In this episode, we cover Sandy Melgar’s trial and how the prosecution says she committed a seemingly impossible crime. The videos mentioned in the episode are linked below.

Sources:

KHOU 11. “Watch: Could Sandra Melgar Have Locked Herself in the Closet?” YouTube, 29 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-5ZUfLJqoU.

KHOU 11. “Missing Pieces: What Does the Blood Evidence in the Melgar’s House Show?” YouTube, 30 Nov. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=waZKIHDrlLY.

KHOU 11. “Could Sandra Melgar Have Tied Herself up the Night Her Husband Died?” YouTube, 30 Nov. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1XwozdhMLo.

KHOU 11. “Court Denies Sandra Melgar’s Appeal, Upholding Murder Conviction.” YouTube, 8 Jan. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF-OWy_ZuxQ.

Sandy Interrogation Transcript

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZzwNC6e83sNtxe1oeqZYWESnLC-K50j_/view

Matt Orchard - Crime and Society. “The Curious Case of Sandy Melgar.” YouTube, 25 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrCHj-LNjYQ.

True Crime Recaps. “Was Sandra Melgar Wrongly Convicted? | True Crime Recaps.” YouTube, 21 Aug. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=78QG2QPV_OE.

“Sandra Melgar - Innocence Project of Texas.” Innocence Project of Texas, 20 Dec. 2022, innocencetexas.org/cases/sandra-melgar.

“Sandra Jean Melgar V. The State of Texas Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Opinion).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/fourteenth-court-of-appeals/2020/14-17-00932-cr.html.

“MELGAR, SANDRA JEAN Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Original per Curiam).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2022/pd-0243-20.html.

Paparella, Andrew, et al. “Amateur Sleuths Take on Case of Woman in Prison for Stabbing, Bludgeoning Husband to Death: ‘There Were No Bones Behind’ Conviction.” Good Morning America, 23 Aug. 2019, www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/amateur-sleuths-case-woman-prison-stabbing-bludgeoning-husband-59477363.

Vanapalli, Viswa. “Sandra Melgar: Where Is the Convicted Killer Now?” The Cinemaholic, 16 Dec. 2023, thecinemaholic.com/where-is-sandra-melgar-now.

Pelisek, Christine. “A Daughter'S Outrage After Mom Is Convicted of Murdering Dad in Staged Home Invasion: Why She Says the Verdict Is Wrong.” Peoplemag, 7 Sept. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-murder-verdict-daughter-says-is-wrong.

“Texas Woman Convicted of Murder After Prosecutors Say She Killed Husband Then Staged a Home Invasion.” Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-guilty-husband-murder-fake-home-invasion.

FreeSandyMelgar. “The Wrongful Conviction of Sandra Melgar.” FreeSandyMelgar, www.freesandymelgar.com/the-melgar-murder-case.

Palin, Megan. “Woman Staged Home Invasion and Locked Herself in Closet After Brutally Murdering Her Husband.” NZ Herald, 22 Sept. 2020, www.nzherald.co.nz/world/woman-staged-home-invasion-and-locked-herself-in-closet-after-brutally-murdering-her-husband/JNHGGBRTYZGQCZY5HMXYDD6XJM.

The Houston police are faced with a bizarre murder case that reads like a riddle. A man is beaten and stabbed to death in his own home, while his wife is found barricaded in a closet, bound by her ankles and wrists, with no memory of what happened. There is no evidence of anyone else being in the house. Is it possible that the wife, who walked with a cane and was chronically ill, could have overpowered her husband, barricaded herself into a room from the opposite side of the door, and tied herself up? Or was there a stranger in the house that night?

Sources:

Sandy Interrogation Transcript

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZzwNC6e83sNtxe1oeqZYWESnLC-K50j_/view

Matt Orchard - Crime and Society. “The Curious Case of Sandy Melgar.” YouTube, 25 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrCHj-LNjYQ.

True Crime Recaps. “Was Sandra Melgar Wrongly Convicted? | True Crime Recaps.” YouTube, 21 Aug. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=78QG2QPV_OE.

“Sandra Melgar - Innocence Project of Texas.” Innocence Project of Texas, 20 Dec. 2022, innocencetexas.org/cases/sandra-melgar.

