Gwinnett Man Stands Trial in Wife's Mysterious 2011 Death

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the case of a Lawrenceville-area man accused in the mysterious death of his wife nearly five years ago.

Nique Leili’s body was found on July 16, 2011, under a pile of leaves near the entrance to the Sidney Cove subdivision where she had lived.

From the start, police suspected her husband, Matthew Leili. But murder charges against him didn’t come until last year, after authorities say they reexamined evidence from a seized computer.

The days, months and years that followed would see a bitter feud develop between Matthew Leili and his wife’s family.

• Matthew Leili reported his wife missing two days after he said she disappeared. Two days after that, he filed for divorce, saying she’d abandoned her family, including two daughters.
• Soon after Nique’s body was discovered, police publicly identified Matthew as a suspect, saying he had been uncooperative during their investigation. Friends and family members described the couple having an unhappy marriage. At one point, Nique had called 911, saying her husband wouldn’t let her leave the house.
• Just weeks after her death, Nique’s family and Matthew were already feuding over possession of her remains and custody of the couple’s two daughters, then ages 12 and 9. A daughter from a previous marriage said her two sisters were not allowed to attend a memorial for their mother and, ultimately, two separate funerals were held. They refer to Nique using her maiden name, Chatham.
• Matthew’s only public statement in the case came in a statement saying he had cooperated with police and was not guilty of his wife’s death.
• In December 2011, an autopsy proved inconclusive, but did not rule out death by strangling or asphyxiation. It said Nique’s death was “highly suspicious for homicidal violence.”
• In February 2012, Matthew moved to Vermont with his daughters. Family members say he cut off all communication with them.
• On March 4, 2015, Gwinnett County Police announced they had charged Matthew Leili with murder and eavesdropping. He was arrested after an Atlanta court hearing, at which he was trying to get the payout from his wife’s life insurance.
• In May, a Gwinnett County grand jury indicted Matthew Leili on charges of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and three counts of unlawful eavesdropping and surveillance. One of the assault charges was a case in which he allegedly tried to rape his wife. The indictment still says Matthew killed Nique in a “manner ... unknown to the jury.”

Jury selection began Monday morning in Gwinnett County. Prosecutors say the trial could take up to two weeks.

(Photo: Matthew Leili. Gwinnett jail mug shot, )