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She Was Found Tied Up in the Closet—But Police Didn't Believe Her | Sandra Melgar Interrogation — Transcript

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0:00On December 23rd, 2012, Sandra Melgar
0:03was found bound and disoriented in a
0:05closet of her Houston home, claiming she
0:07had been attacked and left unconscious.
0:10In the adjacent room, her husband of 32
0:12years, Jaime Jim Melgar, was discovered
0:15stabbed to death, his body left in a
0:17pool of blood in their locked bathroom.
0:19What initially appeared to be a home
0:21invasion soon unraveled into something
0:23far more complex. As inconsistencies
0:26emerged in Sandra's story, investigators
0:28began to question her version of events.
0:31Despite the absence of a clear motive or
0:33physical evidence tying her directly to
0:35the murder weapon, prosecutors argued
0:37that the scene had been staged. Sandra
0:40Melgar, a quiet school teacher with
0:42lupus and epilepsy, now found herself at
0:45the center of a homicide investigation,
0:47accused of killing her own husband
0:48during what was supposed to be a
0:50romantic anniversary evening. This is
0:52the case that split opinions across the
0:54true crime community. This is the
0:56interrogation of Sandra
1:04Melgar. We'll get to that here in a
1:06second.
1:12I need to do a statement from you. Okay.
1:14That's why we're here and have a little
1:16recorder and do a little statement and
1:18get some questions from you answered.
1:25Case number
1:2712176269. It's Sunday, December 23rd,
1:302012. This is Sean Carzel with Harris
1:32County Sheriff's Office homicide 60
1:34Henry 42. The current time is 9:42 p.m.
1:39Uh, the incident occurred at
1:419538 uh Kelsey Meadows
1:45Circle. Uh, also with me is Sergeant
1:47Duce. Sergeant Duce, can you identify
1:49yourself? I'm 60. Henry, 39. Okay.
1:52Ma'am, can you identify yourself for me?
1:54No. Okay. What is your date of birth?
2:01And your home address is
2:09where? 9538.
2:21Where were you at? Let's start from the
2:22morning when you woke up today.
2:25Where were you at? Yes.
2:28In my closet.
2:30This morning.
2:32I Yes. Okay. What about yesterday? Let's
2:35start yesterday.
2:38Yesterday,
2:39which would be Saturday,
2:43we went out to eat. Okay. words on the
2:46way out.
2:48Mexican restaurant. I think it was
2:59And what town was that? No, it wasn't.
3:02It
3:10was about eight. I mean, I'm just
3:12guessing. I don't know. Okay.
3:14approximately 8:00. Mhm. On Saturday and
3:18then after that, what did you do? Was
3:21your husband Who was your husband? What
3:23was your husband's name? Jamie Melgar.
3:26Melar. Was he with you when y'all went
3:28to eat? Okay. Then did y'all come home
3:31or go somewhere else? We went home, but
3:34we stopped at CVS.
3:39Okay. Then what? Then we went home.
3:44When you got home, what did y'all do?
3:48Um, we made some
3:50drinks. Got in the jacuzzi.
3:56And this is on Saturday. Saturday
3:59night. Jacuzzi. You're talking about the
4:01bathtub that the in your master
4:03bathroom, right? Jacuzzi.
4:08Both y'all got in the jacuzzi? Yes.
4:10Okay. Then where were you sitting in the
4:12jacuzzi?
4:17Um my back
4:20towards I was on the left. The left
4:25facing facing on the left. So by the
4:28mirror in the sink on that side, the
4:30left side not the bathroom side.
4:34There's the mirror on both sides on both
4:36sides. But if you're just standing
4:38straight at it, you're on the left side.
4:39And then what? Where was your husband
4:41at? Right side.
4:47And then what?
4:51There for about maybe two
4:54hours talking and drinking.
4:58What were we talking about?
5:06When is your anniversary?
5:12of
5:17December. And I'm sorry, what what time
5:20did you get into the jacuzzi?
5:24Don't keep track of time. I
5:27just sometime after we finished dinner.
5:31dinner about no
5:34about maybe 8. We stayed there for a
5:38long while. What time did you get home?
5:42Um, probably midnight.
5:49I'm just guessing. I don't know. And did
5:51did you immediately get into the jacuzzi
5:53at that time when you got home? Made
5:55drinks and went straight to the jacuzzi.
5:57Where'd you make the drinks? And well,
6:00we just grabbed the we went to CVS to
6:02get the Coke and the Sprite and we just
6:06grabbed the bottle of vodka and some
6:08ice. Which CVS did you go to? Right
6:12there on
6:28So y'all you went there on the way home,
6:32stopped off at CVS and then you went uh
6:35home. So sometime around midnight you
6:38got home, right?
6:41Yeah. And did y'all go straight to the
6:43jacuzzi at that time? Yeah. And which
6:47car were y'all traveling in to get home?
6:53The one that was in the garage.
6:55And so y'all pulled in there around
6:57midnight. Did you close the garage?
7:01I went in first.
7:05Um he
7:06had a couple a couple bag well or doggy
7:10bags in what we got at CVS to get. So I
7:14think he made two
7:15trips. I don't
7:17know. I went I I grabbed the drinks and
7:21went to
7:22the tub.
7:24I mean, he'd have to close the door
7:26behind the infinity. It was closed
7:28tonight, right? It was It was closed.
7:30So, what about the other garage door?
7:33When the only time he opens that one is
7:35be working or throwing out trash.
7:41So, was it closed when you got home last
7:43night? Both besides you had open the one
7:45to get the car in the garage, right? The
7:47other one was closed. Yeah.
7:51And you didn't know of him opening it
7:52back up last night.
7:59So then y'all went straight in and what
8:01y'all do? Go. Let's go through the
8:03steps.
8:05We started running the tub and
8:08you were dressed, right? Yeah.
8:12Go through the
8:13steps. I got there first and started
8:16mixing the drinks and then I got
8:19undressed and
8:23um lit some candles. I think maybe he
8:28lit the candles. I think he lit the
8:29candles. Where did you get undressed?
8:32What were you wearing?
8:42Did y'all dress up?
8:45I don't
8:46know. Uh I think I was wearing brown
8:51slacks, a brown sweater,
8:55turtleneck, and brown
8:58boots. He was wearing a black
9:02sweater over a shirt, I think, a
9:05burgundy shirt and some blue.
9:09So, you went on in the bathroom and lit
9:12the candles.
9:13Is that where you got undressed? In the
9:15bathroom. Okay. And what about him?
9:18Except my boots. I took them off in the
9:20bedroom as soon as I walked in. Where
9:22did you put those?
9:24There. I left them in the bedroom
9:26usually by the TV. Where did he get
9:28undressed?
9:32I think in the closet. In his closet.
9:35Um, so you went ahead and got in the
9:37jacuzzi first.
9:40Then he came.
9:42Then
9:43what? That's at midnight. Just stayed
9:46there for a while talking. Yeah. What
9:49else?
9:53How long were you all sitting there
9:55talking? I'd say about two hours. And
9:58what were y'all talking about?
10:02We
10:03had my
10:07daughter. his
10:26job. Nothing particular
10:34any disagreement.
10:40drinking that whole time that you were
10:42sitting there. We didn't drink much. I
10:44think I had two. I don't even think I
10:47finished the
10:48second
10:51and I had three.
10:54Um, and I've been in there and um there
10:59were strawberries next to the tub and
11:02whipped
11:03cream. Did y'all eat any of those? We
11:05were going to
11:09So y'all didn't need any of those. You
11:12might had one or two. That was
11:14it. And then you were going
11:17to go to bed.
11:21And what happened?
11:24He got out. I think the dogs were
11:27barking a lot. Where will your dogs at?
11:29We usually have them in that barricade
11:33in any area.
11:36I mean their kitchen. How many dogs do
11:39you have? I have four. So you keep all
11:42four of them inside that barricade area?
11:44Yeah. That's where they were last night
11:47cuz the doggy doors there
11:50so they can go in and out, right? Into
11:53the backyard.
11:55So y'all were sitting there talking for
11:57a couple hours.
12:00Uh and what happened?
12:05He got up once to go get ice and then
12:08came back and then said he was going to
12:10put the dogs move the dogs but they were
12:13barking too much. What was he wearing?
12:16The towel. Okay, that's it. So, he went
12:18and got eyes and he said move the dogs.
12:21I think he took my my fuzzy shoes. I'm
12:24not sure. Okay. And how long was that
12:29during the time you were there?
12:32Y'all sat there for a good solid two
12:34hours talking. Yeah. And he didn't move.
12:38He went out once to get ice. Where where
12:41to get ice? In the kitchen. Then he
12:44comes back.
12:48I got out. I went to the bathroom and
12:49got back in there. Inside that bathroom.
12:52Okay.
12:54And what was
12:57it?
12:59Then he got out and said he was moving
13:01the to the office. They're too loud. We
13:05don't want the neighbors to complain. He
13:10moves and he
13:12just was taking a while. So, I got out
13:16and was going to get dressed for a
13:19change in my
13:23closet. I went in there and I started to
13:25change.
13:29That's all I remember until I woke
13:33up. And then I
13:35remember I woke up and I thought I had a
13:39seizure because my muscles hurt and my
13:43head was just hurting real bad. And
13:47usually lately I've been having trouble
13:49with controlling my
13:51seizure.
13:55So I do off again. I just
14:00fell
14:01asleep
14:04again until several hours later I woke
14:07up and realized I was tied
14:10up
14:13and I tried to flip
14:17over cuz my left side was asleep. I
14:22fallen asleep.
14:24I tried to flip over and then I kind of
14:27got
14:29stuck where I was the rest of the
14:33time. That's all I remember.
14:39That's it. I mean, I would tell you more
14:40if I remember more. I just don't. It's
14:42just
14:46Do you have pain? Do I have pain? My My
14:52legs were cramping and my
14:54hurt from the nowhere else. Uh I have
14:59pain on my head here. Like what? Like I
15:02got hit on the head.
15:07I don't know if I fell or was pushed or
15:10what,
15:13but just like all alongside this side.
15:18So, the time when he got out to go check
15:21on the dogs, to go move the dog, what
15:24time was
15:28that? I say one or two in the morning.
15:35And when he did that, what kind of
15:38noises did you hear? Nothing. The
15:41jacuzzi was still running. Even when I
15:44got out, the jacuzzi was running.
15:49Sometimes we have to turn it off in the
15:51closet button.
15:55So was making noise. It's pretty loud.
15:59You couldn't hear anything over them. I
16:01didn't hear anything. Hear anybody
16:03scream? No. Hear the dogs or you could
16:06hear the dogs bark? Yeah, cuz they were
16:08right outside our window. So did he have
16:11to go outside to get them?
16:14I don't think so. Usually he just calls
16:16when they come.
16:18They come in the doggy door. Yeah. So
16:20you don't have to open the door.
16:23Sometimes. Yeah. Cuz some of the little
16:25ones don't want to come in. You're not.
16:28If you open the door last night, you
16:30would have heard that, right?
16:33I don't think so.
16:36Yeah.
16:39The front. No, you mean the back door.
16:42Oh, whatever. opening, I would have
16:44heard it. No.
16:50So, when you're in the in the jacuzzi,
16:53what are you wearing when you're in the
16:54jacuzzi?
