UPDATE: Man sentenced to life for killing 19-year-old woman
May 14—Editor's note: The online version of this story was updated May 14 at 3:56 p.m. with more information about the case.
On Monday, a Norman man was convicted of manslaughter and unlawful removal of a dead body.
Octavio Sanchez, 37, received a life sentence plus five years for the murder of his half-sister, Margarita "Maggie" Sandoval, who was 19 at the time of her death.
Sanchez pleaded no contest to the charges. The court previously found his wife, Desiree, also responsible for Sandoval's death; in a jury trial that concluded earlier this year, she was convicted of murder in the first degree and unlawful removal of a dead body.
District Judge Thad Balkman was the sentencing judge in Octavio's case and the trial judge in Desiree's case. The sentence recommended by the jury in Desiree's case was the same sentence Balkman gave to Octavio: life plus five years, along with a $10,000 fine.
The couple will also serve a combined 84 months in federal prison for collecting checks intended for Sandoval after her death.
After receiving an out-of-state tip, the Norman Police Department found Sandoval's body in the basement of a rental house on May 13, 2021 — three years to the day before Sanchez's conviction.
Two of Sandoval's sisters, Maria and Taylor Hearon, offered victim impact statements on behalf of their sister. Maria explained that Sandoval had an intellectual disability that prevented her from living on her own.
"Maggie had her days, just like everybody else, and she had needs which maybe made some days harder than others," Maria said. "But that's what you have family for, right? To help take care of each other. That's what Octavio was supposed to do, was take care of his little sister."
Sandoval, Taylor and Maria were the youngest of nine siblings who were split at a young age by Child Protective Services. The three were placed in a foster home together, but while Taylor and Maria were ultimately adopted, Sandoval was placed in a group home due to her disability.
Maria said she and Taylor would call their sister and visit as often as they could.
"And the words I heard most from Maggie were, 'I'm coming home soon. I'm doing better.' The excitement in her voice was felt through the phone," Maria said. "She just wanted her family and to be home. And after ten years, she finally did come home to start a life. And within months she was gone."
Miguel Munoz, who pled guilty to unlawful removal of a dead body, confessed that he helped the Sanchezes hide Sandoval's body in his basement in June 2019. Her body was found in a 3-by-4-foot box, wrapped in plastic, tape and rope.
According to a court affidavit, Munoz said Octavio told him the body belonged to a child molester they had killed. He claimed Octavio said, "Desiree started it and I had to finish it" in regards to Sandoval's murder.
Prosecutors estimated Sandoval was killed between February and April of 2018.
In a pre-sentence investigation report, Octavio offered his version of events. With edits for syntax and grammar, his statement reads:
"I got home, my wife was panicking, said that Maggie was molesting my daughter and [Desiree] hit her and now she is dead. I went in [the] room, found Maggie laying there. She had a cut on her head and was foaming at the mouth but I could tell she had been dead for a while. My wife was panicking and saying that they were gonna take the kids away ... I don't know how to talk to cops, and I wish everyday that I would have just called 911."
Instead of calling authorities, Desiree and Octavio continued to collect Social Security checks intended for Sandoval as if she were still alive. By the time the couple were convicted of conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in June 2023, they had pocketed over $30,000.
"I know we'll never know what really happened that day," Maria said, "but what I do know is Octavio let his baby sister be murdered, then helped hide her away."
Taylor remembered her sister as someone "who had an unconditional love for people because her brain couldn't even fathom hate or cruelty."
"She was 19, but mentally she was still this little girl deep down. And she — she didn't have a mind of a 19-year-old," Taylor said. "So that's who he put in that box. He did not put a 19-year-old woman who knew how to drive, who got to live her life. He put a little girl in that box. He did. And I want that to be known."
"Maggie's life has been nothing but people failing her; the system failed her, people who were supposed to love and protect her the most not only failed her but also ended her," Taylor said.
"I keep saying her name over and over again because I don't [want] Octavio to forget it no matter how hard he tries. I want him to know and remember that Maggie was wanted in this world. If not by him, then by me. Maggie was wanted by me."
