LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas man is accused of strangling his wife to death after an argument over her plan to return to Cuba with their two-year-old daughter, according to an arrest report.
It was reported on Tuesday in the 4300 block of Esmeralda Avenue, near Sahara and Arville
Roelmer Sanchez-Garrido is facing an open murder charge related to the death, and is being currently held without bail, according to jail records.
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According to the report, he called 911 around 3:04 a.m., saying his wife was not breathing.
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue units arrived at the scene at 3:14 a.m. and found Sanchez-Garrido “pacing in the front yard holding his daughter.”
Paramedics entered the apartment and found Vanesa Rodriguez-Valdes lying on the bedroom floor with a blanket covering her face and body, the report notes.
According to the report, paramedics pronounced Rodriguez-Valdes dead and requested LVMPD detectives respond because the death “did not appear natural”.
LVMPD officers arrived and spoke with Sanchez-Garrido, who admitted to officers that he had an argument with Rodriguez-Valdes over her wanting to take the baby and return to Cuba. According to the report, he was placed under arrest shortly after.
Officers also interviewed neighbors in the area, who said they heard “frequent arguments” from the couple’s home.
One neighbor also shared with police that Rodriguez-Valdes asked them to hold onto her and her daughter’s passports before the incident because “she did not want to lose them or give Sanchez-Garrido access to them”.
Investigators discovered Rodriguez-Valdes secretly recorded Sanchez-Garrido while they argued on April 21 and later shared the messages with neighbors via WhatsApp in case she needed them “as evidence”, according to the report.
One of the neighbors then provided detectives with access to their Ring video surveillance app, investigators say, which showed the couples’ arrival home at 6:18 p.m. and their discussion in the driveway at approximately 7:45 p.m.
The report notes that Sanchez-Garrido was seen on camera leaving through the apartment on separate occasions, but no one else was seen entering or exiting until first responders arrived.
Another neighbor told police that Sanchez-Garrido told them he had done something “very bad” before handing them two small containers of jewelry and asking them to call 911 for him.
According to the report, the neighbor showed him how to dial the number but said he needed to make that call himself.
After his arrest, Sanchez-Garrido told officers while in custody that he was resistant to the idea of returning to Cuba since he could not return for “political reasons” and was worried he may never see his daughter.
According to the report, Sanchez-Garrido also admitted to strangling his wife with one hand until she stopped breathing, and added that he attempted to perform CPR on her until help arrived.
When he was unsuccessful, he told officers he removed a blanket from the couch to cover her body.
The report reads, “Sanchez-Garrido told detectives he did not know Rodriguez-Valdes was going to die.
He said he regretted what he had done and would have to live with it for the rest of his life.”
Sanchez-Garrido is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center.
He is due before a judge again on Monday, May 4.
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