edwards car was not Namiranian's. And she said that none of Edwards DNA was found inside of Namiranian's home, clothing, or on her cell phone.
