The death of Vanesa Rodrigues-Valdes followed days of conflict over travel, passports and the couple’s 2-year-old daughter.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A family dispute over Cuba, work and a toddler’s future ended with a woman dead on the floor of a central Las Vegas home and her husband charged with open murder, police said.
The death of Vanesa Rodrigues-Valdes is being investigated as a domestic homicide after police said her husband, 38-year-old Roelmer Sanchez-Garrido, admitted grabbing her by the throat during an argument. Investigators said the couple had been fighting about whether Rodrigues-Valdes would take their 2-year-old daughter back to Cuba or whether the family would remain in the United States. The case has drawn attention because police say the argument included passports, an attempted call for help and the child’s presence outside the home when paramedics arrived.
The central question in the couple’s conflict was where their daughter would grow up. A neighbor told investigators Rodrigues-Valdes wanted to return to Cuba and raise the child there. Sanchez-Garrido, according to the same account, wanted to stay in the United States so he could work and make more money for the family. Police said Rodrigues-Valdes asked that neighbor earlier on April 28 to help hide the family’s passports so Sanchez-Garrido could not access them. The passport request suggested the dispute had reached a point where each parent was acting on different plans for the child’s future.
That family conflict had shown signs of deepening before the fatal morning. A neighbor told police that Rodrigues-Valdes had secretly recorded Sanchez-Garrido during an argument on April 21 and said she wanted to end the relationship. Authorities have not released the recording or described its full contents. They also have not said whether the couple had any court order, custody filing or pending separation case before the killing. What police have described instead is a household argument that moved through several stages, from recorded conflict to hidden passports to a physical confrontation inside the Esmeralda Avenue home.
Shortly after 3 a.m., Sanchez-Garrido called 911 and asked for medical help, saying his wife was injured, according to the arrest report. He later told dispatchers she was not breathing. Las Vegas Fire and Rescue paramedics found him outside in the front yard, walking back and forth with the couple’s daughter. Inside the home, they found Rodrigues-Valdes lying on the floor, covered by a blanket. After removing it, they saw early signs of rigor mortis and bruises on her face and neck. She was pronounced dead at 3:17 a.m., and paramedics called police because the death did not appear natural.
An officer at the scene spoke with Sanchez-Garrido and noted the marks on Rodrigues-Valdes’ neck. Police said Sanchez-Garrido told the officer the couple had argued about Rodrigues-Valdes taking their daughter back to Cuba and said that during the fight “something bad happened.” Lt. Robert Price of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department later said the preliminary investigation showed the argument became physical and led to the woman’s death. The department identified Sanchez-Garrido as Rodrigues-Valdes’ husband and said homicide detectives responded after patrol officers took him into custody.
Police said Sanchez-Garrido gave a fuller account during questioning at department headquarters. He told detectives Rodrigues-Valdes said she was leaving while their daughter slept. During the argument, he allegedly said, he grew upset, grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. He told police he did not remember what happened after that, then saw that Rodrigues-Valdes had stopped breathing and fallen. He said he tried CPR but could not revive her. Detectives said he also told them he covered her body with a blanket from the couch so the child would not see what had happened.
Another neighbor’s account placed Sanchez-Garrido outside before the 911 call. The neighbor told police he woke around 2 a.m. to someone banging on his window and saw Sanchez-Garrido outside a security gate. The neighbor did not open the gate, but Sanchez-Garrido handed him two containers of jewelry and phone numbers for two family members, police said. The neighbor told investigators Sanchez-Garrido said he had done something “very bad” and asked him to call 911. Investigators also received access to Ring or exterior video from that neighbor’s home and were told it showed Sanchez-Garrido there twice that morning.
The charge filed against Sanchez-Garrido is open murder, a Nevada count that allows the degree of murder to be determined later as facts are developed. He appeared in court after his arrest, where a judge found probable cause and ordered him held without bail. Telemundo Las Vegas reported that he used a Spanish interpreter during the proceeding. The court set a later appearance for May 4. Prosecutors are expected to rely on the autopsy, neighbor statements, video, the 911 call and Sanchez-Garrido’s reported interview as the case moves through Clark County Justice Court.
The death also left unanswered questions about the family’s last days together. Police have not said whether Rodrigues-Valdes had contacted authorities before the killing, whether any relatives had been involved in the dispute over Cuba or whether the couple had bought tickets or made formal travel plans. Authorities have not publicly released a detailed update on the daughter, beyond saying she was with Sanchez-Garrido outside the home when paramedics arrived. The Clark County coroner was expected to provide the official cause and manner of death, while police continued to describe the case as a domestic dispute that turned fatal.
For now, Sanchez-Garrido remains the only publicly named suspect. The case now turns on court filings, coroner findings and whether prosecutors present additional evidence about the passport dispute, the recorded argument and the early morning timeline.
Author note: Last updated May 22, 2026.