Murder of Jaime Melgar

Murder of Jaime Melgar
Location	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Date	December 23, 2012 (2012-12-23)
Attack type	Homicide by blunt trauma and multiple stab wounds
Victim	Jaime Estuardo Melgar
Perpetrator	Sandra Jean Melgar
Motive	Unknown
Verdict	Guilty
Convictions	First-degree murder
Sentence	27 years in prison

On December 23, 2012, Jaime Estuardo Melgar (born August 10, 1960) was found bound and stabbed to death in his home in Houston, Texas. His wife, Sandra Jean Melgar (born 1959), was also found bound but alive in the house. She was eventually charged and convicted for his murder.

Sandra's conviction drew scrutiny due to the lack of a clear motive or physical evidence in the case. The Innocence Project of Texas later took up her case.

Background

Jaime and Sandra met at Lamar High School and married on December 12, 1980. Jaime pursued a career as an IT specialist while Sandra became a nurse. They joined Jehovah's Witnesses and had a daughter, Elizabeth (born 1987/1988).

Sandra suffered from lupus, epilepsy, hypothyroidism, and had hip replacements. Family friends reported that they had noticed Jaime becoming Sandra's caretaker over the years.

Timeline

December 22

Sandra recalled that she and Jaime ate at a restaurant on the evening of December 22 to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary, continuing at home in their Jacuzzi. Sandra said they later heard their dogs barking in the backyard, so Jaime went to let them in. Sandra noted that Jaime was taking a long time, and thus went to her closet to get changed. She reported that her next memory was waking up bound in the closet.

December 23

On December 23, Jaime's brother Herman and his family arrived at the Melgars' home at 4:30 pm for a planned dinner. When their door knocks got no response, Herman noticed the garage door was partially open and used it to go into the house to unlock the front door for his family. They called for Jaime and Sandra, but got no response.

Herman then heard Sandra's calls for help, and rushed to the master bathroom, where he found a chair blocking the door. After moving it and opening the door, he found Sandra inside, bruised on her arms and with her arms and legs tied up. He struggled to untie her, eventually cutting her loose with a pair of scissors.

Jaime was then found nude with his feet bound with a telephone cord, and stabbed to death in a closet in the master bedroom less than 20 feet away from where Sandra was found. When paramedics arrived, they reported that Sandra "remained in a state of shock and had periods of crying" and "had no sense of time". Jaime was found to have sustained 31 stab wounds to his hands and chest; a medical examiner determined that they were all defensive wounds.

Investigation

Police noted that Sandra had bruises and cuts on her arms and hands, but no blood. She was interrogated by detectives Shawn Carrizal and James Dousay for three hours afterwards. They became suspicious of her due to her foggy memory, furtive demeanor, and lack of emotion.

Drawers in the bedroom appeared ransacked, with items strewn across the floor. A chef's knife later determined to be the murder weapon was found in the Jacuzzi. Two days after the murder, Elizabeth informed police that various household items, including a TV and some of Sandra's medicine bottles, had gone missing. She also stated that she found a strange backpack in the garage that did not belong to them, containing a gaming system and jewels from the household. The police did not follow up on this matter.

Legal proceedings

In July 2014, Sandra was indicted for Jaime's murder, with the case going to trial in August 2017. The prosecution, led by Colleen Barnett, argued that Sandra had premeditated the murder, luring Jaime to their bedroom before stabbing him to death and staging the scene to resemble a home invasion. Among her proposed motives were a $250,000 life insurance policy and the idea that Sandra wanted a divorce, which would have been prohibited by her faith. Sandra was represented by George "Mac" Secrest. He argued that detectives were biased, also highlighting the lack of physical evidence linking Sandra to the murder, and instead suggested that the Melgars were the victims of a burglary gone wrong.

The trial lasted for 13 days, ending with Sandra being convicted for Jaime's murder. She was sentenced to 27 years in prison by the jury, which in Texas is responsible for determining the sentence length in most criminal cases. She was initially imprisoned at William P. Hobby Unit near Marlin, Texas before being moved to Carole Young Medical Facility in Dickinson, Texas due to her medical issues. She is eligible for parole in February 2031.

Aftermath

In June 2021, Sandra appealed her conviction on the basis of insufficient evidence, but her appeal was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Elizabeth has maintained her mother's innocence.

The case attracted the attention of podcaster Bob Ruff and wrongful conviction attorney Kathleen Zellner, both of whom have scrutinized Sandra's conviction, highlighting her smaller size and medical issues, as well as the lack of a clear motive and physical evidence, created reasonable doubt as to her guilt.