BY Ben Chapman
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Sunday, May 8th 2011, 4:00 AM
Leonida Nunez was a beloved mother of three whose smiling face was once a common sight on the streets of Greenpoint.
She was brutally killed in 2008, allegedly by her abusive ex-husband.
Next Sunday her best friend is leading a march and vigil to honor her memory - and help prevent the same tragedy from happening again.
"Leonida was loved by everyone, and she was killed by an abusive man," said Diane Delgado, 42, a sales clerk from Bushwick who was best friends with Nunez for two decades.
"I want to make sure that no one forgets her, and that hopefully this never happens to another woman," said Delgado.
Nunez was a single mother with two young children in 2002, when she met William Davila, a maintenance man at the office where she worked.
They were married two years later and moved to the Bronx, but trouble started soon.
"He was crazy - getting jealous over the smallest things," said Delgado.
After four tumultuous years of marriage, during which the couple had a son, Nunez and Davila split, but the abusive husband wouldn't let his wife go.
Davila began stalking Nunez, who took out several orders of protection against him. He was jailed in 2007 for beating her and violating her order of protection.
On May 14, 2008, Nunez's slashed and handcuffed body was found in Davila's truck in a Manhattan parking garage.
Two days later, Davila turned himself in for the crime. He's currently in jail, awaiting trail for second-degree murder and faces 25 years to life in prison.
Delgado started holding vigils to honor her dead friend a month after she died, and continued to do so each year on the anniversary of her death.
"It's a way for us to remember the person we cared about so much - and who left us too soon," said Delgado.
Friends and relatives attend the events, which Delgado organizes and pays for herself, making memorial cards, signs and shirts with her dead friend's photo.
This year's march begins next Sunday at noon near Nunez's apartment at Harman St. in Bushwick.
About 100 friends and family are expected to turn out for the event and march to Maria Hernandez Park, where they'll barbecue and listen to music in Nunez's memory.
"It's not a big crowd, but the important thing is that we're bringing attention to Leonida, and how she died," said Delgado.
"If anyone is getting abused out there, they should know that they need to get out of that relationship as soon as they can."
To learn more about Sunday's event, call Delgado at (347) 682-8170 or email bklyngirl4k@aol.com.
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