A Gwinnett County Probate Court judge will decide Tuesday whether a slain woman's husband or adult daughter will be allowed to handle her funeral arrangements.
The body of Nique Leili, 44, of Lawrenceville, was found July 16 in a wooded area near her home. So far, Gwinnett County police have released the name of only one suspect: Leili's husband, 43-year-old Matt Leili.
As her husband, Matt Leili would normally be responsible for handling his wife's remains. But Matt Leili filed for divorce two days after reporting his wife missing. He told police his wife left two days earlier after the couple had an argument.
It was Nique Leili's 19-year-old daughter from a previous marriage that organized the search leading to the woman's remains. And Nique Leili's daughter has filed a petition for the right to assume her mother's remains, attorney Noel Benedict told the AJC. A hearing is set for Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in Judge Walter Clarke's courtroom.
The petition was filed under a state statute that became law July 1, and Benedict believes this could be the first time the statute has been tested in Georgia.
"Part of the reason the statute was enacted was because it was partly pushed through by the funeral homes and mortuary businesses so they would have a way to resolve a funeral conflict," Benedict said. In my practice, there have been a few arguments with funerals, but everything got resolved. Here you have one side of the family saying, ‘I can’t sit down and be civil to you.'"
The medical examiner's office has declined to release the cause of death.
Prior to the judge's ruling, a memorial service has been planned for Nique Leili on Saturday, Amy Elk, the victim's sister, told the AJC. Friends and family members will gather at 11 a.m. at Athens First United Methodist Church, Elk said.
The Leilis had been married 13 years at the time of Nique Leili's death. Although Gwinnett police have said there are other suspects in the woman's death, so far only Matt Leili has been named.
In a statement released Thursday by his attorney, Matt Leili says he is innocent.
"Contrary to the allegations as reported, Mr. Leili cooperated with police and provided every known fact and circumstance regarding his wife's disappearance," attorney Lyle Porter said in a statement. "Mr. Leili has done nothing wrong, and as such, is refusing to respond to allegations reported in the media."
Matt Leili refused to speak to Gwinnett County investigators who came to his home the day before his wife's remains were found, instead stating that he had retained an attorney, Cpl. Jake Smith previously told the AJC. Leili also declined to let police speak with the couple's daughters, ages 9 and 12, and his father, who also lives in the home, Smith said.
"If they're innocent, let's apply common sense," Benedict said in response to Matt Leili's statement. "They would like to state the facts as they know them or see them.”
Elk said her sister was well-liked and a "spectacular" mother.
"I can't think of anyone wanting to hurt my sister," Elk told the AJC Thursday afternoon.
In a separate court filing, Nique Leili's father has asked for custody, or at least visitation, of the couple's young daughters. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Elk said the neither she nor other family members has spoken to the girls this week. Calls and messages left at the Leili home have not been returned, Elk said.
About the Author
