Guilty verdict in a high profile domestic case

A California case follows a police officer killed after his post about a younger girlfriend, as a long custody and abuse dispute ends with a verdict years later.

Jealous ex wife found guilty of murdering California police officer

Daniel Green, a police officer in Exeter, California, married Erika Sandoval in Las Vegas in 2010 and later faced a volatile relationship marked by temper and control. The couple separated, then tried to make things work, while Sandoval fought for custody of their son. The dispute intensified after Daniel posted a photo with his younger girlfriend Brenda on Instagram in early 2015. A week later he did not appear for work and investigators found him dead at his Goshen home, shot multiple times and left in a way that suggested an attempted robbery.

Sandoval was questioned after surveillance footage showed her at the scene and she admitted involvement, dumping some items on a local highway. The case went to trial in 2019 but ended in a mistrial. In 2025 a second trial concluded with a verdict of first degree murder and Sandoval was sentenced to 50 years to life with the possibility of parole after 12 years. Daniel Green’s family spoke of a painful journey from witness to survivor and a community left to reckon with the consequences of domestic violence.

This case underscores how private turmoil can spill into public life and end in tragedy. It also highlights the long arc of justice in domestic violence cases, where initial verdicts can be reversed or revisited, leaving families waiting for closure. Social media moments can become focal points for motive and public interest, while the presence of firearms in domestic disputes remains a critical safety concern. The sentencing brings some measure of accountability, but it cannot repair the fear and loss suffered by Daniel Green’s son and relatives.

Highlights

Justice is a long road that rarely erases the pain, but it can temper it with accountability.