Woman shot ex- husband while he was on the toilet

Jealous Erika Sandoval hid in a closet and waited to strike

- WORDS: GAIL SHORTLAND

It started as a whirlwind romance. Daniel Green was a police officer in Exeter, California. Erika Sandoval was an aspiring nurse. Less than a year after they met, they surprised their loved ones by getting married in Las Vegas in 2010. Then the couple started their lives together.

Daniel had always wanted to be a police officer and loved his job. He was popular in the community and was proud to make a difference. When he wasn’t working, he liked to be out on his motorbike.

But it wasn’t long before Daniel was confiding to family, including his twin brother Matthew, that Sandoval had a temper. She would cut up furniture with blades when she got angry and Daniel admitted she could make him cry.

Things came to a head when neighbours saw them having an argument in which Sandoval was getting physical and taunting Daniel to fight back. Daniel asked the neighbour to call 911. They were both arrested for domestic abuse, although no charges were made.

The couple filed for divorce and their short marriage came to an end in January 2012, but the pair would sometimes slip back into old ways. Just months later, Sandoval announced she was pregnant with Daniel's baby. They then decided to try and make their relationship work.

Their son was born in January 2013 and Daniel was a devoted dad, but things got worse with Sandoval. One day he was out on his motorbike and found he couldn’t stop at a red traffic light. He realised his brake wires had been cut. He also woke up one night to find Sandoval holding a gun to his head, threatening to kill him if he ever cheated or left her.

Daniel asked Sandoval to move out and she took their son. A battle began, with Sandoval very reluctant to share custody. Daniel started to record their arguments to avoid being accused of domestic violence and there were some nasty text messages from both sides. Yet the toxic couple would still have sex. And Sandoval still wanted to be with Daniel.