After a two-year battle with cancer, Eric Leedberg of Nashua died in 2023, while surrounded by loved ones.
Those same family members were in a Keene courtroom Wednesday for the culmination of another lengthy and painful ordeal: They watched as Leedberg’s former girlfriend pleaded guilty for her role in creating a fake marriage license after Eric’s death, and then selling off some of his possessions.
Wendy Leedberg-Snow was sentenced to seven days in jail after she was accused of vital records fraud, theft and title fraud, as well as witness tampering. Under the terms of her plea deal, she will pay restitution of $4,600 to his estate, and will also return a pickup truck and trailer that belonged to Leedberg.
According to authorities, Leedberg-Snow asked Jim Tetreault, a family friend and Winchester’s town clerk, to sign a fraudulent marriage license some time after Eric’s death. Tetreault previously pleaded guilty and lost his credentials as a justice of the peace.
During the sentencing hearing, surviving family members described the pain and confusion Leedberg-Snow’s actions had caused them, including Wendy’s insistence that there be no funeral, and her steps to block the family from accessing Eric’s home and possessions after his death.
“You thought you had all your tracks covered because you legally changed your last name,” Linda Leedberg, Eric’s mother, said during the sentencing hearing. “But here we stand today.”
Leedburg-Snow didn’t acknowledge the victim’s family as they spoke, and declined to make any statements to the court in her own defense.
Under the terms of Eric’s will, Leedberg-Snow is allowed to continue residing in his home for a period of five years following his death.
The marriage license fraud
Less than a month before he passed away, Eric and Wendy travelled to Cape Cod. Photos posted to Facebook at the time showed Wendy clutching a bouquet while Eric has a boutonniere pinned to his polo shirt.
Leedberg-Snow would later tell people that she and Eric married that afternoon on a South Yarmouth beach.
In his obituary, Wendy Snow is listed as Eric’s “significant other.” By the time of his death, Wendy had legally changed her name to Wendy Leedberg-Snow, however. Snow told the court at the time that she wanted to “change my name in honor of another person who has greatly impacted my life and would provide unity with the family.” It isn’t clear if Eric had knowledge or gave his consent to her taking his last name.
Following Eric’s death, Leedberg-Snow approached Tetreault about signing a marriage license. Tetreault originally told investigators that he performed a wedding ceremony in his living room in September 2023 — a month before Eric died — but would later admit to a single misdemeanor count of notarial misconduct for fabricating a marriage license. In April 2025, he was given a suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay a $1,240 fine.
Leedberg-Snow was indicted by separate grand juries in 2025, accused of vital records fraud for her role in the fraudulent marriage certificate. She was also accused of witness tampering for contacting Tetreault following the start of the investigation, as well as theft for using her position as Eric’s surviving “spouse” to obtain possessions from a trust created before his death.
In court on Wednesday, Judge Anne Edwards encouraged Leedberg-Snow to spend her time in jail and on probation thinking about the harm she caused Eric’s family in the days and months after his death.
During the hearing, family members filled a row in the courtroom, many in tears.
“The defendant was a part of our family,” Karen Kimball, Eric’s sister, told the judge during the hearing. She said nobody knew Wendy had “already stacked the deck” to ensure she would be the estate’s main beneficiary.
“Honestly, it was so calculating and devious that I felt I was living in a Dateline episode,” said Kimball.
