Man pleads guilty to double murder in St. Paul sober home
A St. Paul man pleaded guilty to murder Friday in the brutal stabbing deaths of two people in a sober home while he was in the throes of mental illness, claiming voices in a TV told him to do it.
Joseph Sandoval, 34, pleaded guilty to two charges of second-degree murder with intent on Friday. With the plea, Sandoval could earn consecutive prison sentences and could have future charges enhanced. Prosecutors allege that Sandoval took fentanyl in 2022 when stabbing 56-year-old Jon Wentz and 40-year-old repairman Jason Murphy. Judge Joy Bartscher accepted the plea and reviewed prosecutors' evidence against Sandoval, stating that jurors would have enough evidence to find Sandoval guilty if he did go to trial. Sandoval entered a Norgaard plea, meaning, which "allows a defendant to accept the consequences of their actions even though they are unable to provide a factual basis due to drug use or mental health impairment at the time," according to the Ramsey County Attorney's office.
"This tragic case is a heart-breaking reminder of the limits our mental health system faces when addressing the needs of those with profound mental illness in the justice system who are found incompetent to stand trial but do not receive adequate treatment or supervision," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement. "Continuing to improve the connection between these two systems demands further legislative effort and funding. Our hearts go out to the Wentz and Murphy families who have suffered so profoundly due to these shortcomings."
Police arrested Sandoval on Oct. 22, 2022 after a man at a St. Paul intersection frantically reported a murder in his sober home. According to evidence reviewed in court Friday, that man lived in the home but was away for treatment. He returned at around 4:15 p.m. but said Sandoval barricaded the entrance. Sandoval stopped the man from entering and said there was a mess inside. The man noticed cuts and blood on Sandoval's face, and said that his eyes "looked crazy."
The man entered a side door, where he found a trail of blood leading to Murphy's body. The man yelled and tried to run upstairs, but was stopped by Sandoval. Prosecutors believe Sandoval struck the man and tried to detain him while saying that he "needed help getting rid of a body." The man escaped and asked pedestrians for help, bringing police to the scene.
Officers found Sandoval nearby with bloody clothes and cuts on his hands and face. He admitted to using fentanyl, and told officers that the voices in the TV told him to kill Murphy and Wentz. Sandoval later asked hospital staff to handcuff him and shackle his legs to the bed "because I don't know what I'll do."
"I was hearing noises. The TV kept saying take your opportunity, so I took my opportunity," Sandoval told officers that day, according to charging documents. "The TV said they were gonna kill me and told me to take the opportunity."
An autopsy determined Murphy and Wentz were stabbed to death. Wentz suffered "significant" facial injuries, and police found a hammer and knife nearby.
On Friday Sandoval claimed to have foggy memory of the incident, but said he understands that pleading guilty will bring prison time. Defense Attorney Baylea Kannmacher said Sandoval's mental health has improved as he's taken prescribed medications and visited a mental health worker in jail.
A mental health evaluation found that Sandoval was competent to stand trial Friday, but his struggles with mental health and violence began years before.
According to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, Sandoval was under civil commitment in Hennepin County before killing Murphy and Wentz. He was charged with violent offenses, including first-degree burglary and assault, before a Hennepin County judge found Sandoval incompetent to stand trial in 2021. He was committed to to the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center a month later, but was transferred to a sober home managed by Evergreen Treatment Recovery Center on Oct. 22, 2022 — the day he killed Murphy and Wentz.
Judge Bartscher scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 19.
