Norman Murder Suspect, Accused Of Killing & Hiding Relative In Basement, Denied Bond

A Cleveland County judge denied Desiree Sanchez of Norman bond as she awaits trial for the murder of Margarita Sandoval, her sister-in-law.  

Sanchez and her husband, Octavio Sanchez, are accused of killing Sandoval and hiding her body in a basement for years as they collected $30,912 in federal disability assistance checks meant for Margarita. Both are charged with first-degree murder.  

Octavio and Desiree “were happy to defraud the government,” Cleveland County prosecutor Patrick Crowe said in Tuesday’s bond hearing. “They were able to keep this under wraps for several years.”  

Cleveland County Judge Lori Puckett granted the state’s request to deny Desiree Sanchez pre-trial release. She will remain in the Cleveland County jail until trial.  

An attorney for Desiree Sanchez declined to comment after the hearing.  

Isabel Sanchez is the sibling of both Sandoval and Octavio Sanchez. She told News 9 after the hearing that she never expected to wish life in prison upon a relative.  

“I grew up with Octavio, so I feel like I lost two family members,” she said.  

Octavio is in custody at the Grady County Jail on federal fraud charges related to the stolen social security checks.  

Prosecutors accused a third suspect in connection with Sandoval’s death. Miguel Munoz is charged with accessory to murder for allegedly helping move Sandoval’s body into his basement on W. Lindsey St, where it was ultimately discovered in May 2021.  

During an interview with Norman police, Munoz recalled a conversation i with Octavio Sanchez in 2019, prior to moving the body. Munoz told police that Sanchez described the killing by saying, “Desiree started it and I had to finish it.”  

What exactly caused Sandoval’s death remains a mystery to investigators because of the extent of decomposition of the body.  

The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner was unable to determine a cause of death but ruled it as a homicide “after review of the autopsy findings and available investigative information,” according to the autopsy report.  

Norman police detective Jonathan Jackson said conversation between Octavio and Desiree point to their guilt.  

Sandoval moved in with Octavio and Desiree Sanchez in January 2018, according to Jackson. The last known sighting of Sandoval was in February 2018, when she called Norman police to report abuse. The responding officer found minor injuries on Sandoval’s face and arms, Jackson said.  

“They did something to her. I just don’t know exactly what they did,” Jackson testified, adding that he believed Sandoval died in early April 2018.  

Jackson said text and social media messages between the suspects show Octavio and Desiree referred to “the trash” numerous times, and later said they both felt “haunted” by Sandoval.  

“Desiree told Octavio that Margarita knows what she did and that is why she is haunting them,” police wrote in a probable cause affidavit.  

“I’ve never done a case like this,” Jackson testified.