“Sandra Jean Melgar V. The State of Texas Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Opinion).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/fourteenth-court-of-appeals/2020/14-17-00932-cr.html.

“MELGAR, SANDRA JEAN Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Original per Curiam).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2022/pd-0243-20.html.

Paparella, Andrew, et al. “Amateur Sleuths Take on Case of Woman in Prison for Stabbing, Bludgeoning Husband to Death: ‘There Were No Bones Behind’ Conviction.” Good Morning America, 23 Aug. 2019, www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/amateur-sleuths-case-woman-prison-stabbing-bludgeoning-husband-59477363.

Vanapalli, Viswa. “Sandra Melgar: Where Is the Convicted Killer Now?” The Cinemaholic, 16 Dec. 2023, thecinemaholic.com/where-is-sandra-melgar-now.

Pelisek, Christine. “A Daughter'S Outrage After Mom Is Convicted of Murdering Dad in Staged Home Invasion: Why She Says the Verdict Is Wrong.” Peoplemag, 7 Sept. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-murder-verdict-daughter-says-is-wrong.

“Texas Woman Convicted of Murder After Prosecutors Say She Killed Husband Then Staged a Home Invasion.” Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-guilty-husband-murder-fake-home-invasion.

FreeSandyMelgar. “The Wrongful Conviction of Sandra Melgar.” FreeSandyMelgar, www.freesandymelgar.com/the-melgar-murder-case.

Palin, Megan. “Woman Staged Home Invasion and Locked Herself in Closet After Brutally Murdering Her Husband.” NZ Herald, 22 Sept. 2020, www.nzherald.co.nz/world/woman-staged-home-invasion-and-locked-herself-in-closet-after-brutally-murdering-her-husband/JNHGGBRTYZGQCZY5HMXYDD6XJM.

When two beloved professors are brutally murdered in their own home, rumors of an affair emerge, but is a jealous lover really the murderer?

Sources:

Francis, Eric. The Dartmouth Murders. Macmillan, 2002.

Lehr, Dick, and Mitchell Zuckoff. Judgment Ridge. Harper Collins, 6 Oct. 2009.

“Robert Tulloch: Formative Years.” Times Argus, 17 Oct. 2018, https://www.timesargus.com/news/robert-tulloch-formative-years/article_142305f9-4fa8-5f48-9307-92c44202dfd8.html.

Fox Butterfield. (2002, April 5). Teenagers Are Sentenced For Killing Two Professors. TimesMachine. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/2002/04/05/405078.html?pageNumber=15

ABC News. (2006, January 7). Neighbors Aid Dartmouth Slay Suspects’ Families. https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93859&page=1

Mehren, E. (2019, March 1). 2 Fugitive Teens Arrested in Professors’ Killings. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-20-mn-27781-story.html

Maddi, T. (2022, February 27). Ivy League Murders. Criminal Discourse Podcast. https://criminaldiscoursepodcast.com/ivy-league-murders/

Giaccone, J. (2021b, December 24). Dark Passenger - See It Now. Medium. https://medium.com/see-it-now/dark-passenger-da546ad1d161

Paciorek, A. (2012, November 10). Dartmouth murder suspects apprehended in Indiana. Yale Daily News. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2001/02/20/dartmouth-murder-suspects-apprehended-in-indiana

Mooney, B. K. S. (2012, February 2). Teen Suspects In Dartmouth Killings Found / Hunt ends at Indiana truck stop -- pair to face murder charges. SFGATE. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Teen-Suspects-In-Dartmouth-Killings-Found-Hunt-2950179.php

Glennie, R. B. (2022, May 3). The Flowers of Evil. Anatomy of Culture. http://anatomyofculture.blogspot.com/2010/02/flowers-of-evil.html

Steve Zind. (2006, January 27). Loss still deeply felt on anniversary of murder. VPR. https://archive.vpr.org/vpr-news/loss-still-deeply-felt-on-anniversary-of-murder/

(2021, January 28). The Dartmouth Murders Twenty Years Later. The Dartmouth Review. https://dartreview.com/the-dartmouth-murders-twenty-years-later/