The Murder of Jose Francisco ‘Frank’ Rodriguez
Warning, this case discusses the murder of a child and alleged child abuse.
For this case, I watched an episode of Accident, Suicide, or Murder. It’s season 4 episode 9, titled ‘Mystery in Montebello.’
A wife reports that she found her husband dead in their home.
Background
Jose Francisco ‘Frank’ Rodriguez, known as Frank, grew up in the small town of Lincoln, Illinois. Frank was the oldest of 5 siblings, and after his parents’ divorce, help raised his siblings.
After serving 14 years in the Navy, Frank got a job at Angel Gate Academy in San Luis Obispo, California. He loved helping children get on the right path and loved going to church. He also met his future wife, Angelina at the academy. Angelina and Frank fell for each other fast and got married in April 2000. Angelina also had a daughter from a previous marriage.
Shortly after their wedding, Frank got a job offer to work as a math teacher. Frank, Angelina, and her daughter moved to Montebello, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Frank Rodriguez
Frank and Angelina
The 911 Call
In September 2000, just a few months after their wedding and move, Angelina contacted the police.
Angelina said that Frank had been sick recently and that the doctors believed he had food poisoning. She was told to take Frank home and give him a lot of fluids. Angelina said she discovered Frank dead in the middle of the night.
Frank was found lying face down with a small amount of blood around his nose.
Angelina said she knew Frank was sick but she was shocked that food poisoning could have killed him.
The police didn’t find anything suspicious in the home. Frank didn’t have any sign of injuries on his body. The medical examiner ruled that Frank was in perfect health and hadn’t died of a heart attack. His death was ruled as accidental.
A New Suspect
On September 9, 2000, Angelina told the police that she believed she knew who had killed Frank.
Angelina said that Frank had traveled to Angel Gate Academy 2 days before his death, to work as a chaperon for extra money. Angelina said that a man named Chad Holloway had threatened Frank.
There had been allegations of child abuse against Chad, and according to Angelina, Frank had confronted Chad about it.
On September 15, the police traveled to Angel Gate Academy.
Everyone that was interviewed had only good things to say about Frank. Even Chad had good things to say about him. Chad and Frank had been friends. There was never any proof that Chad had abused any child.
Chad was angry about the allegations against him. He did admit that he made threats and said he would find out who made these allegations and jeopardize his job.
Chad was asked about Frank visiting Angel Gate 2 days before his death. The police learned that Frank visited on a whim and was asked to be a chaperone at the last minute.
Chad was interviewed in this episode. He said he was shocked by Frank’s appearance and that Frank looked very sick. It was clear to the police that something had happened to Frank before he went to Angel Gate Academy.
Chad was cleared as a suspect. This didn’t stop Angelina from continuing to blame the murder on him.
A Possible Murder Weapon
One of Frank’s sisters spoke about Angelina’s behavior in the days after Frank’s death. She said she never saw any emotion from her. She also spoke about a plant called Oleander, and that it could poison someone.
After this, Frank’s family called the police and asked them to look into Oleander. Oleander is described as a beautiful but poisonous plant that often grows on the side of freeways.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department contacted the medical examiner’s office and asked them to run a test to check for Oleander in Frank’s system.
The police again spoke to Angelina about her allegations. Angelina was more concerned with if the police were going to arrest Chad. They befriended her and made her think that they were close to arresting him despite already clearing him.
The police asked Angelina how she thought Chad poisoned Frank. She mentioned it could have been the trees that grew along the freeway. However, she knew to play dumb and never called it by its name.
The police had a view of Angelina’s backyard while they were interviewing her at her house. Her neighbor had an Oleander tree. The tree was tall and hung over into Angelina’s backyard.
Oleander
The Friend
The police interviewed one of Angelina’s friends, Palmira. Angelina told her Palmira that she was already bored in her marriage. They even joked about how they could kill their significant others. Palmira had mentioned Oleander, which piqued Angelina’s interest. Palmira said Angelina had asked her a million questions about it. Palmira said she became suspicious after Frank died.
On September 18, the medical examiner contacted the police about the results of the Oleander test. Oleander was present in Frank’s system at the time of his death. However, they said they didn’t think the amount in his system was enough to cause his death.