16:57Nothing at all. And when who found you
17:00today?
17:04My sister-in-law.
17:06Okay. What were you wearing when your
17:08sister-in-law found you?
17:20Did you have any underwear on?
17:28Did you have any shoes on? No, just
17:31these booties. Socks.
17:36And
17:40I want you to start where when they
17:42whoever found you at that point what
17:51happened I heard well when I wake up I
17:55hear the the dogs crying actually
18:00um
18:02whining and then all of a sudden they
18:05started barking.
18:08And then that's when I heard their
18:10voices.
18:13Okay. And where are you at this time? In
18:16the closet. But I was like up against
18:18the bottom of
18:20the the
18:22door. And so I started yelling. Okay.
18:26What happened?
18:31They they came in and
18:34uh
18:36I think I don't remember. I think I saw
18:39him first. Uh Herman or her husband
18:44first and he tried to untie it and he
18:46couldn't. And
18:50untie what? The the ties in my hands and
18:54my feet. Okay. And how are you tied?
18:59Uh behind behind my
19:02back. behind my back and my legs also
19:07tied back here. I couldn't straighten
19:10them. Um,
19:16were your legs tied to your hands?
19:20No. No. But I couldn't reach my I tried
19:25to untie my hands and then I tried to
19:28also reach my legs and I
19:31couldn't and I just couldn't
19:38reach. So you're in the closet
19:41and Herman shows shows up because he
19:44hears you yelling. Okay.
19:47Um what does he do at that point when he
19:50finds you?
19:52He tries to untie me and he couldn't.
19:55And so he walk he gets right at walk
19:57sees you in the closet, walks right in.
20:02No, the chair was blocking it. There was
20:04a
20:07chair. I usually keep that chair inside
20:10my closet. How was it
20:12blocking the door?
20:15I don't know, but I just saw when he
20:17moved it, it it like blocked the chair
20:20and then he you know the chair when
20:25he when he tried to open the door, the
20:29chair stopped and then he moved the
20:31chair and then opened the
20:34door and I was on the floor and I told
20:36him to please untie me and then
20:40um and then I heard screaming
20:45And Carmen came running in and she
20:48couldn't tie me either. And I said,
20:49"There's some scissors in. You keep
20:52scissors in one of the
20:54drawers." Um,
21:00and why was the family members over
21:02there today?
21:06My husband had invited me for lunch for
21:09dinner. Your husband did? Mhm. When?
21:12Tonight or? No.
21:16A couple days ago, I think.
21:20And they were going to they're coming
21:22eat at your house
21:26tonight. And what were y'all cooking?
21:30His mom was bringing a
21:37turkey sides, I guess.
22:25So when you're in the
22:28jacuzzi at that
22:30point, what do you remember? You are
22:33sitting there and you are talking. I
22:34want a little more detail. What were
22:36y'all talking about when you were in the
22:38jacuzzi? you and your husband at that
22:40time.
22:44Just talking
22:47about what we're going to do in the
22:49future when
22:54Where does he work at?
22:56Where does your husband work at?
23:02He works for HISD. And what does he do
23:05for HISD?
23:09He's IT guy.
23:14And where do you work at? I don't
23:38You had no
23:40disagreements at all very long.
23:44You ever have any fights?
23:50Usually they were my daughter, but she's
23:55been gone for five years now, so no
23:59anymore.
24:02What were y'all's plans for the future?
24:05When you're in jacuzzi, what y'all want
24:06to do in the future?
24:15Move to
24:20where you're on
24:24travel. What else?
24:35just
24:36travel. We talked
24:39about trading my car in for something
24:43else something to travel
24:46with.
24:52Um, just talk
24:55about
25:14Very
25:21good. Take care of me.
25:48[Music]
25:56I have to call my daughter.
26:22So what is your understanding? What what
26:24has happened?
26:26What's happened?
26:31What
26:31[Music]
26:33happened? I'm trying to
26:36remember
26:41if I think when we left CVS, there was a
26:45a car following us because when we came
26:47in our neighborhood, it was still behind
26:49us and he was really close. And my
26:52husband, I'd get upset with him because
26:54he he would drive slower to when someone
26:57was tailgating him and I tell him,
26:58"Don't do that cuz you know it's
27:04dangerous." So
27:10So the guy turned left and we turned
27:14right and so we thought it was just
27:18coincidence. And I keep trying to
27:20remember
27:25That
27:27was You turned right. You turned left.
27:37[Music]
27:43What kind of car?
27:49Right behind us from the time we left.
28:13See you open the door to some stranger.
28:21I don't know if they took anything.
28:49[Music]
28:53I think he's trying
29:00to gun. I think maybe he's trying to go
29:03for the gun.
29:09Where does he keep the gun? In the
29:11closet.
29:13What kind of guy?
29:18Pistol. You know where he keeps it in
29:20that closet? I know. I wanted him to
29:22keep it in the safe,
29:28but it's
29:31too safe.
29:35I have it.
29:42So the bread does not stay in the safe,
29:45but it stays in that closet.
29:50You don't know where it keep it in the
30:06safe. She has severe depression.
30:10She suicid.
30:21So you think that that gun is locked in
30:23the safe now?
30:26I don't know. I don't think
30:29so. I haven't been in the safe in a long
30:32time.
30:37So what makes you think he would go in
30:39the closet for the gun.
30:43Well, if someone was in the house to
30:46protect themselves. I mean, that is that
30:48where the guns kept the closet, but not
30:50in the safe. No, he hasn't been.
30:54Do you know where in that closet that
30:56gun would have been? No.
31:02Sandra, when y'all came in last night,
31:06what what door did y'all come in at?
31:08The garage.
31:10And was the front door locked?
31:14Yeah, it's always locked. You hardly
31:15ever use it. Okay. Was the back door
31:17locked?
31:26Did y'all lock it? Did you lock or did
31:28he lock it last night?
31:31He was working outside yesterday
31:36in the background before he left. So,
31:39I'm assuming he locked
31:41it. I didn't go out at all. You set the
31:45alarm.
31:47You have an alarm in the house. It's not
32:00monitor. Sometimes we'll set it when we
32:02go out, but not when we're home.
32:18Sand part of our job is what we
32:22do
32:24is we gather witness statements. Okay.
32:28We also search for video cameras. Okay.
32:32And a couple of neighbors had video
32:35cameras.
32:36and wanted to get your house pretty
32:38well. Okay. Your front door was locked,
32:41your back door was locked. Nobody came
32:44in through the garage.
32:48Okay. So, we were hundreds and hundreds
32:53of murders.
32:55Okay. And sometimes we we were
32:58coldblooded killers that just on the
33:01street that would just kill somebody for
33:03nothing. Okay. And sometimes we
33:08murders that during an argument and
33:11something happens.
33:13Okay? There's two different types of
33:16people. You
33:17understand? Because if you argue with
33:20somebody and you lose it, your temper
33:22and an argument happens. That's not what
33:24happened. That's not what happened. And
33:26I think I'm going to stop talking about
33:28this. I think I'm going to need a lawyer
33:30because I know how this
33:33works. The only in the house. Of course.
33:42Who else would be in the house?
33:45No one would have that. I know of. No
33:48one.
33:52No one would have been in there.
33:58But we would have left the garage door
34:00open either.
34:03you would have closed the garage door.
34:08I never use that site. I never use it.
34:10What we're trying to do is get as much
34:12information we possibly can. You
34:14understand that? So, we can narrow down
34:16times and all that stuff. Okay? So,
34:19that's what we're working on here. And
34:21if somebody did come into your house and
34:24hurt your husband, we have to figure
34:26that out. I want you to figure that out.
34:28Okay? And so that's why we're I'm trying
34:30to get more specific details from
34:35you. You understand? And so that's part
34:39of our job here. If there's a if there's
34:41camera in the front of the
34:43house, there's the back of the house,
34:45too. So we're trying to figure out
34:47what's going on. You understand? And
34:51you're in the house and your husband's
34:52in the house and your husband's dead.
34:55Okay. I know that. I know that. So
35:02I know how it
35:03looks, but I was also tied up and
35:06there's I couldn't that's
35:24just when you when you got out of the
35:27When you out of the jacuzzi to to put
35:29clothes on. You said you had no clothes
35:31on in the jacuzzi. So when you got out,
35:35do you remember what clothes you put on?
35:36Yes, I have a robe I use for the bath.
35:39Is that the robe? No, different. So you
35:43put a robe on, right?
35:46And you put underwear on?
35:49No, I
35:54put I don't
35:57shower.
35:59No, I took a ro I dried myself off. I
36:03put the robe on and then I dried myself
36:06off and then I went and changed and I
36:09put this robe on.
36:11And you changed inside the closet. Yes.
36:14And when you changed, what what did you
36:17you said you put that robe on? Did you
36:19put any underclo on?
36:23Yes. Or what what you put on?
36:27Yeah. What color?
36:34Lavender maybe. Okay. What about a bra?
36:38No. Any any kind of undershirt or
36:40anything like that? Just this this thing
36:42here. That's it. Okay. The black. This
36:47is a kind of a Okay.
36:51Um and
36:56You said you're still wondering where
36:58he's at at that time, right? You haven't
37:00heard from him. How long has it been?
37:05How long had it been from the time he
37:07got out to go check the dogs the time
37:10you got out and went and got dressed?
37:17He was supposed to just go move them and
37:19come back. Right. Right.
37:23So, what noises were you hearing when
37:26you got out?
37:30Nothing. The jacuzzi was still going.
37:37So, you said you hadn't had much to
37:39drink. You're coherent, right? Mhm. So,
37:44I mean, what what are you hearing before
37:47you said that you blacked out? Nothing.
37:52Nobody running. Nobody saying anything.
37:54Shouting? No. Nothing.
38:02You understand where I'm going with
38:04those questions?
38:10I understand, but I didn't hear
38:12anything.
38:26What all did what all did y'all have
38:29with you inside the jacuzzi?
38:33What What all did you have inside the
38:34jacuzzi when y'all were inside there?
38:38What did we have to drink? No. What What
38:42What all items were in the jacuzzi with
38:44y'all? Nothing. I mean, I've been in
38:47there since and I I see what's there.
38:49There's nothing in there. Just bubble
38:51bath. That's it.
38:54Did you have a float thing that was in
38:56there? Like a little It's like a shell.
38:59Oh, a pillow. Yes. Okay. Anything else?
39:11I can think of Did you leave any
39:12clothing in there? No.
39:20have a washcloth or anything like that
39:21in there with you?
39:25Uh, yeah, we had
39:27a No, we didn't have a wash. We had a
39:31thing.
39:35But you didn't hear any.
39:40It's just really important that you try
39:41to recall.
39:43like like my partner said, you know,
39:44we're not
39:46uh we're not sitting there trying to
39:48talk bad about you. It's just that
39:50you're the only thing you're the only
39:52one we had to talk to that was there
39:53when whatever happened happened. Okay.
39:56That's why it's so
39:58important, you know, for you to try to
40:00recall. I wish I
40:05could
40:08memory so bad.
40:12And you know, I know you you met with
40:15EMS. EMS checked you at the scene,
40:18right? Okay. And only you can tell us if
40:23you're hurting somewhere. It's like I
40:24ask you, you know, where you have pain.
40:28Okay.
