CLEVELAND COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) - A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2018 murder of his half-sister.
Octavio Sanchez and his wife, Desiree Fransen/Sanchez, were accused of murdering Octavio’s half-sister, 19-year-old Margarita Sandoval, then continuing to collect her social security checks for years after.
Investigators said Sandoval had cognitive disabilities. The 19-year-old’s family stopped hearing from her in early 2018 after she moved in with the Sanchezes.
Her body was discovered inside a tote, wrapped up in tape, plastic wrap, and rope in the basement of a home on W. Lindsey St. in May 2021 after the Norman Police Department received an out-of-state tip.
According to court records, investigators found Facebook messages between Desiree and Octavio Sanchez about “moving the body around the house due to the smell,” and say Octavio Sanchez told someone “Desiree started it and I had to finish it.”
Testimony also revealed the Sanchezes had one of their children help wrap the tote at one point, telling them they were wrapping a present.
Federal prosecutors said the couple took $30,912 in benefits for their own personal use, plus $3,200 from economic impact payments in Sandoval’s name, before her body was discovered.
Desiree was sentenced in June 2023 to 36 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit a crime against the United States and aggravated identity theft in January 2023.
Octavio was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to the same crimes.
Octavio was also sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm in December 2022.
Desiree was found guilty of Murder in the First Degree and Unlawful Removal of Dead Body in November 2023 and sentenced to life in prison Jan. 11, 2024.
On Monday, May 13, the Cleveland County District Attorney announced that Octavio has been sentenced to life in prison for Manslaughter and Unlawful Removal of a Dead Body with a $10,000 fine.
“He [Octavio] sentenced Maggie to life in that box, so he should have to serve the same,” says First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Austin in the sentencing hearing. “Mr. Sanchez has had a long life of crime in multiple states and his life of crimes should end today.”
“We want to express our gratitude for the Norman Police Department Detectives Jackson and Robertson for their dedication and fervor to seeking justice for Maggie,” says District Attorney Greg Mashburn. “The court cases alone have lasted two years, but we know that the beginning of their detective work began long before that. We are proud to have been the voice for Maggie who was unable to speak for herself and to see justice for her today.”
