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[Music] [Music] i1 was the of emergency h i call my wife on responsive she's not
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breathing she may have taken to some pills okay what is your [Music] [Applause] address when we get the alert tone they
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say it's an overdose they're saying that he's performing CPR oh is somebody [Music]
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coming he's on his third fourth fifth cycle three and that's when I get to the house I'm Officer gorio De La Cruz I was
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the first officer on the scene hello what's going on M subject shows up at the door and he just turns around and
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darts into the residence I can see him heading up the stairs I just see his shadow from the light that's on so I
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followed him what's going on he's helping giving CPR he's wearing scrubs so I believe
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he's a higher level of care than I can provide and I ask him you want me to help do I help you and he right away
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relinquishes giving CPR what did she take I think Flynn has a p she's been pretty depressed lately I
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don't see any drugs usually when somebody overdoses on drugs the pills are nearby the needle
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nearby the syringe something's nearby and nothing was I'm probably at the scene within the
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next 30 to 45 minutes I'm Sergeant Luis Mata Jr I was the lead detective in the case then I
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start trying to get information from him and I noticed him not answering fully and when I asked him what's going on Jo
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he goes well I live a very private life and those questions are something that I
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don't want coming out Maria had been seeking help through the church through a pastor wasn't she
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also being treated for severe depression and anxiety she had been getting some medical attention as well but this case
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was unique CU she was also expressing her thoughts her feelings her emotions in a
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diary my fears are losing my family losing my husband damaging my kids making the wrong choice as the da my job
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was putting the right team together to work this case she described that she was going
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through a tough time but that she loved those kids and she could couldn't wait to do more in the
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future I want to be a good mom a mom that is present engaged and involved with my kids how important how crucial
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were those journals very she wasn't a drug abuser she loved those kids she would never leave them
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behind there's no way [Music] [Music] in the early morning hours of September 22nd
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2020 when Laredo Police Officer gregoria De La Cruz walked inside the home on Canyon Oak
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Drive his body camera was is recording the emergency unfolding in front of him what's going on at the top of the
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stairs near the main bedroom helel poo dressed in teal surgical scrubs was performing CPR on his wife Maria Munoz D
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La Cruz soon took over we sometimes zoom into the body cam footage to avoid graphic
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material what kind of shape was she in when you started giving her SE she was warm she was still warm to the
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touch while Dill Cruz desperately tried to revive Maria he asked her husband about the drugs Hela told the 911
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operator his wife may have taken some pills he stands up he goes to the restroom he opens a medicine cabinet I
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can I can tell all this cuz I hear it I'm not really sure upon his return he hands D Cruz a
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pill container a Kazaam is a drug that is often used to treat anxiety it had been prescribed to
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hoel not to his wife Maria D La Cruz quickly tossed the pill container aside to continue CPR how told D La Cruz that
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Maria had been struggling lately she's been super depressed how told the officer that the couple's two young Sons
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were still in separate bedrooms nearby here asleep yeah seemingly unaware of what was happening
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to their mother Maria she would like to take her children to the park she read to them
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before they went to bed just her really dedicated mother yazin Martinez says her
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friend Maria adored her boys 5-year-old Alejandro and Valentino who was turning two I am happy I am happy Maria enjoy
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being a sad her mom take 1,000 she was learning to play the piano and planning to resume her career
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I asked her if she had gone to school and she said yes she was a nurse in Puerto Rico and she's like I'm actually
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studying to take my test so I could work here it was in Puerto Rico where Maria met hel peot he was 11 years older and a
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nursing student a few years after they married the couple moved to Laredo Texas Howell had landed a lucrative job as a
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nurse anesthetist known in the medical profession as a CRNA a nurse anesthetist or a CRNA certified registered nurse
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anesthetist and a physician anesthesiologist use the same medication same techniques to provide anesthesia
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for people of all ages Tina dores also as CRNA worked with Howell peot at doctor's hospital in Theo did he seem
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dedicated to his work yes very much so he he always wanted to be better when I first met him he was very family