40:31Um, when they checked you, did did they
40:33ask
40:34you if
40:36uh I mean
40:40If a suspect unknown, if somebody that
40:42you know a stranger somehow came in your
40:46house and made you go
40:50unconscious, did anybody violate you in
40:52any way? No. I told him I had I think I
40:56I'm pretty sure I was hit on the head.
40:59Okay. But not sexually assaulted or
41:01anything like that. Okay. It's just
41:03important that we have to
41:05ask. Think I would know. Okay.
41:20So you heard no shouting, nobody saying
41:23anything, no running.
41:32All I heard after that was
41:41When I woke up was the dogs crying or
41:46whining. That was it.
41:48Okay. Do you know how long you had been
41:51out at that point? Is there anything
41:53that you looked at in there? Was there
41:55clock or anything inside your closet?
41:57Were the lights on in your closet?
42:01Yeah.
42:05Okay. And when you woke
42:07up, were you tied up then?
42:12Yeah.
42:14Uh I don't know if I was tied up the
42:17first time I woke up because
42:23What did you do when you woke up the
42:25first time? I couldn't
42:27move because I had had a seizure and so
42:30I usually can't move
42:33anyway. I And my head hurts. How often
42:36do you have seizures like that?
42:41I more lately. Not able to drive
42:44anymore. How frequently?
42:48Um, just once a month maybe. The auras,
42:51I get them all the time. Do you take
42:53medication
42:57that when was the last time you had one
42:59of those before?
43:08about a month ago at home.
43:12And what happens when you have those
43:14seizures? Do you
43:16uh do you what's the symptoms? How do
43:20you feel when you have those?
43:23I have a uh signs that tell me that I'm
43:26going to have one and it's
43:31like very forgetful more than usual. Did
43:35you have one of those today? Yeah, I've
43:36been having it all week actually all
43:39month. So, you've been forgetting things
43:41all month.
43:48And do you ever recall what you've
43:50forgotten
43:52later
43:54on? Some
44:04things
44:06before and right after sometimes I can't
44:10even tell you my name. Okay. And let me
44:13ask you this. When I asked you before,
44:15you didn't answer my
44:17question. Why are we here? Do you know
44:21what has happened
44:23today? My husband was murdered. How?
44:29I don't
44:30know. I don't think he was shot.
44:34What do you What do you understand? Who
44:38told you that he was murdered? I saw
44:40him. You did? Yes. When they untied me,
44:44I heard hysterical screaming and I ran
44:47over there and I checked his pulse.
44:51Okay. To see if there was anything we
44:53could do. Yeah. I saw him. Okay. I
44:56didn't know that.
44:59I saw him.
45:01And you touched him.
45:03Touched his wrist.
45:05Touched his neck.
45:15cold and I know I shouldn't have touched
45:17him with covered him and I know I
45:21shouldn't have done that. What' you
45:22cover him with?
45:24Something that was laying next to him
45:27jacket jacket. His jacket.
45:33Let's go back to uh when we went to CVS.
45:42You said you mentioned that when you
45:43were at CVS, who who went in at CVS?
45:46Both of you? No, he did. He did. He
45:48waited.
45:50And at what point did you think that
45:53somebody was following you?
45:58We were driving down Guess. He was just
46:00right next right behind us. There's
46:03another lane and he wouldn't go around.
46:05When you look at him in the rearview
46:06mirror or the side mirror, you looking I
46:09could see him in the side mirror. The
46:11car I couldn't see a person. It was too
46:13dark.
46:15Could you tell if there was just one
46:17person in there?
46:20No, I couldn't see anything inside the
46:21car. In that car, you're saying car. Was
46:24it a car?
46:27Not a truck.
46:29I don't know what it was. Was like a big
46:32vehicle.
46:35I don't know if it was
46:37a truck. It could have been an SUV.
46:40Maybe it was an SUV.
46:42Did you tell anything about the color?
46:47Pass any lights? Any street lights?
46:52I don't remember any street lights.
46:57And you said that when you turned on
46:58your street, it went on. No, it No, it
47:03turned into our subdivision behind you.
47:07Mhm. Okay. But then it took a left and
47:09we took a right. And when it took a
47:11left, did you uh look back to see what
47:15it looked like? No. No. We just said,
47:18"Oh, it was just coincidence."
47:23Okay. Do you remember seeing that
47:25vehicle when you were parked at CVS?
47:28Where did I pay attention? Where did y
47:35um
47:37away from the door like the third lane
47:40away from the the main lane park.
47:45So if the door is
47:48here, you park the third parking space
47:51over here. Third row away. Okay. From
47:56the not the first row, but like the
47:57third row back. Okay.
48:03Was it Was it busy at CVS? No. Not a lot
48:08of cars. Why'd y'all park so far away?
48:11Cuz you like to get the cars.
48:15So, there were some cars.
48:18Yeah, there were a few.
48:23When was the last time you got into an
48:25argument?
48:30My daughter lived with us.
48:35About five years ago. Where did she
48:37live?
48:40Why?
48:42She got
48:44married.
48:46She supposed to be moving back
48:52her husband
48:54to uh
49:02So,
49:08um, you know, my partner explained to
49:10you about the front door,
49:15everything. We checked your house over
49:17real good. Yeah.
49:23What's your feelings
49:25on how this
49:27happened? What has
49:32happened? I I don't know why the garage
49:34door was open. That that doesn't make
49:37sense to
49:39me cuz we don't use that one. We use the
49:42other one for my car. That was it. We
49:46don't open both.
49:49So, it's rare for that side of the
49:51garage to be open. Only when my
49:53husband's working, which he was that
49:56day, but in the daytime at night and he
49:58didn't leave it open when y'all left.
50:01No. To go eat and everything, right? It
50:03would open when you came home. No.
50:07Was that door open? Was the garage door
50:09open? Yes. Both of them did. Can you do
50:12it accessing it through the garage?
50:15Yes.
50:16And y'all have the ones in the vehicle
50:20also. Yeah. In both vehicles. Yes.
50:44So if that door is closed and you're
50:46inside, somebody have to open it from
50:48the
50:49inside in order to get that open. You
50:51can't on the outside and and pull it
50:53open.
51:05So I guess last last Saturday night when
51:08you went to Jacuzzi, you never left the
51:10house after that
51:15morning.
51:19Were y'all cleaning up that day?
51:24Um,
51:27yeah. His family coming today. I mean,
51:30I'm always cleaning up after the puppies
51:32every day.
51:35Did you have any cleaning stuff out
51:37today or yesterday?
51:48And where was
51:53that? In the kitchen
51:59or in the dining area? Remember where it
52:03was?
52:19Is there any other way besides you have
52:21the front door, the back door, and the
52:24kitchen door? Is there any other doors
52:26that anybody get access in the house?
52:39on the uh the kitchen door that leads to
52:42the
52:43garage. Y'all keep that locked.
53:32Has your house ever been burged?
53:38Y'all live there how long?
53:41Maybe seven years.
53:43Never had a burger.
53:50We
53:51had some kids and stuff. friends and my
53:55daughter drug
53:57addicts took some stuff.
54:00How long ago was that?
54:04That was 5 years ago.
54:08Did your husband have any enemies?
54:15Did you have any
54:19enemies?
54:28either one of y'all use any any drugs
54:32any legal drugs at all and that's not
54:36why we're here but no
54:54We have several businesses. He does.
54:57He's always into something.
54:59So he works where?
55:06His what else does he do?
55:10He has several rental properties.
55:17How
55:34many? What
55:39else? also
55:46[Music]
55:52managing service for doctors, but my
55:55daughter does most of the
55:58work just manages it.
56:04So, she does that from
56:05England. Okay.
56:08What else?
56:21Any problem with the people that rent
56:23those
56:26properties? Do you
56:28know all the people that rent those four
56:31properties? and everything. And does he
56:35go and collect the rent in person or
56:37does they send sometimes? Uh, one of
56:40them deposits it into the bank account
56:42and the other two he goes
56:45and the one he picks up.
56:51What part of town?
56:55One in Missouri City, one in a
57:05near where we are.
57:18Are you able to give me all the names
57:20and addresses of those places?
57:26Okay, we're going to want to do that.
57:30And I need to know the places that he
57:32goes and picks them up in person names
57:35of the people that
57:39rent. And you don't know of any of the
57:41business. You don't know of any problems
57:43with anybody collecting from or any
57:46people that he's ever talked about were
57:47shady or
57:52his mom's property. He had some trouble,
57:54but I don't I think that's been fixed.
57:59um trouble
58:05with the whole story.
58:09Um he was going to have to evict them.
58:14His
58:15mother. Oh, she doesn't live on that
58:18property. That's just something she
58:19owns, right? Okay. And is where is that
58:22located at? In
58:25I can't remember why. How long ago was
58:27that?
58:31three months ago.
58:35I'm so bad with time. I just I just I'm
58:38taking guesses here.
58:42Um so he was going to have to evict him.
58:44They weren't paying rent. No, it
58:47something that they were doing that the
58:49homeowners association wanted them out.
58:52Okay. I can't remember what it was that
58:54they were doing. And what problem was he
58:57having with them? He was telling him
59:00they needed
59:02to I think they were breeding dogs, pit
59:06bulls or something. I don't remember. He
59:08told him they couldn't do
59:10that. We have to let him go.
59:15And how'd that go?
59:20The husband got upset and called the
59:22husband and told him that, you know,
59:26wasn't there and all that that they were
59:27doing
59:29that I just don't think that's it. I
59:32don't think that's it.
59:34Okay. What do you think?
59:39We're listening. I don't know what it
59:41is, but I just
59:44Is there somebody else that
59:47you feel like responsible?
1:00:02Okay, let me ask you
1:00:05something. It's all
1:00:07procedure for us to talk to you. Okay,
1:00:10we want to find out the answer to
1:00:14this as bad as you do. Okay, we do. We
1:00:18really
1:00:19do. And we're not trying to cause you
1:00:21trouble or cause you pain,
1:00:25but we have a procedure. Are you
1:00:27familiar with a polygraph exam?
1:00:30You should be willing to take a
1:00:31polygraph exam.
1:00:34Okay. We uh have a person that's going
1:00:37to come here. He's probably here now. Do
1:00:39it now. I'm just a nervous wreck right
1:00:43now. Okay. Well, let me explain. Let me
1:00:45explain this. And I'd rather get talk to
1:00:48a lawyer about it because I already I
1:00:51already feel
1:00:52like, you know, I know where this is
1:00:54going. Okay. Well, I want you to
1:00:58understand
1:01:02that, you know, our motive is to try to
1:01:04find out what happened to your husband.
1:01:07Just like I told you,
1:01:10and our procedure is to do that. Now,
1:01:14now understand that
1:01:17you're upset. Understand? that you've
1:01:19been through a lot. This person that
1:01:22does this is a professional and is able
1:01:24to filter for that. They're able to work
1:01:27through that. And I want you to meet
1:01:29with him and talk to him no matter if
1:01:32you take the exam or not. Okay? That way
1:01:35they can explain that to you because I'm
1:01:37not a polygraph examiner. I'm not a
1:01:39professional at that. But I'm telling
1:01:41you that, you know, that's what we're
1:01:43trying to do. We're not trying to pin
1:01:45something on you. We're not trying to
1:01:47get you to say that you've done
1:01:49something that you haven't done. Okay?
