The Murder of Dawn Sandoval
In case you didn’t know from my previous posts, one of my favorite shows on ID is The Murder Tapes. I just prefer a show that shows police interrogations and footage, rather than talking heads. For this case, I watched the latest episode of the series titled ‘The Last Laugh.’
This case is about a woman named Dawn who went missing for several weeks, and left behind a loving family who wanted answers about what happened to her.
Background
Dawn Sandoval
Dawn Sandoval was a 46 year old mother of four from Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She had been married several times, and at the time of her death she was living with her two 13 year old twins, and sometimes with her ex-husband, Michael.
Dawn’s sons, Kevin and Ricky were interviewed and were the main talking heads of this episode. They described Dawn as a “ray of sunshine,” a “spitfire,” and a “go getter.” They also said Dawn was very loving, but gave them tough love because she wanted them to grow up, go to school and be happy in whatever they wanted to do in life.
Dawn and Michael Encinas
The 911 Call
On April 16, 2018 around 8:20pm, Dawn’s sister called the Rio Rancho police and said that she hadn’t heard from her sister. Dawn’s sister also said that Dawn’s kids said she wasn’t home when they came home from school.
The police came to Dawn’s house to talk to her sister and the twin boys. The twins said that their dad, Michael, was at the house on Sunday night and that he might have slept over as well.
The police went to take a look around the house and collected Dawn’s tooth/hair brushes. They were also told by Dawn’s family that her bed was usually messy and that it was “too neat.” They also told the police they were suspicious of only one person, Michael Encinias, her ex-husband.
Investigation
Michael was brought in for questioning. He was asked about his relationship with Dawn, and Michael said they had gotten divorced that year on February 23, but were still working things out. He was then asked if he was with Dawn on that Sunday night like her family said. He said he was, but that he left sometime that night because Dawn said she didn't trust him.
Michael also said Dawn was dating another man named Harold Witt, and that he thought she might have just been with him and wasn’t actually missing.
The next person to be interviewed was Harold. Harold Witt was in law enforcement, and wasn’t actually seen on camera, but his interview with the detectives was heard. Harold said he and Dawn were in a serious relationship, but that she was an amazing person. Harold also said that Dawn was casually dating another man named Lucas.
Harold was ruled out of having anything to do with the disappearance of Dawn.
Next, the police had to interview this other boyfriend, Lucas. His interview was also not on camera, but he was heard being questioned. Lucas was asked how he and Dawn met, and he said they met on Match.com, and their relationship grew from there. He said they were both falling in love, but were both going through divorces so they ended it.
Lucas was also ruled out, which brought them back to Michael.
More Evidence Comes to Light
Throughout the police investigation, it was discovered that Michael was dating a woman named Melissa, who was around 24-25 years old. Shortly before Dawn disappeared, Dawn had called Melissa and got in an argument with her. Melissa had been driving while stoned, with Dawn’s 13 year old twins in the car.
At the time of Dawn’s disappearance, Melissa was in jail, but she was still communicating with Michael. On one of the jail recorded phone calls, Michael had told Melissa to only call him on his work phone and not his regular phone. The police had no idea that Michael had more than one phone, so they obtained a search warrant for both of his phones.
It was discovered that Michael had left in the early morning hours of that Monday morning around 12:30am. He also texted Dawn ‘I love you,’ while he was still at the house. The police found it really strange, so their next step was to try to obtain surveillance footage from Dawn and Michael’s neighborhoods.
They finally found surveillance video of Michael’s truck leaving and entering his neighborhood. He came and went, but one of the videos showed Michael leaving and not coming back until 2:50am, so he was unaccounted for, for several hours. His phone also showed that he left his phone at his house because his GPS said he was still at home, even though they now had evidence that said otherwise.
The Discovery
About 2 weeks after Dawn was reported missing, on May 5, 2018, around 6pm, a 911 call came in from a man saying he found what appeared to be an arm of either an animal or a human.
This was 12 miles outside of Rio Rancho, in Sandoval County, so a police officer named Marcus Ward, went to the scene. He met with the 911 caller, and called his superiors in after finding remains in an embankment.
The Sandoval County PD determined that the remains were human, and they also discovered a purse and keys that the Rio Rancho police reported missing from Dawn Sandoval. The Rio Rancho PD was contacted that they believed the remains to be Dawn’s. Dawn’s family was also contacted.
The Arrest of Michael Encinas
Michael Encinas mugshot
The following day, the police went back to Michael’s house to give him a warrant for his fingerprints and DNA samples. Michael was also brought into the station, while his truck and house were also searched.
Michael was arrested after the police found blood and Dawn’s DNA in his truck. Michael had claimed in his first police interview that Dawn had never been in or used his truck, so they believe he killed her that Sunday night.
In August 2019, Michael was found guilty of second degree murder and one count of tampering with evidence. He was sentenced in November, to 18 years in prison.
The police and Dawn’s family believe that Michael was jealous that Dawn was moving on and wanted him out of her life, so he killed her. Michael was also described as an abuser, and was constantly trying to hurt Dawn. Unfortunately, Dawn’s children heard them fighting that night, but didn’t know it would be the last time they saw their mom.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case is so sad. Dawn was described by every person that she came in contact with as an amazing person, and that she loved her children. She didn’t have the best of luck in relationships and she was finally moving on with her life after an 18 year marriage, and probably 18 years of abuse. Michael Encinas should have gotten a much longer sentence, and I hope he never gets out of prison.
Sources
https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/ex-husband-arrested-for-murder-of-rio-rancho-woman/
https://www.koat.com/article/woman-s-body-found-nearly-one-month-after-reported-missing/20273622
