Former homecoming queen charged in killing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A former homecoming queen has been charged in the killing and dismemberment of a Minneapolis man, whose torso was found partially buried in Wisconsin.

Tina Leja, 26, of Woodbury, is accused of being an accomplice in the murder of Bobbie Dee Holder, 20, who was killed July 5. Three days later, part of his body was discovered partially buried on property owned by Leja's father in Chippewa County, Wis., about 100 miles east of the Twin Cities.

Leja, who was the 1992 homecoming queen at Lake Holcombe High School in northwestern Wisconsin, was charged Wednesday with being an accomplice to murder after the fact, second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, said Ross Corson, a spokesman for the Hennepin County attorney's office.

If convicted, she could face more than 25 years in prison. Leja remained in custody in lieu of $750,000 cash bond.

Leja was charged after a grand jury decided last week not to indict her for first-degree murder. The grand jury did indict Darnell Smith, 25, and Chaka Love Smith, 17, both of Minneapolis, and charged them with first-degree murder.

According to a criminal complaint, Darnell Smith shot and dismembered Holder because he believed Holder was attracted to his girlfriend. It also alleges the girlfriend, Tina Leja, had lured Holder to Smith's home, and that Smith's brother, Chaka Smith, participated in the attack.

Authorities believe Leja, a corrections officer, met Darnell Smith in the Stillwater prison. Smith was serving six years for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. She was fired in 1999 for allegedly having a relationship with him.

Leja's next court date is Sept. 14. Court appearances for the Smith brothers that had been scheduled for Thursday were continued to Sept. 28, Corson said. Both remained in jail with bail set at $750,000 each.