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On March 22, 2010, a group of hikers discovered Angela Sanford, a 30-year-old woman, near the Cooper Trailhead outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. Angela was only wearing her personal garments and socks, claiming that she had been s*xually assaulted.
The police were immediately called, and when authorities arrived at the crime scene, Angela informed them that the culprit was further up in the trail. When investigators from Albuquerque Police examined the crime scene, they found the body of a man in a kneeling position. The man, whom Angela identified as the attacker, had been stabbed multiple times to death.
The complete investigation into Angela's case is documented in Snapped Season 35, Episode 5. The episode titled Angela Sanford was aired on August 1, 2025, on Oxygen.
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What happened in the Angela Sanford case?
As reported by Oxygen, when investigators scrutinized the crime scene, where the body of Joel Leyva was discovered, they found a knife that was identified as a ceremonial dagger. There were inscriptions throughout the victim's body, which appeared to resemble Egyptian Markings.
Using the driving licence found at the scene, the body was identified as that of a 52-year-old man named Joel Leyva. As reported by Find A Grave, Leyva was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. When Angela Sanford was questioned, she claimed that Leyva had been killed in an act of self-defense. However, the violent nature of the murder raised suspicions about Angela's account.
Soon, Angela Sanford was brought in for interrogation, where she admitted that she had previously known Joel Leyva, and the attack was not random. Angela revealed that a few days before the murder, she met Leyva at a local casino and invited him to go on a hike with her.
Authorities investigated the claims of Angela Sanford.
As reported by Oxygen, authorities discovered that Angela Sanford practiced a Pagan religion named Wicca. During the interrogation, Sanford revealed that she had invited the victim, Joel Leyva, to assist her in celebrating a holiday called Beltane.
When authorities began interrogating Angela's friends, it was revealed that she began to show interest in the Wicca religion when she was 19. Angela's therapist, Anjoli Feed, revealed that the Snapped subject would often talk about vampires and supernatural beings.
As reported by Oxygen, investigators found that Angela displayed an early interest in serial killers, often admiring the notoriety they gained from their crimes. During the interrogation, Angela Sanford claimed that Leyva removed her ceremonial rope and tried to tie her hands. Sanford said that this is when she grabbed the knife and stabbed Leyva three to four times before running away.
However, when Leyva's body was sent for autopsy, it was revealed that he had been stabbed over 20 times. To authenticate Angela's claims, a s*xual assault examination was done on her, but the result came back negative.
As reported by Oxygen, the results revealed that she didn't have any evidence of s*xual violence on her. Police stated that she was not at all attacked. Moreover, Angela did not suffer any kind of injuries, except for some scratches on her knee. In search of more evidence, investigators questioned the hikers, who first found Angela.
The witnesses revealed that they helped Angela find her clothes and discovered them folded neatly in a pile. Authorities also discovered that the Beltane holiday occurs in May, and not in March, further casting doubt on Angela Sanford’s story.
As reported by Oxygen, when investigators searched Angela's phone, it was discovered that she was the first one to contact Joel Leyva. Moreover, his name was saved in her phone as 'Sacrifice'. Soon, authorities learned that Angela brought Leyva to the spot for a pagan sacrifice.
As reported by Oxygen, it was on March 24, 2010, when Angela was arrested and charged with the murder of Joel Leyva. It was on March 24, 2010, when Angelawas arrested and charged with the murder of Joel Leyva. She pleaded guilty to committing the murder. It was December 2011 when Angela Sanford was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
To learn more details about other cases on Snapped on Oxygen, check out our other articles.