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oriented a hard worker smart guy he would always talk about Maria and Alejandro and showing pictures of his
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son and just talking about family life in general and now at the payot home paramedics and police were struggling to
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save the life of the young wife and mother when more help arrived de Cruz sent H peo downstairs to the kitchen and
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that's when D La Cruz realized that the pill container he had tossed to the side
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earlier hey there was some drugs here was now missing he had a prescription drug where is it I was like he has to
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have them so that's when I ask hey does he have pills he comes up to the first landing of the stairs and he tosses them
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to me all right so he had taken him now I'm thinking now you're trying to hide something at 3:58 Less Than 3 hours
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after helel peota call 911 his wife 31-year-old Maria Munos was declared dead inside their
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home what's going on what happened police began asking how what had happened to his wife we had sex we took
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a shower then I I thought she was like knocked out and then I go back upstairs and then
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she just by now things just didn't feel right to the investigators and there was
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something about Howell's appearance that seemed suspicious he was really sweaty I'm wearing a vest I'm wearing a gun I'm
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wearing almost 20 pounds of gear right and I'm not sweating as bad as he is so what went through your mind when you saw
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how sweaty he was he's using drugs he may be under the influen of drugs you want to see a fire truck come
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on let's go outside the couple's children now in the care of law enforcement what's your name were
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escorted outside my name is Alejandro Alejandro authorities immediately launched a death
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investigation when I get there um I meet with Officer De La Cruz he runs the information by me lead investigator
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Sergeant Lise mat didn't know if Maria had died by Suicide died an accidental overdose or if her husband was somehow
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involved Ma knew he needed to search the house but to do it he would have to get
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hoel pe's permission and he said well I don't want you going through my stuff cuz I'm a very private man then I said
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look Joel I'm not going to force you to this is your right but I'm going to have
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to go and get with my da and apply for a search warrant yeah leave Howell eventually gave consent for this search
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still ma had a lot of questions to get some answers he directed authorities to put how in a police
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cruiser to take him to the station could you see him before you went in I could see him through my
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camera everything's there is recorded he's hitting walls he's moving furniture it was scaring some of the people down
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the hall in the dispatch room so that's how loud it was holding up around 4:00 a.m. ma begins his
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interview with helel peot who claims he had given Maria that container of Kazaam
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prescribed to him is it possible that she swallowed them [Applause] all how many pills were there
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before I don't know posals I really don't he couldn't remember the minorous things I don't
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know how many times I asked him play back to me the minute you got there what did you do and he well what did I do
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what did I do what did I do well you know what if you remember the truth you don't have to think about it
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what was the time period between the time you got out of the shower to when you noticed say she's not really
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responding anymore 10 minute not 100% sure the sudden death of a healthy 31-year-old Woman Like Maria Munoz
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didn't make sense to Sergeant Louise Mata and neither did her husband helel pe's explanation
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his initial statement was that he went in and took a shower he thought she was asleep and then 10 minutes later he
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realizes that she's unresponsive responsive on the bed when a common person showers what's going to
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be in the bathroom steam condensation the smell of soap or shampoo that master bedroom shower which
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is the one that he alleged to use was as dry as a desert investigators had also discovered a syringe wrapper on the
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floor yeah hey there's a needle right here and a needle catheter on the stairs syringes and IV equipment in a medical
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bag were found inside the home why would there be syringes in the house so like I
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don't know then H makes a hand gesture and Taps his bicep me with h payot at the police
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station Maria's close friend Angela Montoya and her husband Louis Ayala rushed over to the house to take care of
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the kids Louise A co-worker of H says he had begun to see changes in hel's physique and personality two years
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before Maria's death he lose a l weight and then start gaining muscles did you suspect that maybe he was taking
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steroids maybe maybe he was changing like more friendly with girls flirting more yeah the family man who had once