Angelina continued to contact the police. In one phone call, she asked what the medical examiner’s findings were. The police didn’t reveal the results to her.
Angelina also asked in her daily phone calls about the life insurance money and when she would receive that.
The police spoke to the life insurance agent. They had made the policy out to $250,000. Angelina contacted the agent just a few hours after Frank was pronounced dead. Angelina was told that she would not receive the money unless a cause of death was determined.
The Mysterious Phone Call
In October, Angelina told the police that she received an anonymous tip, and again mentioned Chad Holloway. Angelina said that this anonymous person told her to ask about antifreeze.
The police searched Angelina’s phone records. There was no phone call anywhere close to when she said she received it.
The police again contacted the medical examiner. This time they asked for them to run a test for antifreeze.
In January 2001, the medical examiner revealed that Frank had antifreeze in his system. The amount in his system was enough to kill him. Frank’s death was ruled as a homicide.
The police interviewed Palmira again, this time she was with her mother. Palmira told them that her boyfriend had been the one who gave Angelina the idea to use antifreeze.
The police now believed that Angelina switched to antifreeze after the Oleander only made Frank sick.
The Arrest
There was still not enough evidence against Angelina. The police needed a confession.
The police again met with Chad in San Luis Obispo. They told him that Angelina had been the one who made the murder allegations against him. They asked him if he would contact Angelina while they were listening on the other end. Chad agreed immediately.
When Chad contacted her, Angelina didn’t want to talk to him. She asked him how he got her phone number and that she shouldn’t be speaking to him. She hung up and called the police about 30 seconds later.
Angelina told the police that Chad threatened her. They knew that she was lying as they had been listening to the phone call.
In February 2001, the police met with Angelina and told her that Chad couldn’t have killed Frank.
They asked her if she had poisoned Frank. She said no and that she loved him.
Angelina was finally arrested. In the video, it was clear that she was attempting to cry and look like she was upset.
The Hit
While Angelina was awaiting trial, she came up with a plan to have her friend, Palmira killed.
In Angelina’s mind, Palmira’s statement to the police about the poison was the most damning statement against her.
Angelina asked the woman in the cell next to her, whom she believed was a hardened criminal to kill Palmira. This woman agreed to wear a wire. In the recording, Angelina spoke about wanting to make it look like a robbery gone bad or that the boyfriend did it.
The police met with Palmira and told her about Angelina’s plans. They asked if she would be willing to fake her death. She agreed. The police used stage makeup on Palmira and took photos of what looked like a gruesome murder scene.
An undercover cop posing as a hitman visited Angelina in jail. He had photos of the scene. Angelina claimed she was only kidding but then said she hoped she would now be able to go home since Palmira was dead.
Another Victim?
In 2003, Angelina went on trial for Frank’s murder.
Angelina was found guilty of murder with special circumstances, murder for financial gain, and attempt to dissuade a witness. She was found not guilty of solicitation to murder.
Angelina’s daughter testified that Frank had special Gatorade in their home. Angelina would ask her daughter to bring Frank his Gatorade.
It was revealed that Angelina also had a 2nd daughter, Alicia, from a previous relationship. Her daughter passed away in 1993. Her death was ruled as an accidental death. A pacifier had lodged in her throat. There were tears found on the pacifier so it’s believed that Angelina tore the pacifier and gave it to her daughter.
Before her daughter’s death, Angelina had purchased a $50,000 life insurance policy on her daughter. Angelina also received a settlement from the Gerber.
There were no charges filed against Angelina for the alleged murder of her daughter.
On January 12, 2004, Angelina was sentenced to death.
Angelina’s mugshot
FINAL THOUGHTS
Angelina truly dug her own grave. She didn’t know how to shut up and she talked her way into prison. I think Palmira would have helped since she knew about the Oleander and antifreeze, but Angelina was the one who first mentioned it. Angelina is clearly a horrible person and would try to take out anyone who stood in her way. She not only took Frank’s life but tried to ruin Palmira and Chad’s lives. She also didn’t give a shit about her daughters and one of them is dead as well.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Rodriguez