1:01:51We're merely trying to go through the
1:01:54procedure so that later on when we're
1:01:56asked, you know, we can tell you that
1:01:59that's what we've done. We've done our
1:02:00procedure. We've done our job. Okay? And
1:02:04I'm asking you to also, you know, try to
1:02:08dig deep. I understand that you said
1:02:09that you were you were struck and that
1:02:12you went unconscious. Understand that.
1:02:14But I'm asking you to really dig dig
1:02:16deep because you know you were there. I
1:02:19don't think I went unconscious.
1:02:22Okay. I mean I think having a seizure is
1:02:26different from going I mean it's the
1:02:28same understand. You said that you when
1:02:31you've had those experiences that you
1:02:33forget things and we understand that but
1:02:37you know and I'm not a doctor but I'm
1:02:40asking you you know of course for you
1:02:43and for us for your husband's sake. You
1:02:46know, if you can dig down and try to
1:02:48remember anything that might help us,
1:02:51that's what we want to try to do. Okay,
1:02:54Sandra. That's excuse me. That's our
1:02:56that's our sole
1:02:59purpose for why we're
1:03:03here. We don't know you. You don't know
1:03:07us. Didn't know your
1:03:09husband. But that's our job is to try to
1:03:12find out the truth.
1:03:14Okay, that's what we're going to try to
1:03:16do. Yeah, maybe maybe talking to a
1:03:19professional like that may help you to
1:03:21remember
1:03:40[Music]
1:03:44Sandra. Yes.
1:03:49How you feeling? Freezing.
1:03:52Well, I tried to turn the air down. Uh,
1:03:56this building keeps us constant
1:03:58temperature, you know. Um, how did the
1:04:01meeting go with Mr.
1:04:03Cavaler? I guess. Okay.
1:04:06Did you take the polygraph? No. How
1:04:09come?
1:04:11Well, I needed to wait cuz I'm just too
1:04:13shaky right now. And did he tell you he
1:04:17could filter that?
1:04:21No, he didn't say that. You
1:04:23understand what our mission is to try to
1:04:25get to the truth. I want to start I want
1:04:28to start, you know, from the beginning.
1:04:29You uh you and your husband, how long
1:04:32have you all been married? 32 years. 32
1:04:36years. And from what I understand, you
1:04:38just celebrated a anniversary. Is that
1:04:40correct? How many years? 32. When was
1:04:42that?
1:04:46The 12th was supposed to be, but we
1:04:48didn't celebrate it. I don't remember.
1:04:49Why not? What was the reason? I don't
1:04:53remember why not. I mean, that's a
1:04:55pretty big event.
1:04:56Um 32 years and the 12th, you were
1:05:00supposed to probably plan that, huh? I
1:05:02may not have been feeling well. Okay. I
1:05:05think that's what it was. I wasn't
1:05:07feeling well. How How old are you right
1:05:08now? 53.
1:05:12And I noticed you walk with a
1:05:15cane. Why? Why is that? I've had my hips
1:05:19replaced and I have a lot of joint pain
1:05:22from How long ago did you have the hips
1:05:24replaced?
1:05:26had my left
1:05:28one about 10 years ago or 11. Mhm. And
1:05:34then the right one about 5 years after
1:05:36that. So about 5 years ago.
1:05:40Yeah. Six something like that.
1:05:44You've been walking with a cane ever
1:05:45since the hip replacement. It's just
1:05:47When did you start?
1:05:50It's on and off when it's cold. my
1:05:52joints hurt more, but lately it's been
1:05:54more often because So, how long you
1:05:57think you've been walking with a cane
1:05:58now?
1:06:01Um, a couple weeks, but some when the
1:06:04days are warmer, I don't really use it.
1:06:08Oh um today cuz I was
1:06:12you know something I want you to
1:06:14understand is
1:06:17that what we
1:06:19do when we investigate something like
1:06:23this Sandra I want you to understand
1:06:26that we go to all
1:06:29extremes you know we don't quit. You're
1:06:34going to see a lot of me. You're going
1:06:36to see a lot of my partner. Okay, you
1:06:38are. We're going to find out everything
1:06:40about you. We're going to find out
1:06:42everything about your husband. We're
1:06:44going to talk to everybody in your
1:06:45neighborhood. We're going to talk to
1:06:47everybody that you're related
1:06:50to. We're going to learn everything.
1:06:53I hope you're looking else too cuz it's
1:06:55it's not me. We're processing this.
1:06:57You're seeing your house too. Okay. And
1:07:01whole lot of stuff goes into these
1:07:03things. Okay.
1:07:05It's just so important and you be honest
1:07:07with us. Yeah, it is so important. And
1:07:12you know, I told you it's protocol that
1:07:15we start close to that victim. That's
1:07:18you. Mhm. That's protocol. Okay. And you
1:07:23know, we didn't just walk into this ball
1:07:25game yesterday. And we can tell a whole
1:07:28lot of stuff by the way that when we
1:07:31start with people, the way they react,
1:07:34the way they act. You need to understand
1:07:35that. May not always show, may not
1:07:38always let that be be known to you. But
1:07:42we're no fools. You need to understand
1:07:44that, too.
1:07:47Okay?
1:07:48And we've been doing this long enough to
1:07:51where there's things we
1:07:53recognize. You got to understand that,
1:07:55too.
1:07:57Okay.
1:07:59We talk to people all the time.
1:08:03I never said you did. Mhm.
1:08:08I did ask you to take a polygraph test.
1:08:10Yes, I did. And I know I'm too shaken
1:08:13and I'm freezing. And what's your What's
1:08:15your explanation though? What's your
1:08:17excuse for not taking one?
1:08:20It's not holding water, Sandra. I'm just
1:08:22going to be honest with you. It's not.
1:08:25you know, I'm I'm not
1:08:27uh I'm just being upfront and honest
1:08:30with you, and that's what I'm that's my
1:08:32job to do that. I just don't want to
1:08:34take it, and then it's used against me.
1:08:37That's not possible. Yeah, it is. It is.
1:08:41Those are not even admissible in
1:08:45court. Something you need to understand.
1:08:47I'll take one, but I mean, just not now.
1:08:50I got Well, that's that's the offer that
1:08:53that's the offer that we're uh we're
1:08:55offering now. Okay. Okay. And you know,
1:08:59whether you take one now or not, I'm not
1:09:01going to try to force you to take one.
1:09:03It's not I'm not going to do it. I think
1:09:05it's awful ironic. I think that someone
1:09:07that's been married 32 years, there's
1:09:10some things I don't
1:09:11understand. And I'll be upfront and
1:09:14honest with you, there's some things
1:09:15that don't add up in your story of what
1:09:18you're telling me. Okay, maybe you can
1:09:20help me understand it. Um, now you said
1:09:24you've been married 32 years and you
1:09:26were supposed to celebrate that on the
1:09:2712th. Well, what reason was it that you
1:09:29didn't?
1:09:31I wasn't feeling well. Okay. And you and
1:09:34your husband, how would you describe
1:09:36y'all's
1:09:37relationship lately? We have a great
1:09:40relationship. Even better lately. No
1:09:42problems. No. No
1:09:44arguments. Has he ever messed around
1:09:46with somebody else? No. He ever accused
1:09:49you of doing that? No. You have any
1:09:51reason to do that? No.
1:09:54No. Okay.
1:09:57Um, and
1:09:59so when did y'all decide to
1:10:03celebrate? Yesterday. Last night.
1:10:09Uh, yesterday. just
1:10:12because I'm I
1:10:15was I'm planning I was planning on going
1:10:18out of town on the 25th or 26th.
1:10:23Christmas.
1:10:25Uh after Christmas the 26th. Okay. For
1:10:28what? My to see my aunt and my cousins.
1:10:31Where's that? In San Antonio, no. Was he
1:10:35going to go with you? No. Why not? Cuz
1:10:37we have four dogs at home.
1:10:41He's going to stay home and take care of
1:10:42the dogs. Mhm.
1:10:44Does he get along with your folks in San
1:10:46Antonio? Yeah, but he doesn't like to go
1:10:48too often. How come?
1:10:53Um, well, cuz he misses work
1:10:56and he just It's not When does he have
1:10:58to go back to work?
1:11:03[Music]
1:11:05I don't know. the beginning of
1:11:08Well, he works for HISD. Is that right?
1:11:11So, has he been off lately for for
1:11:14vacation? And they have to go back what
1:11:17after the first of the year? Mhm. So,
1:11:20he'd be off the 26th to be able to go
1:11:22with you, huh? Yeah. He just didn't want
1:11:24to go. He didn't want to go. And was
1:11:27that because he don't get along with
1:11:28them or No, he gets along with
1:11:30everybody. You and him maybe weren't
1:11:32getting along or No, we all get along.
1:11:34Everybody gets along. He just decided to
1:11:35stay with the animals, huh? He
1:11:38just Sometimes he does that. He just
1:11:41wants to I mean, you and him have a
1:11:42great relationship and you'll probably
1:11:44want to spend as much time together as
1:11:46you can, right? When he has to work and
1:11:48Yeah. But when it's, you know, it's just
1:11:50not He's into this health kick and when
1:11:52we go down there, we eat a lot of meat
1:11:55and, you know, stuff like that. You
1:11:57know, be rude and say no.
1:12:02Okay. people in the radio don't just
1:12:03grill a lot, eat a lot of beef. So,
1:12:07y'all's
1:12:08relationship, you uh you said y'all have
1:12:11a great relationship,
1:12:15right? Yes. Y'all love each other. Yes.
1:12:18Care about each other, of course. One
1:12:21together for this long. Yes. Yeah. And
1:12:24so, you're making plans for
1:12:28So, y'all decided that making plans for
1:12:30what? for the future for what was
1:12:34retirement. What were y'all going to do?
1:12:36Travel. Where?
1:12:40We're thinking about going to um you
1:12:43know to see the Northern Lights. You
1:12:45think about going to California,
1:12:48Grand Canyon. So, y'all decided to
1:12:50celebrate that yesterday?
1:12:53Yeah. Y'all get in the hot tub often?
1:12:55Yeah. The jacuzzi. Y'all do that quite
1:12:58often. Yeah. Okay.
1:13:01Um, so y'all went out to dinner. Was
1:13:04that dinner? What What was the name of
1:13:06the restaurant again? I don't remember.
1:13:08Cuckos. Cucos. And where's that located
1:13:10at? 290.
1:13:13290. And what?
1:13:16I don't know. 290.
1:13:18[Music]
1:13:21Yeah. 290. What's it close to? What are
1:13:24they? Jones. Jones room. Okay.
1:13:29So that was at 8 o'clock that evening.
1:13:31What did y'all do earlier in the day? I
1:13:34mean, y'all had all day, right?
1:13:37I didn't wake up till noon. Okay. And so
1:13:41he had already been up working in the
1:13:43yard. Working in the yard. And then he
1:13:45went to HB to
1:13:47get stuff to juice cuz he he likes to
1:13:51juice.
1:13:53Oh, he's into the juicing, huh? Juice
1:13:55Master type stuff. Mhm. Okay. So, what
1:13:58time you got up at noon? What did you do
1:13:59when you got up at noon?
1:14:02Had breakfast.