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bragged to friends and colleagues about his wife and kids began changing his social media post too he deleted the
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pictures of Maria or he just started posting everything by himself not with his kids Howell in demand as a nurse
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anesthetist was making a lot of money and according to Angela he enjoyed showing off his wealth he has this new
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sporty car I bought Maria that one and I bought myself this one bragging about it
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but friends say that changes they saw in haah went much deeper in 2018 around the
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same time Maria gave birth to the couple Second Son how began pursuing a woman named Janet Arondo a surgical nurse he
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met at work Joelle took Janet to like a vacation spree in Europe I don't recall which countries were that he well there
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was one trip there was Spain and then the next trip was France and Greece there you go there you go so so Maria
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found out about that while he was there with Janet according to Angela Maria confirmed her suspicion about her
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husband's infidelity when she found a plane ticket for one of his European trips when her disappointment turned
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into deep depression she was prescribed medication but perhaps the best medicine
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for Maria turned out to be her daily journals discovered in her home by investigators
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I don't want to be sad anymore I don't want my heart to hurt I don't want my mind to be in torture yet at times she
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seemed hopeful believing her faith could mend the couple's 10-year marriage Lord this is a lot for me all I
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really want to do is see change in him and it seemed to be working just months after her husband had taken his mistress
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on those European vacations how treated Maria to a lavish getaway in Las Vegas and she showed me a couple of Louis
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Vuitton he purchased for her but what seemed like a second chance for her marriage didn't last H could never quite
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leave Janet how long have you been with Janette about 2 years so out of those two years how long has Maria known about
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it she for a while for a long while okay in fact Howell told Sergeant ma that he
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no longer live with his family and that he had moved in with Janet Arondo 5 months before Maria's death ma wondered
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how much The Other Woman knew and asked her to come to the police station to talk what is your relationship with him
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I wouldn't have called you at 6:30 in the morning if it was just for for being nosy it's not that I'm trying to be nosy
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but I'll get to where I'm going um he's he's my boyfriend ma continued pressing Janet about howow have you ever
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and then told her about Maria the reason that I'm here is because last night H's wife passed away
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it doesn't appear to be right now any type of Foul Play we're still pending on autopsy let's get with how did you and
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hel even start dating I'm sorry um I understand take your time I know it's all kind of thrown at
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you so you know I I told you at the very beginning I'm going to be honest with you so I am arming thing that was
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obviously what happened um I'm sorry about this your question how when how long have you and ho been
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dating um almost 2 years now okay did Maria and his wife did she do drugs not that I'm aware of he just told me that
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he she was very depressed when Sergeant ma mentioned Maria may have overdosed Janet seemed
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surprised are are you saying she overdose we all know yet the main thing is this Janet is when we tell her family
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they're going to think that either Joel did killed her or that you had something
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to do with it that's why we have to rule you out okay has Joel ever confided in you that he was that he wanted to do
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something to his wife no haa told believes that may have overdosed on the drug Kazaam he thinks she took these but
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when the autopsy was conducted 8 hours after Maria was declared dead the medical examiner found no pill residue
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in her stomach and there was something on Maria's body at the scene that puzzled both the medical examiner and
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investigators a tiny Mark am Maria's right arm it was a little little prick kind of like whenever you the common
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person draws blood or has their blood checked when they go to the doctor one little dot that's it on her right elbow
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crease no other signs of drug use or anything like that the autopsy report states that
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Maria died from a mixed drug intoxication while the medical examiner couldn't say how the drugs got into her
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system she did rule out suicide after talking to Maria's friends and reading her journal on the day day before she
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died Maria wrote what is it that I want move forward so could Maria's death have been
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an accidental overdose or was it murder when Dr John Hunsinger an anesthesiologist and Howell's former
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boss heard the autopsy results he immediately became suspicious and I called detective Ma and
