Man Who Beat Girlfriend, Flipped Couch on Her & Slept on It Before Death Convicted of Murder

33-year-old Leroy Brahm was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and other offenses in the death of 21-year-old girlfriend Annabel Rose Meenan. While he'll be sentenced at a later date, the minimum mandatory sentence for the murder charge is life without the possibility of parole.

Meenan was found unresponsive on December 4, 2021 in a mobile home she shared with Brahm, before she was pronounced dead at a local hospital that same day. Per the DA, she was covered with "wounds and extensive bruising to her face, chest, arms, and legs" -- while investigators found "bloodstains on the kitchen walls, the oven’s glass door shattered, a hole in the wall, and the victim's damaged cell phone on the floor."

Doctors also said Meenan had "extensive trauma to her head and face and had lacerations and bruising on the rest of her body, including her arms, legs, torso, and pelvic area."

Brahm was later charged with her murder after investigators uncovered a trove of in-home surveillance footage showing his continued abuse of Meenan leading up to her death -- and the beating which took her life.

The videos were shown to the jury during the trial and, per the DA, showed the following:

- Nov. 6, 2021: The defendant is seen punching a bedroom door and furniture while yelling at the victim. Later, the victim walks down the hall and into the bedroom with no visible injuries or limps. Within an hour, the victim is seen limping, having difficulty walking, and rubbing her lower leg, which was discovered to have a fibular fracture when she sought medical help on Nov. 15. In surveillance videos after that date and leading up to her death, the victim can be seen wearing a medical walking boot.

- Nov. 13, 2021: The defendant is seen strangling the victim to the point of unconsciousness and slapping the victim.

- Nov. 23, 2021: The defendant is seen punching the victim 21 times in the head and body and strangling the victim.

- Dec. 4, 2021: The defendant is seen punching the victim in the head and body at least 85 times and kicking and stomping her at least 80 times in a series of assaults that culminated in her death.

During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Kate Wright argued Brahm's attacks stemmed from his jealousy he had over a sexual relationship the pair developed with another man. The three of them had gone on a cruise together in late summer 2021, before Brahm began to suspect Meenan was seeing the other man behind his back. Wright said Brahm then began following her and in the fall of 2021, followed her to the other man's apartment after she said she was visiting a relative.

Wright also said that the night before her death, the Brahm and Meenan got into a fight at home after drinking at a nearby tavern. The assaults, she said, included him dragging her by her hair through their home, slamming her head into a litter box and knocking her off the couch, which he then flipped over her before falling asleep on it. He found her unresponsive the next morning, cleaning the house before calling cops, said Wright. Brahm reportedly told investigators Meenan's injuries were the result of "rough sex."

The cause of death was ruled cardiac arrest, with both the abuse by Brahm and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. Though Brahm's defense team said he took responsibility for the abuse, they tried to argue prosecutors couldn't prove the beatings -- and not the cocaine in her system -- were what caused her death.

After the conviction, District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said, "The Defendant unfathomably, brutally, and systematically beat his girlfriend to death during the course of a night. The jury rightfully recognized that the Defendant was guilty of all charges."