1:14:05And he was gone when you got up? No, he
1:14:08was there. He had already got coffee and
1:14:11Okay. And what y'all What did y'all do?
1:14:13Did y'all eat breakfast together? No, he
1:14:16he had already had breakfast, but Okay.
1:14:18He had made some for me and and left me
1:14:21some coffee. Okay. And so after that,
1:14:25what did you do?
1:14:27[Music]
1:14:33I cleaned up a little bit after the
1:14:35dogs. After the
1:14:37dogs. Did y'all go anywhere? No. Did he
1:14:40go anywhere? Um, he went to HB. Okay.
1:14:44Now, what time was that? Then we went
1:14:48[Music]
1:14:50to to liquor store to get eggnog for
1:14:53today. Both y'all? Yeah. Where which
1:14:56liquor store was that?
1:15:01It's down in the west that he didn't go
1:15:04in just Okay. What's the name of the
1:15:07liquor store?
1:15:09It's on West Road. Yeah. What's the name
1:15:12of it? Texan.
1:15:15Texan Liquor. Yeah. It's on West
1:15:19Road. You sure it's on West Road? Yeah.
1:15:23Okay. And so you remember by what time
1:15:26y'all went there, what time did you buy
1:15:28that? Probably had a receipt, huh? Yeah.
1:15:32What'd you buy? Some eggnog with
1:15:35bourbon.
1:15:38Okay. And you went in?
1:15:43Okay. And
1:15:46um after you left there, where'd you go?
1:15:56I don't remember.
1:16:04When did you get the strawberries? No,
1:16:06we went to Kroger's. Went to Kroger.
1:16:08Where's the Kroger?
1:16:10Across from the liquor store in West.
1:16:13Okay. And you bought the strawberries.
1:16:17And what else did you buy? Cool. Okay.
1:16:22And
1:16:26um Okay. And then after that, where did
1:16:30y'all go?
1:16:33That's it. You went back to the house
1:16:35about what time did you get back home?
1:16:38[Music]
1:16:42Maybe four. Okay. And um so when you got
1:16:46back home, what' you do?
1:16:52He also went to cut his hair that day,
1:16:54but I don't remember if it was before or
1:16:55after. Did you take him?
1:16:58Himself.
1:17:00So, where does he get his haircut at?
1:17:05It's a place called Nas on Jones.
1:17:08Nah's Mhm. Okay. On
1:17:13Jones. Okay.
1:17:15And uh you can't remember if that's
1:17:18before y'all went to the store or after
1:17:23I think it was before before. Before. So
1:17:26when y'all got home at 4 from going to
1:17:28the store, I'm sure what did you do with
1:17:30the strawberries in the whipped cream?
1:17:32Put that in the freezer or fridge.
1:17:34Fridge. And then what did y'all do? Were
1:17:38y'all talking during this time?
1:17:41Interacting. I mean, yeah. What were
1:17:43y'all talking about?
1:17:52We one of the things was, you know, find
1:17:56a better way to keep the dogs in the
1:17:59place where we keep them.
1:18:02Um, was that a sore spot with y'all? It
1:18:05wasn't a sore spot. It was just we can't
1:18:07keep them there. They keep escaping. Who
1:18:10what kind of dogs are they?
1:18:13Um the mama's a Pomeranian and and the
1:18:17Chihuahua he's a daddy. So the puppies
1:18:20are probably small, huh? They're very
1:18:22small. Um yeah. So I mean do y'all ever
1:18:26have a dispute about that? Yeah. Whose
1:18:29idea was it to have the puppies? Um the
1:18:32dogs. I mean who idea was it to have the
1:18:34dogs period in the house?
1:18:37Well the Pomeranian is my daughter's.
1:18:40She's taking it back when she comes. And
1:18:42the cho out was mine and they got
1:18:45together. Now we have two more. Sure. My
1:18:48daughter's taking one of the puppies.
1:18:51Okay. And I'm keeping just the one. She
1:18:53comes back.
1:18:54Huh?
1:18:56Um, so y'all talked about that. What
1:19:00else did y'all talk
1:19:01about? Had you decided that you were
1:19:04going to dinner that
1:19:06night or when did y'all decide that?
1:19:10Yeah, we had decided already. We would
1:19:12go. Okay. What time did y'all leave the
1:19:13house to go to death?
1:19:16I'm thinking what 8.
1:19:19You left the house at 8.
1:19:21It's a guess. I don't know. I don't
1:19:23know.
1:19:25Um,
1:19:28did you call anybody or anything from
1:19:30time y'all got home
1:19:32before till the time y'all left? He
1:19:35spoke to his brother, I think. Okay,
1:19:37that was Saturday.
1:19:42And I think he spoke to his mom.
1:19:48Okay.
1:19:51And what time was that? You think? I
1:19:53know what you said going about four.
1:20:04That was
1:20:07about maybe six or seven. Okay.
1:20:13Um,
1:20:15so how did y'all dress when y'all went
1:20:17to go out?
1:20:23I wore brown
1:20:25pants, boots, and a brown sweater. Dress
1:20:31up.
1:20:33Just take a shower or anything before he
1:20:35went?
1:20:36Yeah. What about him?
1:20:39He had taken
1:20:40[Music]
1:20:41one after he got his haircut. Okay.
1:20:45Earlier, how did he dress?
1:20:51[Music]
1:20:54He wore a
1:20:56black
1:20:58sweater, a burgundy shirt, I think, and
1:21:02some blue
1:21:07slacks. Can't
1:21:11remember. So, burgundy shirt, blue
1:21:14slacks, what color sweater? Black.
1:21:19What kind of shoes?
1:21:22[Music]
1:21:27What
1:21:30color? Maybe burgundy. I don't remember.
1:21:37Whose idea was it to go to cuckoo?
1:21:46That wasn't fun. We both like that
1:21:48restaurant. We go there a lot. What' you
1:21:50order?
1:21:53Powdered fish
1:21:55and he ordered
1:22:00um beef steak.
1:22:05So, what time you think you got there?
1:22:08Did y'all have make reservations? No.
1:22:11Just Okay. Was it crowded?
1:22:14Yeah, kind of. You have to wait. No.
1:22:18Okay. So, you said you left the house
1:22:20about 8. You got
1:22:22there pretty quick. Mhm. About 8:30.
1:22:28It's only about maybe 15 minutes away.
1:22:33How long did y'all stay there?
1:22:35Couple hours. You just
1:22:38stay. Any uh besides your food, do y'all
1:22:42drink anything?
1:22:44Yeah, we
1:22:46um we had a had a peanut. Just one? Both
1:22:51y'all?
1:22:54And No, he didn't have one. He didn't
1:22:57have one. Just you. Mhm.
1:23:02Okay. And
1:23:03um he didn't drink anything. He tasted
1:23:06some of mine. Had a little of wine. That
1:23:08was it. Couple sips. What time you think
1:23:10y'all got back to the house? Um, you
1:23:13said it
1:23:15was you said if you were there 8:15,
1:23:198:30 to eat and you stayed a couple
1:23:21hours, what time you think it was when
1:23:23y'all got home? We stopped by CVS. Okay.
1:23:29Y'all purchased something there. What
1:23:31was that?
1:23:33Coke and Sprite. Okay.
1:23:42[Music]
1:23:47And what time you think you got home
1:23:50from CVS?
1:23:5810:30 or
1:23:5911? 10:30.
1:24:02Okay. 11.
1:24:08What did you do when you got home?
1:24:14Got the drinks and went into the
1:24:16jacuzzi.
1:24:18Okay. And
1:24:20um he was driving.
1:24:24You have a garage door opener? Mhm.
1:24:28Did he open the door in the car to pull
1:24:31the car in the garage? Yeah, he did park
1:24:33in the garage, right? Yeah.
1:24:35Um, and just that door was open and then
1:24:39he closed it.
1:24:41Well, I went
1:24:44in I'm sure he closed it. probably went
1:24:46in before he closed it cuz he went back
1:24:49out to the car to get
1:24:52um we had the stuff from CVS and we had
1:24:55some dinner leftovers.
1:25:00And but you know that that other side
1:25:02was closed when y'all got home. Yeah, I
1:25:05would have noticed.
1:25:08And you went inside and what did you do
1:25:10when you went inside?
1:25:12I put the food in the fridge and grabbed
1:25:16the drinks and the sodas and went into
1:25:18the bedroom.
1:25:20Did you grab the strawberries?
1:25:22No, you got that later. Okay. All right.
1:25:26So, you went into the bedroom. Tell me
1:25:29what you did.
1:25:32Went to
1:25:34the started the
1:25:36tub. Start to fill it with water.
1:25:42lit some candles. And how many candles
1:25:45did you light? Two.
1:25:49Okay. And so that's at 10. That's at
1:25:5211:00 whenever you got home. Mhm.
1:25:56So you did that and then what did you
1:25:58do?
1:26:06[Music]
1:26:09Um, I just forgot the question. Okay.
1:26:14You said you grabbed the drinks from the
1:26:17fridge and you went into the bedroom,
1:26:20right?
1:26:22To the bathroom. Went to the bathroom.
1:26:24You started the water. Mhm. And then
1:26:26what did you do?
1:26:32I got undressed and got in the tub.
1:26:35Everything? Mhm. You took off everything
1:26:38in the bathroom?
1:26:39[Music]
1:26:43No, I took off my boots in the bedroom.
1:26:45Okay. And
1:26:50then I remember I took off my Yeah, I
1:26:54took off my pants and and
1:26:59in the bathroom. What was your husband
1:27:01doing at that time while you're in there
1:27:04getting undressed to get in the tub?
1:27:09I don't know. He was still in the
1:27:10kitchen. Had y'all discussed Had you
1:27:13talked about, "Hey, we're going to go
1:27:15get in the jacuzzi now." Yeah. And what
1:27:17did he say? Yeah, that's why we went to
1:27:19get some drinks. Okay. So, you're
1:27:20already in there doing that? Mhm. What's
1:27:23he doing?
1:27:26I don't know. I was in the bathroom. Did
1:27:28he tell you I'll be there in a minute?
1:27:29Did he Yeah. Did he say that? Yes. When
1:27:31did he say that?
1:27:34He said, "Go ahead and start the tub."
1:27:35Okay. Yeah. I mean, it's insinuated that
1:27:39he'd be there. Okay. So, how long did it
1:27:41take him from the time he went in there
1:27:42and got in the tub? Five or 10 minutes.
1:27:45So, you're already in the tub. Did he
1:27:48bring the strawberries and stuff?
1:27:52No, I don't think he brought that
1:27:55till till he went to get the ice.
1:27:59Okay. I don't remember. That's when he
1:28:02brought But you already had what kind of
1:28:05drinks in there?
1:28:07We
1:28:11had What kind were we drinking? Yeah.
1:28:14What What did you take in there?
1:28:18Coke. And he was drinking Coke. Rum and
1:28:21Coke.
1:28:23Did you take the rum in there? He had a
1:28:26flask. Okay. Yeah. All right.
1:28:29I
1:28:35had last
1:28:39week can't think straight
1:28:42anymore. I had
1:28:48um Sprite with black. Okay.
1:28:53And so how long was it before he came to
1:28:58the bathroom?
1:29:01Five or 10 minutes. And was he undressed
1:29:05at that time?