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I told him my concerns he urged sergeant mat to order a detailed toxicology screening to determine which drugs had
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killed Maria and how they got there did you inject her tonight no with anything authorities would have to wait
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nearly 4 months to get the answers they needed on a Sunday afternoon at the First
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Baptist Church in Laredo the Victorious Life is is also a life of service all of
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our lives were impacted by the precious life of Maria a large crowd of family and friends came to mourn Maria Muno
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including her estranged husband how her funeral was really really sad o was there and he was crying he seemed very
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upset very sad but to Maria's friend Yasmin Martinez he seemed a little too upset too sad what made me feel angry
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with him near the casket crying over her giving her kisses like why now you have
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made her suffer and cry so much and you're doing this now helel pe's display of grief hey you got
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a with defibrator did nothing to deter the investigation into his wife's death Sergeant Luise mat and Officer gregoria
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De La Cruz say the footage captured by the body cam on the morning Maria died shows something curious remember the
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pills in a container that Howell said his wife had taken D La Cruz tossed it aside when he was giving Maria CPR you
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had a prescription drug where is it at some point it disappeared yeah I see it's still here
00:22:05
right now exactly and here's how it happened they say how grabs the pill container and puts it in his
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pocket reach it and put it in he just reached over and put it right back in the shirt if that's really what she took
00:22:20
why would you want to hide that they were also suspicious of that needle catheter hey there's a needle right here
00:22:27
so the kind used for IVs discovered at the scene remember Maria had a tiny mark on her right arm Sergeant ma shared his
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concerns with the Webb County District Attorney's office we have a 247 phone and law enforcement can contact us with
00:22:45
any questions Chief assistant DA Marisella Joan and district attorney idro Alan knew the case would be tough
00:22:54
to prove since even the medical examiner wasn't sure exactly how Maria died the medical examiner is saying I can't say
00:23:04
for a fact this is homicide I remember having this conversation with the Med medical examiner early on and I I
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remember her saying look I wasn't there and neither were you all we know is that
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she has this combination of dangerous drugs in her bloodstream we don't know who gave them to her if she had some in
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her system already if she took some later on either accident or murder accident or murder investigators began
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to question Maria's friends and discovered that the Saturday before Maria died there was a confrontation at
00:23:40
Janet's house when Maria saw H's car there so that's when she stepped out of the car and then she rang the doorbell
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according to Angela Maria seen on Janet's doorbell camera gave hoel an ultimatum do you choose her you choose
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me and then he says I choose Janet Janet called the police and when a responding
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officer arrived at her home he called Maria who had by then left with Howell when Maria answered her cell phone the
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officer's body cam recorded the sound of H berading her in the background hey I'm
00:24:20
talking to you right now head up I guess that's your boyfriend yeah according to angelaa Maria told her that
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H became violent and he got so frustrated with everything that he punched the windshield he broke it he
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broke it yes he broke it on Sunday morning Maria texted her husband about hiring a divorce lawyer and he replied
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we can do this with minimal lawyer intervention it's too much money how then seems to have had a change of heart
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and sends Maria this email I'm so sad I'm hurting inside I want to sit down with you to talk without arguing a heart
00:25:04
to heart they agreed to meet Monday night before how arrived Maria messaged her friend Yasmin Martinez to pray for
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her I just asked if you can pray for me tonight we're going to talk and then I answered her and I told her that I would
00:25:22
pray for her Maria's request for prayers that night would be her final message to
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Yas she died early Tuesday morning nearly 4 months after Maria's death sergeant maada and officer Dilla
00:25:40
Cruz finally get the Toxicology test results they had been waiting for zero Clen
00:25:47
aapam zero Clen aapam the drug how claim Maria had taken instead the toxicology report revealed seven other drugs in
00:25:57
Maria's system so positive for morphine Demerol veret propal ketamine lidocaine Naran most of these medications are
00:26:12
typically used during surgery and one of them can only be administered with an IV
00:26:19
what was your reaction he killed her this guy killed his wife authorities got a warrant officer
00:26:28
Cruz who had tried to save Maria's life returned to hoel's home he knew why we were there to make the arrest by the
00:26:38
time we knock on the door and we announce our presence you the right to remain silent just like the way you do
00:26:43
the movies comes out I'm here I'm here puts his hands behind his back lets us cuff him doesn't put up a
00:26:50
fight H beot was taken to the police station and booked you can call my uh my attorney oh you could call him
00:26:57
prosecutors believe he was the one who gave his wife the deadly mixture but can they prove he wanted her to
00:27:07
[Music] die what do you think was the most suspicious aspect of Maria's death see
00:27:13
more evidence from the case at 48 hours.com when helel pe's former boss anesthesiologist Dr John Hunsinger saw
