As their related murder case remains ongoing, Octavio Juan Sanchez and Desiree Nicole Fransen were sentenced in federal court for collecting social security benefits meant for their intellectually disabled, slain relative, Margarita Juanita Sharon Sandoval. (Mugshots: Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office)
As their related murder case remains ongoing, an Oklahoma couple was sentenced on Monday in federal court for collecting social security benefits for their intellectually disabled, slain relative.
Octavio Juan Sanchez, 36, is set for four years in prison. He was already in federal custody since July 21 for an unrelated firearms conviction. His co-defendant Desiree Nicole Fransen, 28, is set for three years behind bars. Both would serve three years of supervised release.
They are charged in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, with murdering Sanchez’s sister Margarita Juanita Sharon Sandoval and moving her body. She would have been 18 or 19 when she died. Police estimate she died between Feb. 17 and April 18, 2018, according to documents obtained by an affidavit obtained by The Oklahoman.
Sanchez and Fransen allegedly hid her wrapped body in her apartment and their home. Facebook messages showed them discussing it, including moving the body around the house because of the smell, cops said.
In one message, Octavio told Fransen to tell cops he did everything when he believed the cops were at the apartment complex due to the smell, according to documents. In another message, however, he threatened to kill her too, if she reported him.
The couple also thought Sandoval was haunting them, according to officials.
“In one conversation Octavio tells Desiree that Margarita was not letting him get to his phone to contact her,” authorities wrote, according to the newspaper. “Desiree replied that Margarita is only messing with him because she was not there. Desiree confirmed with Octavio that Margarita was haunting her too. Desiree told Octavio that Margarita knows what she did and that is why she is haunting them.”
Officers said they found the remains in the basement of Miguel Angel Munoz, 44, on May 13, 2021, after getting a tip. He is charged with accessory to murder in the first degree.
“Munoz informed investigators that Octavio stated he and his wife, Desiree, killed a child molester. Munoz quoted Octavio as saying, ‘Desiree started it and I had to finish it,’” the Cleveland County affidavit reported stated.
Federal investigators said that Fransen, her representative payee for social security benefits, did not report Sandoval dead. The couple collected $30,912 for themselves. They also used the dead sister’s identity to apply for $3,200 in stimulus money from the IRS during the immediate fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sandoval reportedly lived with the cognitive abilities of a child. She had lived with her brother in January 2019 after spending time at a California group home and a sister in Oklahoma. The medical examiner reportedly determined she died of homicide but could not establish a cause of death.
The federal charges were conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. Sanchez pleaded guilty on Jan. 18, and Fransen pleaded guilty on the 25th. They must also pay a restitution of $34,112.
Fransen and Munoz pleaded not guilty in their respective cases on March 22 and are scheduled for status conferences on Aug. 9. Sanchez’s formal arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 16 after it was rescheduled twice.
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