1:29:09I don't remember if he undressed in the
1:29:11bedroom. I think he did undress in
1:29:13usually would undress in his closet.
1:29:16But what did he do that night?
1:29:21I don't remember. Did he walk in the
1:29:23bathroom with no clothes?
1:29:28I think so. I think so. Did he get in
1:29:31the tub with you? Mhm. Yes. Okay. And
1:29:34what what did y'all talk about?
1:29:39Talked about I mean, he gets in the tub
1:29:42with you. Both of y'all have no clothes
1:29:44on. Tell me what the talk was.
1:29:49talked about work. We talked
1:29:51about what we're going to do when he
1:29:54retires.
1:29:56Uh about health,
1:29:59his juicing and you know, did he ever
1:30:03tell you he loved you? Yeah. Did you get
1:30:06intimate? Yes. I mean, was that the
1:30:08reason why y'all got in the tub together
1:30:10like that? Was that right away? Was that
1:30:14No. Gave me a massage. I gave him a
1:30:17massage.
1:30:22You just hugged and kissed for a while.
1:30:26Was that from the start when you first
1:30:29got in the tub?
1:30:32No. Maybe half an hour into it. Did you
1:30:35have sex? Mhm. Okay. How far was that
1:30:39into him climbing the tub with you?
1:30:43About an hour. Okay. After
1:30:47that, you said that you said that you're
1:30:50in there for how long? How long were
1:30:52y'all in the tub? I'm guessing two
1:30:54hours. Okay. So, an hour into
1:30:57it, you do that. Then, are you still
1:31:01sitting there drinking and talking?
1:31:03Yeah. What do you
1:31:08talk about? our years together.
1:31:12But
1:31:18about you wouldn't believe you. I told
1:31:21you. Just
1:31:24it's not a matter of me believing you. I
1:31:26want to know what was said. He said that
1:31:29he was very happy that we were together,
1:31:32but he loved me very much. And I told
1:31:34him the same. Why did you say that? I
1:31:36wouldn't believe that.
1:31:38[Music]
1:31:39Cuz you think we got into an argument
1:31:42and and everybody keeps insisting we
1:31:45argued. We didn't argue. We didn't
1:31:48argue. We didn't.
1:31:51[Music]
1:31:54You got to understand something, Sandra.
1:31:56I know you're doing your job. I know.
1:31:58Did he wear a condom during intercourse?
1:32:02No. Does he When y'all have intercourse,
1:32:05does he usually wear a condom?
1:32:10Uh, he used to cuz I was worried he'd
1:32:13get pregnant and now cuz
1:32:17I've, you know, stopped having a period,
1:32:20he
1:32:24[Music]
1:32:29doesn't.
1:32:32So, what else were y'all talking about?
1:32:34You still got an hour of talking to
1:32:37account
1:32:43for. Talked about his new
1:32:46manager or boss. The old one
1:32:50quit. He was worried about what the new
1:32:52one would be like.
1:32:57talked about
1:33:01um just health stuff like
1:33:06uh GMOs
1:33:08and organic foods and stuff like that. A
1:33:12lot of
1:33:13that carcinogenics about grilling meat
1:33:17and stuff like that. Just we talked a
1:33:20lot about that. So did y'all y'all both
1:33:22into that?
1:33:24Not as much as he is. He He's into it
1:33:27more, but I I do it cuz he, you know,
1:33:29he'll juice for me and I'll drink it,
1:33:32but I told him I can't quit me. You
1:33:35know, I've cut back a lot, but I won't
1:33:38I'll still eat it every now and then.
1:33:41How do you feel about that? No, he said
1:33:43fine. I mean, he had meat that night.
1:33:46He's fine with it, too. He agrees with
1:33:49it. He was just telling me a lot about
1:33:53research he's done, he's been doing
1:33:55about
1:33:55[Music]
1:33:57health diets
1:34:00and person and
1:34:07okay
1:34:10what
1:34:18else talked about
1:34:21massages and he wants to go he Tell me,
1:34:26we were talking about some
1:34:29massage person that used to
1:34:32uh a friend of ours sent a massage a
1:34:36masseuse for us for anniversary one year
1:34:38and he was telling me how much he
1:34:40enjoyed that massage and wanted to find
1:34:43that guy again. It was a guy
1:34:46that came to your
1:34:48home
1:34:53and and he wanted to try some other
1:34:58massage place near the
1:35:03house. I don't remember massage your
1:35:05feet. I can't remember what he told me
1:35:07to massage.
1:35:11What would you say to that? Fine. He
1:35:14wanted me to go, but I told him I rather
1:35:17just go have a pedicure instead of that.
1:35:20So, and not this into massage.
1:35:27[Music]
1:35:29Then what?
1:35:43talked
1:35:48about what
1:35:54else? My daughter talked about her her
1:35:58moving back to Texas. How'd y'all feel
1:36:00about that?
1:36:02We were both happy. Very happy about it.
1:36:05So, was she a daddy's girl?
1:36:08She was until she married that loser.
1:36:11And so she married somebody that she's
1:36:13having problems with. Yeah. He was heavy
1:36:16into drugs. And the one in England? No,
1:36:20this was another one. Oh, okay. And then
1:36:23she had to move to get away from him
1:36:25because he would stop her. Now, is she
1:36:28still married? She's married to the one
1:36:31in England. Oh, okay. Second marriage.
1:36:33Yeah.
1:36:35Um, so how did how did you and your
1:36:38husband uh I that's y'all's child
1:36:40together, right? And
1:36:43y'all ever have any disputes over her?
1:36:46Yeah, when she was younger. Why? What
1:36:49kind of disputes?
1:36:52She was a rebellious getting into
1:36:54trouble.
1:36:56And why would y'all have disputes over
1:36:58her?
1:37:01No.
1:37:03Sometimes I felt he was too strict with
1:37:12her and told him sometimes I try to get
1:37:16him
1:37:17to reason with him.
1:37:22Okay. We disagree. We wouldn't have a
1:37:25huge argument. We'd disagree on things.
1:37:27And so y'all were talking about her last
1:37:30night. What uh what what was it about
1:37:33her y'all were talking about?
1:37:36Well, she just um
1:37:39recently lost the
1:37:41baby. You know, we were talking about
1:37:44how she took it very
1:37:47well, better than I did,
1:37:51and how he was glad that she took it
1:37:55well.
1:37:59Um, you're just talking
1:38:03about her new
1:38:08husband, stuff like that. How did that
1:38:11go? Really? You both like him very much.
1:38:16And then what?
1:38:19[Music]
1:38:22And about the dogs that we're glad she's
1:38:24taking she's taking two of them. So
1:38:27we're just glad that we rid of two of
1:38:31them. Then I don't
1:38:33remember. Think that was
1:38:36it. Then what happened?
1:38:39[Music]
1:38:45and we
1:38:50decided to get out and go. He went to go
1:38:54bring the dogs in cuz they were being
1:38:55too
1:38:57loud. And I went to go
1:39:03change. That's it.
1:39:06So he was getting out. Y'all were
1:39:08getting out of the tub at that point.
1:39:09Did you let the water out? No.
1:39:16Um, the button was stuck, so we
1:39:21couldn't turn it off from the tub. And
1:39:24you said that it was making noise.
1:39:28But you could hear the dogs
1:39:30cuz the dogs were outside.
1:39:33And he got up, was going to go get the
1:39:37dogs or what? Yeah. Lock them in the
1:39:40bedroom. You expected him to come back?
1:39:44He didn't say, but I figured we had been
1:39:47there long enough, so I got out.
1:39:51Um, at what point did he go get the ice?
1:39:55Oh, that was before that. Like an hour
1:39:57before. And you said that that's when he
1:40:00brought the strawberries and the whipped
1:40:02cream.
1:40:03[Music]
1:40:05Yeah, I think pretty sure.
1:40:08But nobody ever ate any. No, we didn't
1:40:11because when he got back in the tub, he
1:40:14had left them on the sink uh far away,
1:40:17like kind of far away. So,
1:40:20we when when he did get out, he handed
1:40:23them to me. I ate one and then I
1:40:25thought, well, I'll take them to the
1:40:30bedroom. We had the whipped cream, but
1:40:32not the strawberries.
1:40:38And so he went to go get the
1:40:42dogs. And tell me what you did.
1:40:46I got
1:40:47out, went to the closet.
1:40:54Which closet?
1:40:55My closet. Which is where? In the
1:40:58bathroom.
1:41:00Okay. And tell me what you did.
1:41:04I'm starting to get dressed.
1:41:07And then
1:41:09what were you wearing? You said you
1:41:10weren't wearing anything when you got
1:41:11out of the tub, right? So what what
1:41:15I was I put on a my bathrobe. And where
1:41:19was it at? It was by the tub. So it was
1:41:23not in the closet. No.
1:41:26Okay.
1:41:28And then
1:41:32what did he wear when he went to
1:41:34go check the dogs? What? How? So he
1:41:39didn't put any clothes on? No. Okay. So
1:41:42when you put the bathrobe on, it was
1:41:45hanging right there by the bathtub. And
1:41:47then what did you do?
1:41:53Um I went into the uh closet. My closet.
1:41:58You shut the door.
1:42:02No. Okay. What did you go in there for?
1:42:07Find some clothes to put
1:42:10on this robe. Where was that? Where were
1:42:14those those items at? In the closet.
1:42:17Keep them hanging up.
1:42:20The robe is hanging. Yeah, the robe is
1:42:22hanging. The night was in a drawer.
1:42:27Okay. So, what you put that robe on
1:42:30there? What color was the 90 you put on?
1:42:32It's this one right here.
1:42:34Pink.
1:42:36Okay.
1:42:38Um,
1:42:40and what else did you put on besides
1:42:42that?
1:42:48Underwear. What color were those? Socks.
1:42:53I think they were lavender. Did you get
1:42:55those out of the same closet?
1:42:58Yeah. And are those the socks you put
1:43:00on? Yeah. Okay. And
1:43:04um so then how long did it take you to
1:43:07do that?
1:43:10It took me a while cuz then I started to
1:43:12put lotion on my legs. Where'd you get
1:43:16the lotion from? In the closet. Inside
1:43:18the closet.
1:43:20And you put it on while you were inside
1:43:22the closet? Yeah, cuz I had my chair
1:43:25there. Sit on the chair there. Okay.
1:43:29Um, how long did that take for you from
1:43:33the time after you put on that robe and
1:43:36you went inside that closet and got
1:43:38dressed and started doing the lotion?
1:43:40How long do you think you stayed in
1:43:41there?
1:43:44I didn't have to ask that question
1:43:45again. I can't think straight. Okay. I'm
1:43:48thinking of time span. Okay. from the
1:43:51time that you got out of that tub. Now,
1:43:53he got up and he went to go check the
1:43:57dogs. Did you get out of the tub right
1:43:59away when he went to check on the dogs?
1:44:04Maybe about 5 minutes cuz I was take
1:44:08drinking. I mean, I I drank a little
1:44:10more and then I got out. And did he tell
1:44:13you he'd be right
1:44:16back? Did he tell you what he was going
1:44:18to do? Yeah, he told me what he was
1:44:20going to do. He didn't I assumed he was
1:44:23coming back. What did he say to you?
1:44:24What was his words? I'm going to go put
1:44:26the dogs up. Okay. How long does that
1:44:28normally take?
