‘Killer brought to justice.’ Lexington man sentenced for murder of 36-year-old woman
Alena Kennedy was a loving daughter, sister and mother, her family told the court as they shared memories of her. When the court hearing was over the man who murdered her was sentenced to life in prison.
Lee Anthony Corley was sentenced to life without parole Monday at the Lexington County Courthouse. Judge Steven John imposed the sentenced on the 39-year-old after a week-long trial that began January 27. The trial ended with the jury finding Corley guilty of murder, desecration of human remains and conspiracy after a gruesome series of actions Corley took to try to cover up Kennedy’s killing, according to the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office which prosecuted the case.
In May 2017, Kennedy’s family waited for her to arrive at an important family function, according to prosecutors. When she didn’t show up, her mother reported her missing. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department began investigating and asked the public for help locating Kennedy.
On June 15, Sgt. Mike Gooding and Detective Sam Smith of the sheriff’s department got a tip from a person who told them that Corley was involved in Kennedy’s disappearance, prosecutors said. Deputies arrested Corley a week later and charged him with murder.
As the authorities continued their investigation they put together the story of what happened to Kennedy.
Kennedy was staying at Corley’s home on McDonald Avenue in South Congaree throughout April, according to authorities. Following his arrest, Corley told investigator’s that Kennedy was alive and had moved to Florida. Investigators interviewed people who knew Corley and Kennedy and some of those people informed detectives that they heard Corley admit to choking Kennedy while she stayed at his house.
After killing Kennedy, Corley worked with a girlfriend, Harriet Coleman, to move Kennedy’s body from his home to a home on Cecil Lane near Red Bank, prosecutors said. There, Corley burned Kennedy’s body in the yard. He disposed of her remains in a trash can and filled the can with 200 pounds of cement.
He had the trash can discarded in a secluded, wooded area near a dirt path off Old Two Notch Road in Lexington County, according to prosecutors. On June 16, a passerby came across the trash can. Authorities recovered the can and found dental remains which were a match to Kennedy.
At the trial, Lexington deputies and agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, who helped search the scenes where Corley committed his acts, testified about their discoveries, the 11th Circuit said in a statement. Witnesses who heard Corley admit to choking Kennedy also testified.
The jury deliberated for about an hour before announcing the guilty verdicts.
Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes thanked the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and its investigators in a statement released after Corley’s sentencing.
“They acted diligently in responding to the disappearance of Alena Kennedy, and tragically, to the murder investigation that ensued,” Mayes said. “These officers demonstrated extraordinary commitment in seeing Alena’s killer brought to justice.”
Corley is imprisoned at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia. He appealed his sentence Wednesday, records show.
Coleman, Corley’s alleged accomplice in concealing Kennedy’s murder, awaits court proceedings on charges of accessory to murder and human remains desecration.
This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 2:47 PM.