A Utah man and his girlfriend have been arrested after the woman’s husband was found dead along a rural road in Summit County, in a case built around conflicting “he‑said she‑said” accounts and charges focused on how the body was handled, not the killing itself.
Who was arrested and what they’re charged with
- Francisco Santos‑Morales, 31, and Reina Chavez Sandobal, 41, were both charged with desecration of a dead body and obstruction of justice after Sandobal’s husband was found dead near Brown’s Canyon Road on March 26.
- Despite the man’s death being ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma to the head, neither suspect was formally charged in connection with the killing at this stage; the charges instead relate to moving and concealing the body.
Conflicting stories about the killing
Police say the two were in a romantic relationship when Sandobal told Santos‑Morales on March 25 that her husband was abusing her.
- Sandobal allegedly told investigators that Santos‑Morales killed her husband the next day, then helped her load the body into a Honda Civic and dump it by the road. She also pointed police to a hammer used in the attack and a blood‑soaked blanket in her apartment.
- When questioned, Santos‑Morales claimed the opposite: that it was Sandobal who “fatally struck” her husband, and that he became involved only afterward.
Summit County deputies have said the couple quickly began accusing each other of being the primary actor in the homicide, even though the district attorney has not yet filed murder charges.
How the body was found and handled
The victim’s body was “quickly identified,” which led investigators directly to Sandobal. She was arrested on April 1, and Santos‑Morales was taken into custody two days later. An autopsy confirmed blunt force trauma to the head with the manner of death listed as homicide.
Because the case is still under investigation, neither Sandobal’s nor Santos‑Morales’s next court dates have been made public, and authorities have not ruled out the possibility of more serious charges being added later as the probe continues.