1:44:31Then you can if they're all inside. The
1:44:33little ones are hard to grab. So
1:44:35sometimes takes you got to chase them,
1:44:38especially the smallest. Okay. So from
1:44:41the time five minutes and you get out,
1:44:44put your robe on, go in your closet. How
1:44:47long did that take you? Did you put the
1:44:49lotion on yourself? Yeah. Okay. And did
1:44:53you not think it was odd that you
1:44:54haven't heard from him?
1:44:57I didn't think it could been that long.
1:45:00Still got some fresh strawberries
1:45:02sitting over there with whipped cream.
1:45:03Plus, I didn't know
1:45:06if he was getting dressed or
1:45:10you still weren't planning on eating the
1:45:12strawberries and whipped cream. Yes,
1:45:13we're taking them into the bedroom.
1:45:15Okay. So, you've already went and got
1:45:17dressed and put the lotion on and you
1:45:20haven't heard from him yet. You didn't
1:45:22think that was odd.
1:45:25It wasn't that long. And then what
1:45:27happened?
1:45:30I
1:45:32was I just woke
1:45:38up. I remember waking up and
1:45:44[Music]
1:45:46I couldn't move and my head
1:45:48[Music]
1:45:53hurt. So I just
1:45:59thought it felt like I had a seizure. So
1:46:03I just dozed off
1:46:07again, which is normal. That's how I
1:46:11have always done it. and I just fall
1:46:13asleep. So when you woke up, you said
1:46:15you couldn't move.
1:46:17Did you know where you were at?
1:46:24I don't know. I don't know that I
1:46:26thought about it.
1:46:31I don't know if I knew where it was. Did
1:46:34you rub your head? Did you Maybe you
1:46:36said your head hurt. Did you rub your
1:46:37head at that time? No, but it hurt. Why
1:46:40not? Cuz I couldn't move. Why not? Cuz
1:46:45my muscles hurt. My muscles and my my
1:46:48whole body is Did you look at your hands
1:46:50at that time? No, I couldn't move.
1:46:54Are you still sitting in the chair?
1:46:56No, I was on the
1:46:58[Music]
1:46:59floor. I was on the floor. In front of
1:47:01the
1:47:05chair? I don't remember. The chair was
1:47:07there.
1:47:10What did you say when you woke up?
1:47:16Just I just remember realizing I
1:47:18couldn't move and my head
1:47:22hurt. I just thought Did you call out to
1:47:25anybody?
1:47:31No.
1:47:33Go back to sleep.
1:47:36Is your door open?
1:47:39Yeah, the closet door was open.
1:47:42I don't know cuz I was
1:47:44facing I was facing the shoe rack. I
1:47:47remember I was facing the shoe rack. So,
1:47:49you didn't look around?
1:47:51I couldn't look around. I couldn't move.
1:47:55Does that happen often?
1:47:57When it happens, that's how it happens.
1:47:59Yes. How often does that happen?
1:48:02I hadn't had any for years and then I
1:48:04started having them again. Have you
1:48:06talked to your doctor about it?
1:48:08Uh, talked to the rheatologist and my
1:48:11Who's your rheatologist?
1:48:18[Music]
1:48:21I
1:48:22don't know him.
1:48:27Something
1:48:29like Where's our hospital at? Where's
1:48:32our office at?
1:48:41Um, I think Staple Chase.
1:48:46I think it's Stlech Chase. And you don't
1:48:48remember your doctor's
1:48:49name. Who's the doctor that you go to?
1:48:52Several doctors. Okay. Okay. Just tell
1:48:54us name them. Who's Who's your primary
1:48:56care doctor? Dr. is my primary care
1:48:59doctor. N G U N. Mhm. First name Susie.
1:49:05Okay. Where is she at? She's on Highway
1:49:096.
1:49:11Okay. She's your primary care. Yes. Who
1:49:15else? She the one that refers you to
1:49:17these people? Yes. Okay. Who's the next
1:49:19one?
1:49:22Uh mainly just I've been going to the
1:49:24rheatologist. And you don't know the
1:49:26rheatologist name, but Susie Win will be
1:49:29able to tell us, huh? Yes. Okay. Molini,
1:49:32I think. Molini. Molini.
1:49:35You know how to spell that?
1:49:41It's M
1:49:43A L
1:49:46I N I.
1:49:50Yeah.
1:49:52Now,
1:49:54okay. So, you said your head was hurting
1:49:57you. It still is. Well, where where
1:49:59where's the hurting at?
1:50:05It hurts right here, but I feel like I
1:50:07have a fever.
1:50:09You feel like somebody hit you?
1:50:13Yeah. Your ar your arms are all bruised
1:50:15up. Yeah. I don't know how that
1:50:17happened, but I usually break bones and
1:50:20stuff when I have a bad seizure. So,
1:50:22roll your sleeves up for me. That's not
1:50:25unusual. Let me see. Hold your arm out.
1:50:29This one is bruised right there. Let's
1:50:31see. Let's see the other side
1:50:34there. Um, a lot of bruises on there.
1:50:38Yeah. You don't know how that happened?
1:50:40Well, these are from the the tying and
1:50:44then
1:50:46So, were your hands tied in front of
1:50:47you? No.
1:50:50[Music]
1:50:52So,
1:50:53uh, so I mean you feel like you got hit
1:50:57in the head,
1:50:59right? Fell and hit my head one or the
1:51:01other. Yeah. You do that often
1:51:03sometimes. Yeah.
1:51:07And you don't recall hearing something
1:51:09before that happened?
1:51:12Nothing.
1:51:18No, you didn't hear nobody screaming.
1:51:20And you can hear dogs barking outside,
1:51:22but you can't hear somebody screaming
1:51:24inside. No. You know how close that that
1:51:28room is to where you were. No. And you
1:51:30can't hear somebody screaming. I heard
1:51:33the dogs because they
1:51:35were probably right. I think they were
1:51:38outside like where the window of the
1:51:40bathroom is,
1:51:42but I didn't hear anything after that.
1:51:46And the jacuzzi was still going. And
1:51:48actually, I don't even remember hearing
1:51:50the dogs. My husband's the one that says
1:51:53he's got better hearing than I,
1:51:56but I heard the dogs
1:51:59whining afterwards. Yeah, I heard him
1:52:02whining too while I was in there. But
1:52:04I'm hard hearing.
1:52:07Mhm. I'm real hard hearing. And I I
1:52:09heard him whining. And you know the
1:52:13thing is Sandra, you got to understand
1:52:16is that you
1:52:19know I've been inside your house. I
1:52:22looked at the layout. I see the way it
1:52:24is and I'm not sitting here to call you
1:52:28a liar. I'm not sitting here. I'm trying
1:52:30to just, you know, I'm trying to hear
1:52:32what you're telling me and tell me, you
1:52:34know, I've asked you to be honest with
1:52:35me and and you know, I don't know that
1:52:38you're not, but
1:52:40uh you know, I'm a reasonable man and
1:52:44you know, I'm looking at what I saw
1:52:46there now. You
1:52:48know, they they told you that there's a
1:52:51camera that was pointing toward your
1:52:52house, right? Yeah. You know that. Okay.
1:52:56We talk about points of entry on your
1:52:58house. Front door, then you got the
1:53:01garage door, and you got your back door.
1:53:04You uh said they've got a doggy door for
1:53:07the dogs to go in and out of, right?
1:53:10Right. That doggy door is how big? It's
1:53:13not It's about that big. Little dogs to
1:53:15go in and out. Okay. And you said that
1:53:19your husband shouldn't had to go out the
1:53:21back door. Y'all keep that door locked
1:53:25usually. And sometimes if somebody, you
1:53:30know, you heard dogs barking and I heard
1:53:31your dogs barking a little bit. They
1:53:33barking while we came in there and they
1:53:35they they they chirp. You know, I got
1:53:37some dogs and and I got some little dogs
1:53:39and they chirp. You can hear them. And
1:53:43uh but
1:53:45now you know what I saw
1:53:49there when I saw your husband's body.
1:53:52That's a pretty violent attack. Okay.
1:53:56And the problem I'm having is you know
1:53:59I've going through what you're telling
1:54:01me and the way that I expect that this
1:54:04went down. Okay. And I've worked a lot
1:54:06of these. Okay. And a problem I have is
1:54:09that, you know, if he encountered
1:54:12somebody when he went in there, when he
1:54:15was gone for 15 minutes, you got out 5
1:54:18minutes later. So he had a good 5
1:54:21minutes. That's a long time. And he went
1:54:23in there to deal with what he dealt
1:54:25with. And then you move into the closet
1:54:29to take care of your business there and
1:54:31get dressed and put lotion on.
1:54:34And if he
1:54:37encountered something that would do what
1:54:41we see
1:54:42there, you're going to hear it. You're
1:54:45going to hear something. And if that
1:54:48something is coming into the same room
1:54:51where you're at to either knock you out
1:54:55or even encounter you, you're going to
1:54:58hear something. I don't care if you've
1:55:01got a tank cranked up in that bathroom
1:55:03with you. You're going to hear
1:55:05something. When somebody encounters
1:55:07somebody that is stabbing somebody, but
1:55:10that violently that many times. You're
1:55:13going to hear that. I've seen people be
1:55:16stabbed in person and you're going to
1:55:18hear it. You're going to live that the
1:55:21rest of your life. Okay? You're going to
1:55:23hear that. I didn't hear anything. I
1:55:26didn't hear anything. I wish I had heard
1:55:28something. I didn't
1:55:31see that what we're seeing there, the
1:55:33physical evidence that's there and what
1:55:35you're telling
1:55:36us is just not adding up, Sandra. I'm
1:55:40not I'm not want to call you a liar, but
1:55:41I'm saying I mean, I know you had to
1:55:43hear something. You're our only person
1:55:45that was in that house. I know. You
1:55:48know, we're here. We're going to try to
1:55:50get to the bottom of this, but you're
1:55:51the only one that was in that house. And
1:55:54you
1:55:55know, are you scared of something? No.
1:56:00Are you afraid of somebody coming back
1:56:02after you? Yeah, I'm afraid they'll come
1:56:03back, whoever. But no, if you don't tell
1:56:05us something, are you afraid of that? Is
1:56:07that what you're afraid of? No.
1:56:10You know, we need to try to get somebody
1:56:12if that's what happened. We need to try
1:56:13to get them off the street. Right.
1:56:15Right. But no, I would tell you I don't
1:56:18I didn't hear anything. The only thing I
1:56:20can think of is Are you covering
1:56:23something up, Sam? No. Why would you
1:56:25take a polygraph?
1:56:28because I'm so stressed right now. I
1:56:31can't even think straight. It's not a
1:56:33good reason.
1:56:34Well, I just don't want it used against
1:56:37me. That's all. I'll take it, but not
1:56:40just Why would we have to use against
1:56:41you? Because I'm stressed and and I mean
1:56:47I
1:56:48just beyond that. Has your husband ever
1:56:52hit you? No. No physical? No.
1:56:56Never. Did your husband tell you
1:56:58something tonight that made you black
1:57:00out? No. Doesn't work that way. Has your
1:57:05uh would your husband have a girlfriend
1:57:07on the side that maybe a jealous
1:57:08boyfriend would come? No. Has your
1:57:11husband ever told you he was going to
1:57:12leave you? No. Never talked about making
1:57:15plans. We were making plans he was going
1:57:17to leave me. Do you think he's ever told
1:57:19one of his family members that he was
1:57:20going to leave you?
