CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The trial for a man charged with first-degree murder in the 2018 stabbing of his estranged wife got underway Monday afternoon.
Hamid Houbbadi, 43, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree murder in perpetration of a crime and especially aggravated burglary after his wife, 41-year-old Leila Chanane, was found dead in a neighbor’s driveway.
‘Troubled marriage’
According to original reporting, on Oct. 20, 2018, officers responded to an ambulance call at a residence on Bellamy Lane in Clarksville around 5 a.m.
When they arrived, they found 41-year-old Leila Chanane dead with multiple lacerations and incisions.
During his opening statement, District Attorney General Robert Nash shared details about the extent of the attack. Chanane was found in the neighbor’s driveway with two stab wounds to her chest and seven to her back.
“This is the culmination of a troubled marriage where Ms. Chanane sought help and just couldn’t get it,” Nash said.
Less than a month earlier, Chanane had filed for a temporary order of protection against Houbaddi.
Nash illustrated a scene where Houbaddi ran errands, lied in wait for Chanane to return, cutting off the electricity to the home, which demonstrated premeditation.
“The day before, Mr. Houbaddi drove his car to Walmart on Wilma Rudolph, got his prescriptions filled, called an Uber to take him to the Bellamy Lane address where he was dropped off. Once inside, the electric records will tell you that he turned off the power at the breaker and laid in wait until Ms. Chanane came home,” Nash said.
During his opening statement, Chase Smith, defense attorney for Houbbadi, reminded the jury to consider the evidence as is, and to not make assumptions.
Testimony
The first witness called by the state was Officer Michael Luebke, who in 2018 was a patrol officer with the Clarksville Police Department.
He testified that he responded to a call about a deceased person, and when they arrived on scene, he found Chanane in the driveway with a scarf over her face.
“I attempted to check to see if there was a pulse, and there was not pulse. She was cold and stiff,” Luebke said, adding that there was noticeable blood on the front porch of the house next door, which is where Houbaddi and Chanane resided.
Then the state called on the neighbor who called the police when he found Chanane’s body in his driveway. He said at first, he thought it was a Halloween prank.
“I attempted to kind of respond in case it was someone just playing a Halloween prank, and then I nudged it with my toe in case it was a mannequin, which it was not,” Jaymes DeWitte said, adding that afterwards he called 911.
The last to testify on Monday was Sgt. Adam Post, who was part of CPD’s crime scene team at the time of the murder.
He testified that as he was taking photos of the scene, and making his way around the back of the house, and noticed a razor on the ground along with a towel.
“At some point when you were photographing, did something interrupt your photograph?” Nash asked Post.
“While I was continuing to take photos, another member of the crime scene team stated they believed the door was open to residence. Having checked the door myself, I knew it hadn’t opened by itself,” Post said.
He added that they drew their weapons due to the nature of the scene, but then discovered it was Houbaddi lying in the doorway. An ambulance was then called, and Post testified he appeared to have several wounds on his wrists.
Inside the residence, photographs shown to the jury depicted a knife found on a couch and a bloodied bathroom.
The trial resumes Tuesday morning with more testimony.