00:27:33
the list of drugs found in Maria Muno seven different medications he was surprised by One Drug in
00:27:42
particular I was very shocked to see propal where would he get that propal you can't just go to the drug store to
00:27:50
get propol you have to get it from the hospital While most of the drugs found in Maria's system could be consumed by
00:27:57
mouth Pro propal is usually injected by someone else with an IV one of the things about propal it relaxes you
00:28:06
greatly but it doesn't last very long it makes you stop breathing if you have too
00:28:11
much I think most of us when we hear about propol we think of Michael Jackson correct singer Michael Jackson's death
00:28:19
in June 2009 was blamed in part on an accidental overdose of propal and after Maria munoz's death a highly elevated
00:28:30
level of the drug was found in her system hers was the highest level I've seen and what does that say to you I
00:28:38
believe this is death by proall with helel peot now under arrest authorities were convinced that pe's
00:28:46
girlfriend Janet Arondo knew more than what she shared in that first interview so they got a search warrant
00:28:55
for her home then they offered her a deal in exchange for more information Janet would get immunity from
00:29:05
prosecution Janet agreed to a second police interview and accompanied by attorneys she now seemed ready to talk
00:29:14
did goel ever bring home any medical drugs yes Janet told police that peot had often brought drugs to her home some
00:29:22
for his own recreational use including ketamine morphine lidocaine Fentanyl and more
00:29:37
prop Janet's information about propal kicked the case into high gear district attorney a cidro Alan selected a team of
00:29:47
attorneys led by Marisella Jackman I am Karina riio my name is Anna Caren carza my name is Christal Calderon we are
00:29:54
Maria's Team all four prosecutors were convinced that Maria's husband had methodically planned her murder and that
00:30:02
the devoted mother and wife had suffered in the months before her death I've heard of emotional abuse I've seen it
00:30:10
I've worked around it but I never realized how prevalent it is even in our lives where you can relate to some of
00:30:21
the things that Maria was experiencing on the face of it this is a couple having problems
00:30:28
he's having an affair but to you this is domestic violence how well I think it goes so much further than just being a
00:30:36
spouse you could see the power struggle that existed or the the lack thereof assistant district attorney Karina Rios
00:30:45
Maria had no power in this relationship and the evidence of that prosecutor say is found in Maria's own journals
00:30:52
prosecutor Jackman read one of those entries life is so unfair my husband the man I love so much is
00:31:01
causing me so much pain I want to know what is it that you want me to do Maria also left evidence on her cell phone
00:31:09
that she secretly recorded approximately 4 months before her death what are the expectations you have on this this
00:31:18
marriage and she gave us this very powerful video you walk out that door we're getting a dose all right fine
00:31:30
got it she was having a discussion with him and that was so painful to watch but
00:31:39
prosecutors would need much more than that video and Maria's journal entries how do they believe that H peot dosed
00:31:47
his wife with all those drugs that was a million-dollar question we kept saying how did he get her to submit to
00:31:56
this during Janet arad's second police interview she said peot had told her about the night Maria died he had gone
00:32:05
there he said to have that heart-to-heart talk and then injected her not to kill her peot said but to
00:32:12
calm her down why did he tell you that he injected her cuz she was tic right he wanted to um just Cal it out so he did
00:32:24
it with medication but investigators believe the sedatives were part of pe's plan to kill Maria
00:32:34
that before peot put an IV needle in Maria's arm he could have slipped several sedative drugs into her favorite
00:32:41
drink coffee ketamine veret morphine and Demerol those four could have been put in her
00:32:55
coffee she then passes out after that they say peot injected Maria with a deadly dose of propa fall then Chief
00:33:05
assistant district attorney Anna Karen Garza Gutierrez says the peot deliberately waited to call for help I
00:33:13
believe he waited until she was dead to call 911 to make sure that no one can bring her back did you play any role in
00:33:20
Mar's dead at all no Janet said peot did admit to her that got rid of some of the medical equipment
00:33:29
he used to inject Maria before First Responders arrived he just told me she got rid of them peot was out on bail so
00:33:39
prosecutors had him rearrested and along with murder he was charged with tampering with evidence again he may
00:33:46
bail and would wear an ankle monitor in March 2023 2 and 1/2 years after Maria munoz's
00:33:56
death her her husband went on trial for her murder 48 Hours made several interview
00:34:03
requests to H pe's defense team but never received a response who peot declined our request for an interview
00:34:12
the evidence will show that H po the motive he had the intent and he had the means to kill myia
00:34:23
prosecutors presented 15 witnesses to prove to a jury that the peot had carefully and intentionally selected the
00:34:31
drugs to kill Maria their star witness Janet Arondo who told the jury what she had shared with police did Mr Po
00:34:43
indicate to you that he dumped or discarded the I CER on the bio yes when the defense case begins H pay's lawyers
00:34:54
admit their client injected his wife but they say he wasn't trying to kill her he
00:35:00
was trying to save [Music] her H peot wearing a blue suit and a dark gray tie listen carefully as his
00:35:25
defense team presented his C now Maria died and there's no question the Joel was there defense
00:35:38
attorney Roberto Bali claims Maria was terribly depressed and had been drinking and abusing drugs for months when Joe
00:35:46
arrived Maria was already on something according to the defense H peo didn't intend to kill his wife and the
00:35:56
proof his attorneys say is is in that toxicology report they admit po gave his wife medication to calm her down and
00:36:04
then when he found her unconscious they say he gave her Naran a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose someone tried
00:36:13
to bring her back to life and it wasn't the paramedics it wasn't the police it was O so he did not want her
00:36:21
dead this was a terrible accident a terrible accident that argues that was caused by a combination of
00:36:30
whatever Maria had taken and the medication peot used to inject her how do you know that naram wasn't there
00:36:38
because he tried to save her that he went too far realized he had gone too far Naran is not a reversal agent for
00:36:46
propol and propal was What stopped her heart at the end the defense never explained to the jury how the propal got
