Lesley Anne Herring, a 45-year-old payroll worker from Hollywood, California, disappeared on February 8, 2009, and her body has never been found. In 2013, a Los Angeles County jury convicted her husband, Lyle Stanford Herring Sr., of second-degree murder in one of the county’s rare no-body homicide prosecutions. He was sentenced to 15 years to life and remains in California state prison after the Board of Parole Hearings denied him parole in October 2025. The Lesley Herring case is still open in one respect: her remains have never been recovered.
What Happened on February 8, 2009
Lesley Herring worked in the payroll department of a Glendale company that made sprinkler alarm systems and lived with her husband in a Hollywood-area condominium.1ABC News. Actress Aasha Davis Searches for Missing Sister Lyle Herring told police the couple argued the evening of February 8, that he took a nap afterward, and that when he woke she was gone.2ABC7 News. Lesley Herring Missing Since February 2009
Her sister, actress Aasha Davis, reported her missing on February 10 after Lesley failed to show up for work two days in a row.1ABC News. Actress Aasha Davis Searches for Missing Sister Investigators found that Lesley had left behind her car, purse, wallet, keys, cell phone, the bracelets she wore daily, and about $26,000 in a savings account.3ABC7. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Wife The LAPD’s Hollywood Division opened the file as a missing-person report and by late March 2009 had transferred it to the Homicide Unit, saying she was “missing under suspicious circumstances.”4LAPD. Detectives Seek Help to Find Missing 44-Year-Old Woman
Why Suspicion Fell on Lyle Herring
Detectives focused on Lyle Herring early.3ABC7. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Wife Around the time of Lesley’s disappearance, he was out of contact for roughly two weeks. When he resurfaced his long dreadlocks had been cut off, and he told relatives he had gone to Mexico to look for his wife because the couple had planned a vacation there, saying a gang had cut his hair over a debt.2ABC7 News. Lesley Herring Missing Since February 2009 That account was relayed to police by Aasha Davis’s husband, Jesse Pforzheimer.
After a 14-month investigation, LAPD detectives arrested Lyle Herring, then 56, on April 28, 2010, at Cal State Northridge, where he worked as a university recruiter. He was charged with one count of murder, pleaded not guilty, and was held on $1 million bail.5Daily News. Man Arrested at College in Wife’s Alleged Murder
How Prosecutors Proved a No-Body Murder
With no body, no established cause of death, and only circumstantial evidence, Deputy District Attorney Pak Kouch told jurors their job came down to two questions: was Lesley Herring dead, and did her husband kill her?6Patch. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Actress’ Sister
The prosecution built its answer from several strands. Kouch told the jury Lyle Herring had confessed to a cousin that he “did something he can’t recover from” and that he would “burn in hell” for it.6Patch. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Actress’ Sister On motive, prosecutors argued Lesley was planning to leave the marriage and that Lyle “couldn’t let that happen.” The belongings she left behind, including her car, wallet, phone, jewelry, and savings, cut against any suggestion she had walked away on her own.3ABC7. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Wife
A neighbor testified to seeing Lyle wheel a dolly loaded with a rolled carpet, large enough to hold a body, onto an elevator, and return with the dolly empty. A cadaver dog from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, called Indiana Bones, alerted on both of Lyle’s vehicles, a Mitsubishi and a Cadillac, which prosecutors said showed the body had been moved in them.6Patch. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Actress’ Sister
What the Defense Argued
Defense attorney Marvin Hamilton Jr. said the prosecution had “failed miserably” to prove Lesley was even dead, arguing she had gone “underground” to leave the marriage. He noted she had left Lyle before and had always come back, telling jurors, “I would suggest to you that she’s still able to return.” He attacked the dog alerts as uncorroborated by forensic analysis of the cars: “We don’t know what Indiana Bones was smelling. He could have been smelling a ham sandwich.”6Patch. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Actress’ Sister
Verdict and Sentence
The jury deliberated about five hours before convicting Lyle Stanford Herring Sr. of second-degree murder on April 9, 2013.3ABC7. Former CSUN Recruiter Convicted of Killing Wife
On June 7, 2013, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen denied a defense motion for a new trial, calling the evidence “overwhelming” even though the case was entirely circumstantial. Herring, then 59, received 15 years to life. Before sentencing, Aasha Davis told the court her sister’s road “ended in a dark place” and asked to be told where Lesley had been left. His attorney said Herring was expected to appeal.7Patch. Former Hollywood Resident Sentenced in Wife’s Murder
Where the Case Stands Now
Lyle Herring remains in California state prison. He appeared before the Board of Parole Hearings for a subsequent suitability hearing on October 8, 2025, and the board denied parole for three years, so his next hearing will not come until 2028.8CDCR. Hearing Results October 2025
Lesley Anne Herring has never been found. As of 2026, she is still listed on the California Department of Justice’s missing persons database, with a last-seen date of February 2009 in Glendale.9California Office of the Attorney General. Missing Person: Lesley Anne Herring Anyone with information about her whereabouts can contact the California Attorney General’s missing persons unit through that listing.