LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It’s been 25 years since Andrea Sincotta was found brutally murdered within the confines of her home. The year was 1998 and 52-year-old Andrea was working as a librarian for the Arlington Library in Virginia. She had a 24-year-old son, Kevin Cincotta, who she had raised as a single mother, and a fiancé named James Christopher Johnson who was, at the time, living with her. Johnson worked at home depot and the duo enjoyed a quiet life with Andrea’s son Kevin until one night Johnson called 911 and reported that he has found Andrea dead in the bedroom closet.
The latest episode of ‘NBC Dateline' will focus on the mystery of Andrea’s murder which her son Kevin believed was the work of none other than her fiancé Johnson. Despite Johnson being apprehended and questioned by the police for his apparent role in Andrea’s death, no clear suspect emerged. Then, a man named Bobby Joe Leonard, a man previously convicted of armed robbery, assault, and forcible sodomy, confessed to killing Andrea. Even after Kevin learned that Leonard had killed her mother, he still believed that Johnson had a sinister role to play in the murder.
What happened to Andrea Cincotta?
On the day of her murder, Andrea Cincotta was at home and went for her usual morning swim at Washington-Lee High School. She also had plans to meet a friend for lunch and later planned to watch a movie with her fiance. But she never made it to her lunch appointment. Johnson returned home from work and noticed Cincotta's car was gone. He figured she was out with friends and did some laundry and then went to bed. He woke up late at night and saw that the closet door was closed. He wanted to keep the closet door open. He got up to open it and that's when he discovered Andrea’s body. He immediately dialed 911.
Why was Andrea’s fiance James Christopher Johnson released by the police?
Police say that there were no signs of a break-in or struggle. They immediately narrowed their suspect list to one person - Johnson. He was taken in for questioning but was released the next morning and on his way back home, he spotted Andrea’s car. He was interrogated again by detectives Cynthia Brenneman, Detective Robert Carrig, and Detective Romie Holmes for close to 25 hours. Detective Carrig made up a false polygraph test and threatened Johnson with the information that his fingerprints were found on Andrea’s body.
Carrig told Johnson that the autopsy revealed that the murder took place in the evening, the time when Johnson said he was at home. All of this was false as Carrig was trying to evoke a reaction out of Johnson, pressuring him into a false confession. Johnson also gave a vision statement describing in his own words, "It’s all very hazy. Just an image … I see me holding her and she slips out of my hands and she goes down to the floor … I fell on top of her. She hit her head on the desk.” But this was coerced as well and the detective had no option but to release Johnson.
How did the police find Bobby Joe Leonard?
It was Kevin, Andrea’s son, who first raised suspicion about Bobby Joe Leonard. Andrea wanted to dispose off her old computer and noticed a truck outside her building with the label ‘Trash Masters.’ She asked the occupant of the truck to take her computer away and had unfortunately invited him into her apartment. Kevin and Johnson were furious when they learned that Andrea allowed a stranger into the apartment. This man from the truck turned out to be Leonard who was convicted in 2000 for raping and choking a 13-year-old girl in Fairfax County. Kevin attended that trial where Leonard was sentenced to life in prison. On Kevin’s insistence, the police interrogated Leonard about Andrea which he, at the time, denied. But in 2018, everything changed when Leonard while serving his time in prison had a moment of clarity.
Court sentences Bobby but Kevin Cincotta isn’t happy
In 2018, during a visit by Detective Rosa Ortiz to prison, Leonard confessed that he killed Andrea in 1998. He stated that he found God in prison and wanted to wash all his sins away. Leonard told the judge, “I confessed because a voice inside of me told me I needed to tell the truth … I wanted to be able to say I hurt someone that was kind to me, and I feel terrible about it. I took her away from her family and friends, and that was terrible. I’m very very sorry that I did this.” But he mentioned that it wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment kill but a pre-mediated and planned murder where he received a phone call from a man offering him $5,000 to kill her. To everyone’s surprise, Leonard mentioned that the man on the phone sounded like Andrea’s fiance, Johnson. He told the court that Johnson hired him to kill Andrea.
He further elaborated that the man provided details of Cincotta’s schedule, and said that $5,000 would be in the bedroom closet, which wasn’t the case when Leonard entered the bedroom. Before he could find this money, he was convicted of rape and choking a 13-year-old and was locked up for life. The prosecutors then indicted both Leonard and Johnson in the murder of Andrea but Johnson pleaded not guilty and called out Leonard’s lies. An Arlington jury found Johnson not guilty and the judge later sentenced Leonard to life in prison for the murder of Andrea.
How did Kevin Cincotta feel about the court’s verdict?
After the sentence was delivered, Kevin walked out of the courtroom with a disappointed look. Even though he thanked Ortiz and Arlington Police Chief Andy Penn, who worked on the investigation in 1998, he stated that prosecutors failed to present key evidence against Johnson, which eventually led to his acquittal. After Johnson was let go, Cincotta told the court, “Justice delayed is justice denied. And it’s too bad this court can’t hold those who delayed justice needlessly, accountable.”