00:36:55
into Maria's system but Pro uors say that the level of drugs discovered in Maria's body could not have been
00:37:02
accidental it was enough medication to survive two major surgeries it was so much and why do you think he gave her so
00:37:13
much to be sure while peyote himself didn't testify his emotional mother did Miriam carisio
00:37:25
told prosecutors during cross examin mintion that Maria had talked about how sad she was about her marriage you were
00:37:33
aware that PO was weren't you yes she told who told you I and did you encourage her to stay in
00:37:45
the marriage I I told her that everybody have a limited and she have a limited when she decided that she don't want to
00:38:00
be no more with him I have my house open for her but prosecutors insist as sad as Maria may
00:38:08
have been about her marriage there's no evidence that she abused either drugs or
00:38:16
alcohol they believe peyote's motive was money and that he murdered Maria because
00:38:21
he didn't want to pay for a divorce and split his assets after 8 days of testimony the jury got
00:38:30
the case it took them less than an hour to decide how pe's fate guilty of murdering his wife Maria and tampering
00:38:41
with the evidence many members of the medical community attended the trial pe's former
00:38:50
colleague Tina dores he's not dumb I mean he's a smart guy so I don't know if he just got caught up with his God
00:38:59
complex that he thought he was smarter than everyone and that he was going to outsmart
00:39:04
them just hours after the guilty verdict peot was sentenced to life in prison cuffed and escorted out of the
00:39:14
courtroom she loved him and she adored him Maria's friend Angela Montoya she just loved them too
00:39:24
much prosecutors got Justice for Marie but it's a tragic ending for the family she loved and fought so hard to keep
00:39:33
together I think sometimes the worst injuries don't even leave a mark the injuries on your heart on your mind we
00:39:41
could never see those on Maria but she told us about them she carried a lot of scars with her from this
00:39:50
relationship Maria's team say the most important witness of trial ended up being Maria herself self and that her
00:39:58
journals showed those scars were healing I want a life that's mine different and
00:40:05
unique A Life That's balanced with every emotion but a happy fulfilling life she was a wonderful
00:40:15
soul and she was a great mother she was just an amazing person and that energy we felt it
00:40:30
[Music] [Music] she disappeared off the face of the earth I started believing she was
00:40:46
murdered the dogs went into the backyard we found a little girl shoot no trace of
00:40:51
her for 22 years and then I got a phone call hey uh Captain he says you sitting down 48 hours Saturday at 109 Central on
00:41:00
[Music] CBS welcome to 48 Hours postmortem where we discuss your biggest questions coming
00:41:21
out of each new 48 Hours episode I'm CBS news anchor and 48 Hours correspondent and Marie green now you've probably just
00:41:29
watched or listened to the journals of Maria Munoz and today I'm joined by longtime 48 Hours correspondent Aon Mori
00:41:37
arti again along with producer Marcy Spencer for an inside look at what it was like to report on this case welcome
00:41:44
Aaron Marcy great to be back hi Amry I'm happy to be here do you always have to put the long time respond that I've been
00:41:52
here a long time yes but then let me point out that this case did stand out to me this is an unusual case and it's
00:42:00
one of those that has just stayed with me so I'm thrilled to talk about this today okay we're going to get into it um
00:42:07
we want to talk about what makes this case unique uh the possible motive the evidence but first a little background
00:42:12
on the case in the early morning hours of September 22nd 2020 Laro Police Officer
00:42:20
gregoria De La Cruz responded to an emergency Call at a home on Canyon Oak Drive d h peot dressed in teal surgical
00:42:30
scrubs was performing CPR on his 31-year-old wife and stay-at-home mom Maria Munoz she was warm she was still
00:42:40
warm to touch Howell a nurse anesthetist had told the 911 operator that he found
00:42:46
his wife unresponsive and that she may have taken pills Kazaam a drug often used to treat
00:42:55
anxiety she's been super depressed Maria who had been prescribed medication was seeking help through the church she was
00:43:04
also writing in journals I don't want to be sad anymore I don't want my heart to
00:43:09
hurt I don't want my mind to be in torture after Maria Munoz died an autopsy was done no pill residue from
00:43:18
Clen aipan was found in her system but a toxicology report would later reveal the
00:43:25
presence of seven other drugs mostly used for surgery Sergeant Louis mat so positive
00:43:33
for morphine Demerol verset propal ketamine lidocaine Naran a team of prosecutors
00:43:45
led by attorney Marisella Jackman was assigned to the case it was enough medication to survive two major
00:43:55
surgeries it was so much was Maria's death a suicide an accident or murder authorities turned to her journals for
00:44:04
help how crucial were those journals very so Aon you've been at this for over 30 years yes you were a longtime
00:44:14
correspondent you should own that but how is this case different from other crimes you've covered well one of the
00:44:20
major things is the weapon if the prosecutors are correct and they believe that she was murdered um the weapon was
00:44:27
unusual a combination of drugs that are normally used in surgeries um I I've never worked on a case where this many
00:44:35
drugs were involved and drugs that we don't get from the pharmacy these are drugs that you would get in a hospital
00:44:44
another thing that was really interesting is that this individual might have gotten away with murder if
00:44:51
not for his colleagues um because Maria's husband told police look she took these pills I found them here and
00:45:00
he was an expert but it was his colleagues who worn police you know what take a deeper dive you know take a look
00:45:09
get a real toxicology screen and that's how they discovered these drugs and not just medications but these medications
00:45:18
that are normally used in surgery the medical examiner did not initially rule this a homicide couldn't because even
00:45:24
though the medical examiner did not think that Maria had taken her own life there was no way of knowing whether she
00:45:31
had taken these medications early on all the medical ismer knew initially was that there was mixed drug intoxication
00:45:39
did not know how she got those drugs in her system so you know that's why it was
00:45:43
a big mystery so let's talk about propop fall uh it's probably most associated with the death of Michael Jackson I've
00:45:50
had propa fall before for a minor medical procedure and it's a very powerful sedative you don't even
00:45:57
