- A woman and her boyfriend are charged with murder in connection with the death of the woman's husband.
- Messages reveal premeditation, the charges state; Chavez-Sandobal allegedly drugged Sanchez before his murder.
- Both suspects blame each other; evidence includes security footage and recovered items.
PARK CITY — A couple who police say each blamed the other for killing the woman's husband have both been charged with murder.
Reina Chavez-Sandobal, 41, of Midvale, and Francisco Alejandro Santos-Morales, 31, of Layton, were each charged Thursday in Summit County's 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; abuse or desecration of a dead body and three counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, third-degree felonies.
On March 26, the sheriff's office responded "to a rural area near the intersection of Browns Canyon Road and High View Road, on reports of human remains that were covered in blood," according to a police booking affidavit. The body of Juan Manuel Sanchez, 46, was found with "a traumatic wound to the forehead." An autopsy the next day "showed signs of blunt force trauma to the victim's skull and brain," according to a second police booking affidavit.
Sanchez "was the domestic partner" of Chavez-Sandobal, the charges state. But she was also "in a romantic relationship" with Santos-Morales.
On the morning of March 25 — the day before Sanchez's body was discovered — Chavez-Sandobal "visited a web page for Tylenol PM Extra Strength," according to charging documents.
Later that night, Santos-Morales and Chavez-Sandobal exchanged a series of messages for hours that included, "Hey, love. What time are you going to send the taxi?" And "Do you think he will drink it?"
After questioning whether she meant what she said, Santos-Morales sends several more texts, including "If not, I'll have to kill you both," according to the charges.
Other messages from Santos-Morales included, "Realize I'm risking everything" and "Do you know a place in the mountains that is kind of far away?" the charges state.
"My husband is you," Chavez-Sandobal tells him.
"He was your husband," Santos-Morales texted.
"Yes, he was, but not anymore," she responded, according to the charges.
Nearly two hours into their conversation, Santos-Morales asks, "You're not going to blame this on me, are you?"
"You should know that I already feel free without having to worry about that dog. I feel at peace," she said, court records state. "Mr. Morales responded, 'Okay, I'm doing this all for you.'"
By 10 p.m., Chavez-Sandobal tells Santos-Morales that Sanchez is asleep and snoring.
"Those pills really worked. He is snoring and snoring," she texted, the charges state, while adding that Chavez-Sandobal later told investigators that she put six Tylenol in her husband's drink.
Just after 1 a.m., a security camera recorded the two "carrying Mr. Sanchez's lifeless body from the (her) apartment and loading it into a Honda Civic," according to the charges.
Investigators used license plate readers and additional security cameras to track the vehicle from Midvale to the intersection of Browns Canyon Road and High View Road in Summit County.
On April 1, Chavez-Sandobal called Sanchez's family in North Carolina and said Sanchez "was fine and that they should not be concerned about his welfare," the charges state. But that's when family members informed her that police had already contacted them and told them that Sanchez was dead.
"(Chavez-Sandobal) immediately hung up the phone," police said.
When questioned by police, Chavez-Sandobal claimed Santos-Morales "went to her apartment and struck Mr. Sanchez while Mr. Sanchez was asleep," the charges state. Chavez-Sandobal's three children were in the apartment at the time.
"Detectives recovered a blood-stained blanket from a closet and a hammer from a laundry basket," according to the charges.
But when Santos-Morales was located and arrested two days later, he claimed that it was Chavez-Sandobal who "struck Mr. Sanchez" and that he only helped move the body, the charges state.
Chavez-Sandobal later "informed detectives that she and Mr. Morales had planned to murder Mr. Sanchez for approximately one week," according to court documents.
In asking that both defendants be held in the Summit County Jail without the possibility of posting bail, prosecutors note in court documents that each "is an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States."