1:57:23Well, he has. I mean, have you known
1:57:26about them? No. No.
1:57:32[Music]
1:57:39No. We were fine. We were just fine.
1:57:42What happens when we uh we find only
1:57:45your
1:57:46DNA at that scene and no stranger? I
1:57:50touched him. Besides, you were in the
1:57:53tub together. What if we don't find any
1:57:55strangers DNA there?
1:57:58I don't know. I mean, it's not my job. I
1:58:01don't know. So, your your blood will
1:58:03never be a mixture into his blood. I'm
1:58:06sorry. The blood on him, there'll be
1:58:09never no mixture of your blood and his
1:58:13blood. If I'm bleeding right here in my
1:58:15hand and he's bleeding and I rub his
1:58:18hand, there should be none of my blood
1:58:19into his blood. I'm not bleeding
1:58:21anymore. That's what I'm asking you.
1:58:23There should not be anything, right? Of
1:58:26mine, right? No, not blood mixture. But
1:58:29you understand that science has come a
1:58:31long way when DNA me
1:58:34touching me having blood on me is from
1:58:37me touching. There's difference for you
1:58:38checking for a pulse than the kind of
1:58:40DNA we're talking about. You know, you
1:58:42got some hellacious injuries on your
1:58:44arms. But these are not they I'm not
1:58:47bleeding from them. These are burn. You
1:58:49understand that? Uh, you know, we we
1:58:51look at those injuries and we can tell
1:58:52what that's all about. And what is that
1:58:54one all about? Those are some wraparound
1:58:57bruising. Wrap around bruising. Yes,
1:59:00ma'am. And I won't go into reasons why
1:59:03that that's caused like that. I won't do
1:59:05that now.
1:59:06[Music]
1:59:08But I'm just telling you, you need to
1:59:10kind of be honest with us.
1:59:13I get bruised all the time when I fall
1:59:16and when I you know how often do you
1:59:19fall?
1:59:23I've fallen many times. I've broken my
1:59:26shoulder from falling. I've But you're
1:59:29walking with that cane. Yeah, but it's
1:59:31when on days that I don't walk, I don't
1:59:34walk with the cane.
1:59:36Uh do you have a hard time walking when
1:59:38you don't walk with that cane?
1:59:40Depends on the day. Some days are good.
1:59:44Okay. On a good day. No, a good day. I'm
1:59:47okay. If it's warm outside, no problems.
1:59:51No. You mean I walk kind of slow? I
1:59:54don't I don't run or jog or anything,
1:59:56but I mean, can somebody tell that you
1:59:59have hip hip replacements on a good
2:00:02day and that you got pain?
2:00:06No, probably not. They They can't tell.
2:00:10No.
2:00:12Could you have hurt your husband and not
2:00:14remember? No. Have you ever done
2:00:16anything like that? No. Hurt anybody and
2:00:18not remember it? No. That's not a
2:00:20possibility. You're saying absolutely
2:00:23not. I mean, there may be something
2:00:25wrong with you. No. Your illness that uh
2:00:29could make you snap, huh? No. Doesn't
2:00:32work that way. I mean, after 32 years,
2:00:34we Did he grab you last night? No.
2:00:37Did he squeeze your arms?
2:00:42No.
2:00:45Did he grab your arms? No.
2:00:50No. We weren't angry. We weren't
2:00:55uh We weren't arguing. We were
2:01:00fine. No, he
2:01:05didn't. Not at all, Sandra.
2:01:11Actually, there was one
2:01:13little when I got out of the tub, I
2:01:16almost slipped and he grabbed
2:01:18me. But that was this arm.
2:01:21Where? Show me.
2:01:25Probably probably around here. Okay. He
2:01:28grabbed my arm, but he grabbed me. So,
2:01:30he was in there when you got out? He was
2:01:33He was inside when I when I was getting
2:01:36out and then in uh I thought you said he
2:01:40got out before you did. No, that was
2:01:42when I went to the bathroom. I got out
2:01:44to go to the bathroom. Okay. So, you
2:01:46grab Show me where he grabbed you at
2:01:48again. He just like I slept and he
2:01:52raised his ar his arm. Raise your sleeve
2:01:55there. Show him what you showed me. That
2:01:58right there. I
2:01:59think that was it. He raised He raised
2:02:02his arm to try to catch me and I just
2:02:05grabbed onto him and I got out and that
2:02:07was it. I think that was
2:02:11it. That was it. But I think that was
2:02:15it. I remember it was this arm. Show him
2:02:19this arm. Show him the bruising there.
2:02:22I don't think
2:02:23that's what wraparound is, but I think
2:02:26that's from me falling and hitting. Can
2:02:28you show him up here? Yeah.
2:02:31He didn't grab me there. You got a
2:02:33bruise over here.
2:02:37Yeah. So, where are those bruises from?
2:02:39I don't know cuz I don't know. I don't
2:02:43call those. I didn't have those before.
2:02:49What about the other? Can you raise the
2:02:50other one up that
2:02:53high? A little bit higher there.
2:02:56[Music]
2:02:58and on the outside of the arm.
2:03:01Okay.
2:03:04I'm always bruised and I'm always Why?
2:03:09From my illness, from all the medicines
2:03:11I take from
2:03:15What do you think should
2:03:16happen to the person
2:03:19that if we catch that did this to your
2:03:22husband? What what do you think his
2:03:23punishment or her punishment should be?
2:03:29Do you think they should get a second
2:03:30chance? No. What do you think should
2:03:33happen to him or her?
2:03:36They should go to prison. Is that what
2:03:39they normally do? They go to prison.
2:03:46Burglary and and then
2:03:48homicide be construed as a capital
2:03:51murder. Could be death penalty. Think
2:03:53they should get the death penalty? Yeah.
2:03:59Yeah, I have no problem with the death
2:04:01penalty. I think it serves a purpose.
2:04:12Was your husband abusive towards you?
2:04:14No.
2:04:16No, we got a lot fine. Ask all my
2:04:20friends. We got a lot of great.
2:04:25Did you stage that at your house now?
2:04:27Stage it? Yeah.
2:04:30Did you Did you plan this? No.
2:04:34No, I did not.
2:04:37Would you tell me if you did?
2:04:40I wouldn't even know where to start to
2:04:42stage
2:04:44it. And how am I going to tie myself up
2:04:47like that and not even be able to get
2:04:49out of it? I mean,
2:04:50I I really was trying to get out of it.
2:04:57Were you tied up when you first woke up?
2:05:03I couldn't tell you that. I don't
2:05:04remember. That's one thing I don't
2:05:06remember. I've been trying to remember
2:05:08that. How did you find out that you were
2:05:10up when you woke up the second time?
2:05:16Cuz I could I could tell it was
2:05:20more more awake that time.
2:05:24more c conscious or conscious at that
2:05:28time.
2:05:30And you never heard anything?
2:05:36No.
2:05:40You didn't hear your husband yelling at
2:05:41all? No.
2:05:44I mean, that's
2:05:45pretty, you know, the wound that he had.
2:05:48It's pretty It's a
2:05:51painful. He went through a lot of pain.
2:05:53He suffered a lot. He was right
2:05:58there. That's less than 20 25 feet from
2:06:01where you were at. The only thing I can
2:06:03think of is that I was already out when
2:06:06that happened. That's the only thing I
2:06:07can think of.
2:06:09Wasn't it ironic that you could you you
2:06:13black
2:06:14out the exact time when he's getting
2:06:17stabbed and bluding?
2:06:20I don't have an answer for you.
2:06:22multiple times like that,
2:06:25dying, screaming for help. Oh my gosh.
2:06:29Just I don't you know what? I don't
2:06:31understand that. That That's ironic to
2:06:32me. It's a lot of blood that he lost.
2:06:35And whatever he encountered, he
2:06:38encountered them before you did, before
2:06:40they came and knocked you out. It's why
2:06:42I think there was ample opportunity for
2:06:44you to hear
2:06:45something and nothing. You're saying
2:06:48nothing. I mean, I don't You could have
2:06:49had Harmony Tank running in that
2:06:50bathroom and you'd hear
2:06:52[Music]
2:06:53that. That's what I don't
2:06:58understand. Could you hear him?
2:07:01No, I couldn't hear him. Could you hear
2:07:03him yelling for help? No. Could you hear
2:07:06him screaming?
2:07:09I didn't hear anything. I mean, he was
2:07:10in pain. We know
2:07:13that he suffered a lot.
2:07:19I need you to help
2:07:21me. I need you to help
2:07:24me. I need you to help me on this.
2:07:27Can you help me? I need you to help me.
2:07:32I didn't. Sandra, can you help me? I
2:07:34didn't hear anything. I didn't hear
2:07:35anything. I need help.
2:07:38Sandra, please help
2:07:41me. Screaming after screaming after
2:07:43screaming, he's in pain. I need help.
2:07:49Help me,
2:07:51Sandra. Help
2:07:54me. Tell me. Your husband's a nice guy.
2:07:58He went through a lot of pain. Help
2:08:03me. Sandra, I need
2:08:07help. Please help me, Sandra.
2:08:12[Music]
2:08:14Sandra, help
2:08:20me. Sandra, I need help.
2:08:25I didn't hear anything. Just stop
2:08:28already. I need help,
2:08:32Santa. I need
2:08:35help. Help me. That's it. That's it. I I
2:08:39I need a lawyer. I I'm not talking
2:08:41anymore because you guys are just trying
2:08:43to torture me here. I'm not torture you.
2:08:47I'm asking for help.
2:08:51That's it.
2:09:01Do you love your husband? Yes, I love my
2:09:04husband. Did you care about him? Yes.
2:09:06She wants to finally kill him. Of
2:09:10course.
2:09:15I don't think you do.
2:09:21[Music]
2:09:26Did you kill your husband?
2:09:29No, I didn't. Did you have anything to
2:09:32do with your husband's death? No.
2:09:49[Music]
2:09:51Wonderful. Following the interrogation,
2:09:54Sandra Melgar was convicted of murdering
2:09:56her husband and sentenced to 27 years in
2:09:59prison. The prosecution argued that she
2:10:01staged a home invasion to conceal the
2:10:03crime, citing the lack of forced entry
2:10:05and inconsistencies in her account. The
2:10:08defense contended that her medical
2:10:10conditions, including lupus and
2:10:11epilepsy, made her physically incapable
2:10:13of committing the violent act and
2:10:15pointed to the absence of direct
2:10:17forensic evidence linking her to the
2:10:19murder. Melgar has consistently
2:10:21maintained her innocence with support
2:10:23from her daughter and organizations like
2:10:25the Innocence Project of Texas. Her
2:10:28appeals have been denied, but advocates
2:10:30continue to pursue other legal avenues
2:10:32on her behalf. The case remains a
2:10:34subject of debate, highlighting the
2:10:36complexities of circumstantial evidence
2:10:38and the challenges in the criminal
2:10:39justice system. If you found this video
2:10:41informative, please consider leaving a
2:10:43like and subscribing to the channel as
2:10:45it really helps support our work and
2:10:47allows us to continue covering important
2:10:49stories like this one. Thank you.

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