remember falling asleep you just remember waking up the average person does not have access to this drug now
00:46:03
there are cases where people use propol and they take their lives with it but in
00:46:09
this case the little needle point for the IV in Maria's arm was in a right arm and she's right-handed that made it less
00:46:15
likely that she did it to herself very unusual it would be very difficult to you know put an IV in your if you're
00:46:22
right-handed to put it in your right arm you think about it that would be really
00:46:26
difficult to do mhm but um if someone else is doing it that might be a little easier now when police first arrive on
00:46:34
the scene they didn't know if they were dealing with a suicide an accidental overdose or if coell was somehow
00:46:41
involved it's a very chaotic scene they see a woman laying on the floor unconscious uh the husband is trying to
00:46:50
give her CPR and um the first officer on the scene noticed that helel peot was wearing scrubs and said this guy can
00:46:59
probably do better CPR than I can and I think ho peo when you think about it thought everybody's just going to take
00:47:06
my word for it she took Bill's end of story but they didn't and the officer on the scene asks what she take where are
00:47:16
the drugs and hoel gets up goes into the bathroom goes into the medicine cabinet
00:47:24
comes back and shows the officer a bottle of pills it's a bottle of pills of claz aam which are prescribed to him
00:47:34
not her and his behavior seemed unusual to investigators is it me or did he just
00:47:39
not seem as upset as you would expect him to be I agree with you amemory but I kept thinking he is a medical
00:47:46
professional so he is used to emergencies so I kept thinking that's not really the part that bothers um
00:47:54
investigators I think it's the fact that normally when there is some kind of Overdose the medication's right there
00:48:00
and it's not in this case hel peot had to go up and get the the bottle of pills that he thought his wife had taken that
00:48:10
was weird that was weird hoell tells the police uh that he's a private man and you know he
00:48:16
doesn't want people to search the home doesn't want anyone searching the home he also told police that he and his wife
00:48:22
had had sex and he took a shower but then we heard from sergeant mat I want to play some of that sound when a common
00:48:30
person showers what's going to be in the bathroom steam condensation the smell of soap or
00:48:37
shampoo that master bedroom shower which is the one that he alleged to use was as
00:48:42
dry as a desert I mean I don't know if he thought this whole thing out I clearly didn't no that would be so
00:48:50
obvious there was another thing that was actually very unusual is that hoel peot
00:48:54
said that he had found his wife in the bed unconscious and when First Responders
00:49:03
arrived her body's in the foer and so anyone who's um had any experience where they've had to
00:49:12
administer CPR you immediately if someone's in a bed you put them on the floor right next to the bed you don't
00:49:19
move them several feet from the bed I mean it's a chaotic scene but they found that
00:49:25
very odd mhm um and you know by the way I had talked about how I didn't think he
00:49:30
was very emotional until I saw his reaction at the police station in the interview room where suddenly he becomes
00:49:38
incredibly emotional and compared to his behavior at the house I just for me as a
00:49:43
viewer I thought something's off here's Sergeant Luis Mata again I could see him
00:49:48
through my camera everything's there is recorded he's hitting walls he's moving furniture
00:49:59
it was scaring some of the people down the hall in the dispatch room so that's how loud it was and I'm sure those
00:50:06
people in the dispatch room have seen a lot of odd behavior in the interview room if it's scaring them it must have
00:50:11
been sort of out of the ordinary even under the circumstances it might have just occurred to him that he didn't
00:50:16
cover his tracks well enough he might have been more upset about himself we don't know what was making him upset
00:50:23
right um during the police interview hoel was asked about a syringe wrapper and a catheter left on the stairs of the
00:50:31
house hoel told the police that they were used for when he took steroids yeah he was enhancing his physique and so yes
00:50:40
he admitted to taking steroids I mean that was actually part of this story he had been very devoted to his wife and
00:50:46
and his first son because this was at a time before his second son was born and then he suddenly changed and that that
00:50:53
included um the use of steroids that's what what most of his friends thought um Hela Maria had an elaborate security
00:51:01
system as well a very elaborate security system um they had cameras everywhere in
00:51:07
this house including cameras in the closets and that footage disappeared really but even though it disappeared it
00:51:17
picked up movement and that was that was important in this investigation too if anybody has a security system they
00:51:24
usually get alerts on their phones if there's Motion in the home and the uh motion sensor was going off between the
00:51:33
upstairs and the garage and this went off several times between the hours of 9:30 at night and
00:51:40
1:32 in the morning which is when hoel po called 911 did hoel have an explanation for that movement it's an
00:51:49
odd thing to do go back and forth between the upstairs and the garage no he did not have any sort of explanation
00:51:57
for that but certainly um that was one of the things that definitely the um law enforcement was very curious about what
00:52:05
did they think getting rid of any evidence you know why wasn't there more why was there
00:52:12
so much movement in the house and why wasn't there more like if in fact she had propol in her system where was that
00:52:19
IV and IV system you know where was it so um you know he was uh and we'll talk talk about that but he was later charged
00:52:28
with um tampering with evidence okay so when we come back we're going to talk about the possible motive and then the
00:52:36
other things that made this case really stand out the all female prosecution welcome back to postmortem
00:52:51
I'm here with correspondent Aaron morard and producer Marcy Spencer so let's talk
00:52:56
about the motive uh hoel was seeing another woman Janet while married to Maria and there was talk of divorce
00:53:03
Janet says Ho had been living with her for 5 months and Maria did confront both of them shortly before her death we
00:53:10
actually saw that video well and to me he had the best of both worlds because he took his his girlfriend on two
00:53:19
European trips and um but then also took Maria on a great trip so it was at that
00:53:26
time the rip for death where I think it seemed that Maria was really becoming serious about okay you're either in or
00:53:32
you're out and I'm going to go for a divorce and prosecutors believe that the motive was the fact that even though
