Court documents say the pair discussed pills, a taxi and a remote mountain area before Manuel Juan Sanchez was found dead.
PARK CITY, Utah — Text messages between a Midvale woman and her boyfriend are at the center of murder charges filed after her husband was found dead beside a rural Summit County road.
Prosecutors charged Reina Chavez Sandobal, 41, and Francisco Santos Morales, 31, with first-degree murder in the death of Manuel Juan Sanchez, 46. The April 9 charges came after investigators said messages, camera footage, an autopsy and a search of Sandobal’s apartment showed the couple planned the killing for about a week. Both defendants also face obstruction, abuse or desecration of a dead body and domestic violence in the presence of children charges. They remain held without bail.
The messages cited in court documents begin before Sanchez was dead, according to investigators. On the morning of March 25, Sandobal allegedly visited a webpage for Tylenol PM Extra Strength. That evening, Santos Morales messaged her about a taxi and asked whether Sanchez would drink it, a phrase investigators connected to a juice drink. Sandobal replied that Sanchez was already drinking it. A short time later, Santos Morales pressed her on whether she was sure. Sandobal wrote that the situation would be quick. He warned that he was risking everything. She answered that she knew. The documents say Sandobal later told investigators she put six Tylenol capsules in Sanchez’s drink before the killing.
As the evening went on, the texts moved from whether Sanchez was drinking to where his body might be left. Santos Morales asked whether Sandobal knew a place in the mountains that was far away. Sandobal said she did not know the area but they could search online. The pair discussed whether a mountain, lake or river would be better. Santos Morales chose the mountain, according to court papers. A later message showed the emotional pitch of the alleged plan. Sandobal wrote that Santos Morales was now her husband. He responded that Sanchez had been her husband. Sandobal replied that Sanchez was her husband but not anymore, according to prosecutors.
The messages also show suspicion between the two before the arrests that would later split their stories. Santos Morales asked Sandobal whether she was going to blame him. Prosecutors say she answered with a message about feeling free and at peace. Santos Morales replied that he was doing it all for her. By around 10 p.m., Sandobal allegedly told him Sanchez was asleep and snoring. She sent an image file and audio files, according to the filings. Santos Morales later texted that a taxi had arrived and that he was on the way. Near 11:21 p.m., he said he was outside. The text record then ended, and investigators say video evidence begins filling in the timeline.
Security footage from Sandobal’s apartment complex allegedly showed Sandobal and Santos Morales carrying what appeared to be Sanchez’s lifeless body from the apartment to a maroon Honda Civic beginning around 1:04 a.m. March 26. Prosecutors say Sanchez was killed in the apartment he shared with Sandobal in Midvale. A camera near Browns Canyon Road and High View Road in Summit County later showed a vehicle stop for about seven minutes around 2:22 a.m. The video appeared to show people removing a body from the car. Deputies stopped Sandobal near Kimball Junction shortly before 3 a.m. for a minor traffic violation, according to investigators. By about 4 a.m., a license plate reader recorded the Honda near Midvale.
Deputies found Sanchez’s body around 2 p.m. March 26 after a report of human remains covered in blood near Browns Canyon. Investigators said evidence at the scene suggested he was dragged and abandoned. A preliminary autopsy found blunt force trauma to the skull and brain, and officials classified the death as a homicide. At first, authorities did not publicly name Sanchez. Later, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office identified him as Manuel Juan Sanchez, 46, and said he had been left on High View Road. The body scene confirmed the end of the alleged route described by the messages and camera footage, but it did not by itself settle who struck Sanchez.
Sandobal was arrested April 1 after detectives contacted Sanchez’s relatives in North Carolina. The family told investigators that Sandobal had called and said Sanchez was fine and they should not worry about him. When relatives said detectives had already told them Sanchez was dead, Sandobal allegedly hung up. During an interview, Sandobal claimed Santos Morales came to her home and struck Sanchez while he was asleep. She allegedly said she and Santos Morales then loaded Sanchez’s body into the Honda and dumped him in Browns Canyon. Sandobal also told investigators where to find a hammer and a blood-soaked blanket in the apartment, according to court records.
Santos Morales was arrested April 3 at his Layton home after the sheriff’s office asked the public for help finding him. His account shifted blame back to Sandobal. He told deputies she struck Sanchez and asked him to help dispose of the body, according to charging documents. He allegedly admitted he cleaned a blood-stained hammer in the bathtub and helped hide the body. He also allegedly described putting clothing on Sanchez to cover wounds. The hammer was found in a laundry basket, and the blanket was found in a closet, investigators said. The court filings leave one major point unresolved in the suspects’ statements, which one of them delivered the fatal blows.
The murder charge does not require prosecutors to rely only on a confession. The state’s theory, as described in the filings, appears to rest on planning, shared action and shared concealment. Prosecutors say Sandobal and Santos Morales discussed drugging Sanchez, bringing Santos Morales to the apartment, finding a remote place and moving the body. The domestic violence in the presence of children counts stem from allegations that Sandobal’s three children were in the apartment at the time. The filings do not say what the children witnessed. The case also raises questions about whether prosecutors will argue both defendants are legally responsible for murder even if jurors cannot determine which person struck the fatal blow.
The defendants made their first appearances after the charges were filed, and the case is expected to move through evidence exchange and further hearings in 3rd District Court. Both are presumed innocent unless convicted. Their attorneys may challenge the meaning of the messages, the reliability of the statements and the use of video evidence. Prosecutors are expected to rely on the sequence they say is shown across phones, cameras, medical findings and recovered items. No public report reviewed for this story listed a trial date.
As of April 29, the text messages remain the clearest public window into the state’s case. They begin with questions about a drink and a taxi, move toward a remote place in the mountains and end before video allegedly shows a body being carried to a car.
Author note: Last updated April 29, 2026.