Did a photograph posted on social media lead to a man's death?
Share this @internewscast.com

Reporter Erin Moriarty and the team at “48 Hours” delve into the mysterious death of a man from California and the legal proceedings involving his former spouse in a rebroadcast of “The Killing of Officer Green,” currently available on Paramount+.

It’s a quintessential act of the digital era, and 31-year-old Daniel Green, being a millennial, embraced it. He was head over heels and wanted his circle to see his joy.

After enduring a rocky marriage and a contentious split, Green had found happiness once more. Enthusiastically, he shared a photo of himself gleaming beside his cheerful new partner. Only days later, his ex-wife Erika Sandoval inundated him with over 100 text messages and phone calls.

Daniel Green's Instagram post

One week after Daniel Green posted this photo featuring his new 20-year-old girlfriend Brenda Vela on Instagram, he was shot dead in his home by his ex-wife. Was the photo the catalyst for the shooting?

Tulare County DA’s Office


And within a week, Sandoval went into Green’s home, ambushed him and shot him dead in his own bathroom. She admitted that to police and at her murder trial.

Police and his family wondered: was the photo a catalyst?

Daniel Green was an Exeter, California, police officer in 2010 when he met and married Erika Sandoval, a 23-year-old aspiring nurse. It was a whirlwind romance that had soaring highs, but also terrible lows when the couple would viciously fight. Daniel’s twin brother Matt Green and their younger sister Misty Gray feared that Daniel was being abused by his wife, both psychologically and physically.  Sandoval had cut up furniture in a rage and could make their tough brother cry, says Matt Green. “It devastated me to hear my brother crying … and to hear the way she was talking to him. It broke my heart.”

I asked Matt Green why his twin brother stayed in the relationship. “As an officer, he would run into women who are abused. Would he not recognize himself in that same situation?” I asked. 

Matt Green replied that he thought that Daniel “probably felt like he had nothing he could do about it. You know, that he was maybe trapped in a cycle.”

green-wedding-hero.jpg

Daniel Green and Erika Sandoval on their wedding day. The couple’s relationship was described as “toxic” by family and friends.

Irma Sandoval


That cycle continued even after the couple divorced.  They would continue to occasionally spend the night together. In the spring of 2012, after Sandoval told friends she was pregnant with Daniel’s child, the couple tried to make another go of it.  They welcomed their son Aiden into the world in January, 2013.  “I don’t have any doubt that the day his son was born was the happiest day of his life,” Daniel’s brother recalls.

Yet, by August of that same year, the relationship once again floundered. Daniel Green confided in friends that he believed Sandoval had cut the brake lines on his motorcycle and that she had once threatened him with his own service weapon.  When Sandoval moved out of the couple’s home for the last time, taking Aiden with her, the battles revolved around custody issues. Nasty and contentious texts were sent on both sides and are now part of the court record.   

In January 2015, they seemed to have ironed out many of their differences and joined the extended family to celebrate Aiden’s second birthday. Daniel Green’s sister Misty thought the couple might even reconcile. “We thought that Daniel and Erika were getting back together.”  Misty was wrong. Daniel had actually met someone new, and shortly after that birthday party, posted the picture that announced the new chapter in his life. Less than a month later, he was shot dead.

An accused woman skips her pedicure, kills her ex-husband

01:28

Erika Sandoval was arrested and charged with his murder. If convicted of first-degree murder, she could face the death penalty. 

At her trial this fall, the prosecution, in their opening statements, presented that posted photo of Daniel and his new girlfriend as the prime motive for murder. Erika Sandoval’s attorney Dan Chambers, however, turned tables on the prosecution and told jurors that Erika was the one who was abused in her marriage, effectively putting the dead police officer on trial.

Chambers introduced audio tapes of the couple’s heated battles, all recorded by Daniel Green. The jury heard Daniel yell profanities and call his ex-wife names. But the most dramatic moment in the trial was when Sandoval herself took the stand and told a story that she had never revealed publicly before: she had gone to her ex-husband’s home to snoop and found photos of child pornography. She snapped and shot him — she told the jury—because she feared he might be abusing their son.  She offered no proof to back up her story, but her attorney hopes that her testimony and those audio tapes will raise doubts in the jurors’ minds.

Erika Sandoval killed Daniel Green. That’s not disputed. The question is why?  Did Sandoval commit the crime to protect her son? Or was she driven by plain jealousy? Attorney Chambers, hoping to save his client’s life, will argue she killed Daniel to protect her son.

Or will the jury believe that a photo of Daniel’s new girlfriend on social media was the last straw for Erika?  After she was arrested, Sandoval admitted to investigators that she was “bothered” that Daniel was seeing someone else. As she was booked, police searched Erika’s purse and discovered a simple yellow Post-it with two notations: the full name and the birth year of the woman in that social media post, Greens’ new younger girlfriend.  

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Aeroflot Airbus A321-211 parked at an airport.

Massive Pro-Ukraine Cyberattack Cripples Putin’s Aeroflot Airline, Disrupting Flights and Plunging IT Systems into Chaos

RUSSIA’S main state airline Aeroflot was crippled by a “massive hack” today,…
Cambodian military truck with rocket launcher driving away.

Thailand and Cambodia Implement Unconditional Ceasefire Following Trump’s Directive After Intense 5-Day Conflict

THAILAND and Cambodia have struck a ceasefire set to begin at midnight…
George Lucas tells Comic-Con crowd his new museum in LA's Exposition Park will be 'a temple to the people's art'

George Lucas Announces LA’s New Museum at Comic-Con as ‘A Temple for People’s Art’

SAN DIEGO — George Lucas made his debut on the Comic-Con stage…

Terrifying Blaze Breaks Out Near Crowded Beach, Forcing Panicked Tourists to Flee as Wildfires Strike Yet Another European Hotspot

THIS is the horror moment beachgoers were surrounded by smoke as a…
Georgia boy, 5, accidentally gunned down by twin brother after mother allegedly left weapon lying around

Georgia Tragedy: 5-Year-Old Boy Fatally Shot by Twin in Mother’s Careless Weapon Mishap

An unfortunate incident occurred in Georgia where a 5-year-old boy was accidentally…
DCPS teacher charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation

DCPS Teacher Faces Felony Charges for Domestic Strangulation

26-year-old Gustavo Guzman was a Terry Parker High School biology teacher and…
Live | Day 2: Jacksonville rapper Ksoo's murder trial continues

Murder Trial of Jacksonville Rapper Ksoo Moves Forward

Jacksonville rapper Hakeem Robinson, known by his stage name Ksoo, is being…
Army ROTC cadet dies during training at Fort Knox

Army ROTC Cadet Passes Away During Training at Fort Knox

An Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadet died during a summer…
Video: Group appears to confront, stop suspect in Michigan Walmart stabbing

Video: Group Allegedly Apprehends Suspect in Michigan Walmart Stabbing

(NEXSTAR) — Intense footage captures the moment when a group of bystanders…
Secret Service thwarts potential threat near Trump's White House grounds with rapid response

Secret Service Swiftly Neutralizes Possible Threat Near Trump’s White House

The U.S. Secret Service announced on Sunday night that they have taken…
'Futurama' cast reunites at San Diego Comic-Con ahead of Hulu season 13 binge drop

‘Futurama’ Cast Gathers at San Diego Comic-Con Before Hulu Releases Season 13

The cast thanks fans, jokes about cancellations, and previews Hulu’s full-season drop…
Mike Johnson backs Ghislaine Maxwell speaking on Epstein

Mike Johnson Supports Ghislaine Maxwell’s Statements About Epstein

On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested it would greatly benefit the…