Man in custody, accused of killing his wife in Merced, police say

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- Merced police are investigating a homicide where they say a husband killed his wife over the weekend.

On Monday afternoon, they revealed that Richard Sandoval killed his wife, Catina Sandoval, on Sunday night.

Police say domestic violence calls were made on several occasions to the couple's apartment at the Sunny View complex on D and 11th Streets in Merced.

The latest call for a disturbance on Sunday ended with Catina dead and her husband in jail.

Neighbors were horrified to hear the news.

One woman who lives nearby said she is a domestic violence survivor and experienced first-hand escalating violence.

She is sad to see a woman's life end this way.

"The way I see it is when we gotta go, it's when the man upstairs calls us, not when somebody else. That's wrong," explained Ramona Tevino.

Other neighbors worry for the victim's children.

"Kids being affected by that, they lose both parents. You know one dead, one went to jail," said Jeremony Flores, a neighbor.

Richard is now charged with murder in his wife's death.

As recently as July 28, he was arrested for allegedly headbutting his wife, and an emergency protective order was put in place by the courts.

He was set to appear in court on October 6 for the case.

"Of course, it comes down to the laws of California and trying to keep people in custody until they stand trial to their charges. If we can't keep them in custody, it's very hard to keep people safe and protect them," said Merced Police Lt. Daniel Dabney.

Lt.. Dabney says domestic violence calls can be hard to respond to because it may be difficult for victims to escape their abusers.

"This is that vicious cycle when you have emotions involved, relationships, children. You see a lot of this endless cycle of violence within in the families because there's a lot to lose, and they try to make the best of it," Lt. Dabney said.

Now Sandoval is being held here in the Merced County jail on a more than one million dollar bond for his wife's murder.

If you know anything about this investigation, you're asked to call the Merced Police Department.

If you are the victim of domestic abuse, or you know someone who is, there is help available 24/7. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233.

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