Leslie Jordan’s cause of death ‘deferred’ by L.A. coroner pending more investigation
Los Angeles County coroner Ricardo Lopez said more questions had to be answered following the arrest of Leslie Jordan in connection to the killing of her son, Michael Jordan, the son she says was murdered by his former friend and NBA star, Tracy McGrady.
Jordan’s death after he was shot in the back in February 2008 has been ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner, who announced more questions needed to be answered regarding Jordan’s death.
Following Jordan’s arrest, Tracy McGrady, 26, who was also charged with murder, has taken a plea deal that will result in him being sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The plea deal, which includes McGrady pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, could not be made public until after the trial.
Jordan’s public defender, Jeff Anderson, had said he had hoped to reach a plea deal with a manslaughter charge that would keep the case from being tried as a murder. But prosecutors were able to win the manslaughter charge at Jordan’s trial, despite Jordan’s insistence that the shooting was accidental.
“The public has the right to know what happened, but we will not release the details until we are confident that the evidence will not be mishandled,” Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Mark Lopez said.
Prosecutors believe the shooting was self-defense and a manslaughter charge will not help their chances for an indictment in the case.
Investigators have not yet said why Jordan and McGrady were involved with one another, although Lopez, who has also handled the investigation, said the two were not friends.
The shooting was recorded on a security camera. The footage shows Jordan and McGrady walking toward a basketball court at The Forum in Inglewood, just hours after Jordan’s son, Michael, was killed in a game of pickup basketball against his friend, Nate Robinson. The video shows Jordan walking away from the playing field after he was shot, and the shot was fired by McGrady in the back.
In the video, Jordan and McGrady appeared to