Dental records confirmed that a body found Saturday is that of a missing Lawrenceville woman, Gwinnett County police told the AJC Monday afternoon. The woman's husband has been named a suspect.
Dominique Leili, 44, had not been seen for more than a week when family and friends gathered to search for her Saturday. Minutes after beginning the search, a co-worker discovered a decomposed body under a piles of leaves in the neighborhood where the couple have lived nearly 12 years.
Monday afternoon, the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner confirmed the remains are those of Nique "Nikki" Leili through dental records, Cpl. Jake Smith told the AJC. Her husband, Matthew John Leili, has been named a suspect in the woman's death, said Smith, who declined to say if there were other suspects. So far, no arrests have been made.
The cause of death has not yet been released, but the case is being investigated as a homicide, Smith said.
Matthew John Leili filed for divorce five days after he last saw his wife, according to documents filed in Gwinnett County Superior Court.
Leili, 43, filed for divorce July 13, court records show. Two days earlier, he called his wife's family to say she had left the couple's Sidneys Cove home two days before and hadn't been seen since. Only Nique Leili's toothbrush was missing, Matt Leili told the family.
Gwinnett police confirmed that Matt Leili reported his wife missing July 11, telling investigators he had last seen her July 9. The couple has two daughters, ages 12 and 9, and Nique Leili has a 19-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, police said.
A detective initially investigating the woman's disappearance found no signs of foul play, Smith said. On July 15, investigators returned to the Leili home, but Matt Leili declined to speak, saying he had retained an attorney. He also declined to allow his daughters be interviewed by police. Matt Leili's father, who was in the home at the time, also declined to speak to police.
The attorney listed on court documents, Sumner Riddick, declined to comment when reached by phone Monday afternoon.
The woman's body found Saturday closely matched the physical description of Nique Leili, but a positive identification was not possible due to the deteriorated condition of the body, police said.
Before the official identification of the body, family members said they felt certain the remains belonged to the mother of three.
"Still waiting for a positive ID but based on the identifying features the ME gave us it's definitely her. My sister is gone," Amy Elk, Nique Leili's younger sister, tweeted Saturday.
On Monday, Elk told Channel 2 Action News she is concerned for her two nieces, presumably still with Matt Leili.
"I don't know what they've been told," Elk said. "I don't know what he's capable of. Im afraid that I'll never see them again."
Elk told Channel 2 that Matt Leili did not participate in the search Saturday for his wife.
"You don't search for someone when you know where [she] is," Elk said.
The Leilis ran a business, M&N Communications, from their Lawrenceville home, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.
About the Author