00:53:40
hoel was making a lot of money um he would have to split his assets and uh you know they're two kids and um and he
00:53:48
didn't want to do that unbelievable I want to go back to the propal why did prosecutors think hell
00:53:55
used this drug drug of all the choices why this drug well it's interesting prosecutors believe that um it was a
00:54:03
kind way of killing her and that and it is anyone who's had propal it's uh you know a very gentle way to go into sleep
00:54:12
I think that was probably one of the hardest things to hear um in this case is that it was a kind way of killing her
00:54:20
can we talk about this prosecution team right the made up entirely of women um there's that amazing shot of them
00:54:26
walking down the hall together and they look like this dream team I am Kina riio
00:54:32
my name is Anna Karen Garza my name is Calon we are Maria's team okay I love that they refer to themselves as Maria's
00:54:40
team absolutely it's so funny when we first got the story I started looking at it and I'm like oh my gosh they're all
00:54:49
female prosecutors not only were all the prosecutors women but um their support staff
00:54:57
all women and I said Aaron this is how we're going to do this story we're going to interview all four
00:55:03
of these women well I was worried oh my gosh they no one will have enough time to talk but they were all they work so
00:55:11
well in concert and it actually was a really fun interesting interview but I have to admit Marcy would tell you I did
00:55:19
object when I heard I had four prosecutors to interview um yeah cuz lawyers can can be verose um but what
00:55:26
you get from listening to them all is that this was not just another case for them not just another victim for them it
00:55:34
they I felt like they were doing what I was doing watching the hour which was identifying with Maria I you know I
00:55:41
think many women can think about that one person that one guy that you dated that you wanted to be something that he
00:55:49
wasn't and you were hanging on to hope that he would be nicer as nice as he was when you
00:55:56
first started dating or more committed or and at some point you just go oh he's never going to be that person because he
00:56:03
never was and I felt like those women they connected with Maria in a way that a woman connects with another woman if I
00:56:12
make it any sense you are and they were speaking for her they were absolutely absolutely I think every woman knows
00:56:19
someone like Maria or has met someone like Maria in their life and they did connect with her yeah um Aon you know
00:56:25
you mentioned in the broadcast that the 48 Hours team of course made several interview
00:56:30
requests to speak to Ho's defense team not even to him but at least to the defense team never received a response
00:56:37
meanwhile hoel declined obviously to sit down and have an interview as well it it
00:56:41
was a big disappointment we we definitely wanted to hear because at trial his defense was that he didn't
00:56:48
intend to kill her he admitted that he did inject her he said to calm her down that when he had gone there to have this
00:56:56
heart-to- heart that the two of them planned that she became upset and he calmed her down but that that he
00:57:03
actually tried to save her if you look at the list of drugs there was also Naran there were a lot of questions we
00:57:09
had and unfortunately we didn't get those answers um so the jury was very quick to come back with a verdict right
00:57:16
in this case hoel was found guilty of murdering Maria and tampering with the evidence he was sentenced to life in
00:57:22
prison their two children are now living with hoel's mother yeah so Maria's um sister and Maria's father both live in
00:57:31
Puerto Rico okay and so um yeah I think that custody situation is complicated yeah
00:57:40
that's got to be tough on all of the people involved eron you know you noted at the end um perhaps the most important
00:57:47
witness in the case ended up being Maria herself because of her journals absolutely and you know what how often
00:57:54
do we get to hear the voice of the victim um Maria got a lot of um you know I guess consolation from writing in her
00:58:03
diary her journals and she wrote all the way up to almost till when she died and
00:58:08
so you you heard how sad she was but you also heard hope she was ready to turn the corner and go on and find out who
00:58:18
she was and raise those two kids with or without how well and so and the jury could hear that M and that's one of the
00:58:27
reasons why the medical examiner ruled out uh suicide because of that journal so in the end Maria did if you want to
00:58:36
say I got the last word she did um I want to play a clip from uh district attorney uh Marisella Jackman she's
00:58:43
reading Maria's words I want a life that's mine different and unique A Life That's balanced with every emotion but a
00:58:52
happy fulfilling life so there you go and as you point out um this is part of the reason why the medical examiner said
00:58:58
it's unlikely it's a suicide this is a woman who was looking forward to the future in some way uh Marcy you know you
00:59:06
also kind of felt connected to her absolutely I think that um you know reading her journals you definitely
00:59:14
learn about someone that you've never met before but I will say that um very early on in this story I did dream about
00:59:23
Maria normally I don't dream about someone but she she definitely creeped up in my dreams just cuz I wondered did
00:59:32
you know what was happening did you feel yourself getting drowsy was one of those
00:59:35
things that I think was very haunting about this but there were many other worldly things that happened like what
00:59:43
um my our colleague Iris Carreras who um was very instrumental in this project H
00:59:51
she was out in Laro grabbing a cup of coffee and when she got her coffee she also got
00:59:59
a little cookie and the name Maria was on the cookie H and we thought okay this interesting maybe it's a coincidence but
01:00:11
an interesting sign and actually when they were out shooting um and they were in front of a girlfriend's house Oh's
01:00:17
girlfriend's house the lights were flickering off and on off and on so we talk about it a little bit but we kind
01:00:26
of Wonder and I just wonder with the prosecutors with Aaron with Iris with myself if somehow Mario is sort of
01:00:34
sending this message to all of us tell my story oh you're giving me chills you're
01:00:41
giving me chills wow um it's a heck of a case and you made Maria's voice all the more
01:00:47
prominent in it you really feel like you knew and liked her I thought it was excellent um Aaron Marcy thank you so
01:00:56
much for joining me today thank you thank you for all of you listening be sure to
01:01:02
join us next Tuesday for another postmortem and make sure you watch 48 hours Saturdays 109 Central on CBS and
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