This week on 48 Hours on ID, the team is examining the callous murder of Daniel Green, an officer from the Exeter Police Department in central California.
On February 6, 2015, Officer Daniel Green was killed in the bathroom of his home in what detectives called a cold-blooded execution. The 31-year-old was shot four times in quick succession.
Investigators initially wondered if his murder was somehow connected to his job; however, this idea was quickly binned as suspicions began to focus on his ex-wife Erika Sandoval.
Erika Sandoval had history of violence
Sandoval was already known to be capable of violence and destruction. For example, on previous occasions, she had cut up their couch and their bed. She had bashed holes in the wall and smashed bottles on the floor. But investigators wondered if she was capable of murder.
They then learned that she was also suspected of sniping the wires on his motorcycle, causing him to run a red light.
Police believe that Sandoval snapped after Green posted a photo of himself with his new younger girlfriend to Instagram. In the three days before his murder, Sandoval bombarded her ex-husband with 167 phone calls.
Green had also told his friends that if he was ever found dead, they should suspect Sandoval.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelInvestigators believe that Sandoval broke into Green’s home and hid in a closet to wait for him to come home. She waited until he had gone into the bathroom and was at his most vulnerable before shooting him.
When Sandoval was arrested, she confessed to pulling the trigger. However, she claimed that she was actually the victim and that Green was the abuser. She said she murdered him to protect their son. Prosecutors later argued that she murdered out of jealously and didn’t want to share the child’s custody.
At trial in December 2019, a jury could not agree to charge her with first-degree murder. Just one juror refused to prosecute her, leading the judge to declare a mistrial.
Sandoval is due to be retried at some point this year. In the meantime, she remains in custody.
More from 48 Hours on ID
Follow the links to read about more crimes profiled on 48 Hours on ID.
Dr. Teresa Sievers was found brutally beaten to death on the floor of her kitchen in Bonita Springs, Florida. Her husband, Mark Sievers, was out of town on vacation; however, the cops subsequently learned that he had persuaded his friend to kill his wife while he was away.
Ezra McCandless stabbed her ex-boyfriend, Alex Woodworth, to death in a secluded area of Wisconsin in 2018. She attempted to hide her crime by pretending to be the one who was attacked.
48 Hours on ID airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.