Nevada Man Strangles Wife During Argument About Daughter’s Future, Then Calls 911

A man from Nevada is behind bars after he strangled his wife during an argument about where they want to raise their daughter. The daughter, who was in the middle of the argument, is a toddler, according to the Silver State Police.

A 38-year-old man from Nevada is currently behind bars after he strangled his wife to death following an argument. The man, who has been identified as Roelmer Sanchez-Garrido, has been accused of one count of open murder. The victim was the wife of Garrido, who has been identified as Vanesa Rodrigues-Valdes, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The underlying incident occurred during the early morning hours of April 28, at a residence on Esmeralda Avenue in central Las Vegas. The defendant is believed to have made the 911 call around 3 a.m. on April 28, according to the arrest report obtained by Las Vegas-based NBC affiliate KSNV.

Sanchez-Garrido called emergency services for medical help because his wife was injured, according to law enforcement. The man later clarified that the woman was not breathing, police said. Paramedics arrived to find the defendant pacing back and forth in the front yard with his 2-year-old daughter in tow.

Inside the house, first responders found Rodrigues-Valdes, whose age was not immediately available, lying on the floor with a blanket over her face and body, according to the charging document.

Upon removing the blanket, paramedics saw early signs of rigor mortis along with bruises on the woman’s face and neck, police said. The woman’s death appeared unnatural, so police were called to the site. The first officer responding agreed the death looked suspicious because of the marks on the woman’s neck, according to the police report.

The officer then spoke to Sanchez-Garrido, who said he and his wife had been arguing about taking their daughter back to Cuba, the police said. The man allegedly said that during the argument, “something bad happened.”

“Sometime during the argument, it turned physical, resulting in the death of his wife,” a police spokesperson told KSNV.

Investigators also spoke to a neighbor who said the couple worked together. Earlier that same day, the neighbor said the woman asked for help hiding the family's passports so the man could not access them, according to law enforcement.

The neighbor went on to elaborate on the travel-related dispute, telling investigators that the woman wanted to raise the couple’s daughter in Cuba. In contrast, the man wanted to stay in the United States and work to earn more money for the family, police said.

Another neighbor told investigators he woke up around 2 a.m. that night to the sound of someone banging on his window, according to the arrest report. The neighbor then went to inspect the source of the noise and saw Sanchez-Garrido on the other side of his security gate, he said, but did not open it. Still, the neighbor said he and the defendant spoke.