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Savannah woman charged with first degree murder of own father

Leanne Peace, a Savannah woman sought as a “person of interest” in connection with human bones found in a Pleasant Street home, is facing a charge of first degree murder after being arrested in Kentucky and transferred Monday night to the Hardin County jail.

Leanne Peace, 53, booking photo at Hardin County jail.

Peace, 53, of 205 Pleasant St., is charged with first degree murder, abuse of a corpse, aggravated neglect of an elderly or vulnerable adult, aggravated cruelty to animals and animal cruelty, court records show.
The suspected victim is Jack Peace, 80, Leanne Peace’s father. Investigators for the Savannah Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation believe he lived with Leanne in her care and custody.
According to arrest affidavits, the investigation into Peace began on Sept. 22, when Hardin County Animal Control was called to the home on Pleasant Street to investigate a report of two dogs seen in the home and thought to be abandoned.
The report says neighbors had not seen Peace at the home without power or running water for two or three days. Peace is said to have told friends she was living at Savannah Motel while the house was being renovated.
The dogs, described as skinny and in poor health, were taken into the custody of animal control.
A Savannah police officer was again called to the home on Oct. 17, when a cleaning crew discovered a “blue tote with the lid on it and sealed with tape.” The report says the cleaners opened the tote to discover the decomposing body of a dog inside.
The home is described as having no proper lighting, poor ventilation, filled with a lot of trash and the floor completely covered by dog feces.
On Oct. 18, Savannah officers were again dispatched to the home and directed to an area where a human cranium and thigh bone were located.
The report says the remains were found in the living room of the house occupied by Leanne Peace, and that a cause of death had not yet been determined. The remains have been transported to West Tennessee Regional Medical Center for autopsy.
The report also says TBI agents and city police investigators have made “diligent searches” in an unsuccessful effort to find Jack Peace alive.
Investigators believe the remains are those of Jack Peace, according to the report.
Savannah police put out a public request for information as to the whereabouts of Leanne Peace on Oct. 25 and said in a social media post on Oct. 29 that she had been arrested in Kentucky.
The arrest warrants state she was arrested in Fulton, Kentucky, and when TBI agents attempted to interview her, refused to disclose the location of her father or his condition.
Peace is expected to be arraigned today (Tuesday) at 1 p.m. by Hardin County General Sessions Judge Danny Smith.

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