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Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is scheduled to revisit the 2012 murder of Jaime Melgar in an alleged house invasion. The episode titled Unspeakable will re-air on Oxygen this Thursday, December 22, 2022, at 8 pm ET, and will attempt to re-examine the case, the evidence, and the alleged wrongful conviction of his wife of 32 years, Sandra Melgar.
The synopsis of the episode reads:
"Sandra and Jamie Melgar are high school sweethearts who are celebrating their 32nd anniversary, but the intimate evening turns deadly; to crack the case, investigators must uncover the secrets of an illusion that is worthy of the great Houdini."
In December 2012, two days before Christmas, Jaime was found stabbed and bludgeoned to death inside a closet in his Houston, Texas, home. His wife Sandra was found bound and trapped inside another closet, and their house appeared to have been ransacked. The strange part was that she did not remember the attack or witness/hear her husband being murdered.
In a controversial 2017 trial, Sandra was found guilty of the murder based on circumstantial evidence, a verdict that was highly disputed. Prosecutors claimed that she killed him for financial gain and to make a way out of the marriage.
Jaime Melgar murder case: Five things to know about his death from blunt force trauma and 31 stab wounds
1) The crime scene was discovered by Jaime Melgar's elder brother and other family members
On December 22, 2012, Jaime and Sandra went out to dinner and, later that night, became the victims of an alleged break-in at their Houston, Texas, home.
Herman Melgar, Jaime's elder brother, and other family members arrived at their home on December 23 for the couple's 32nd wedding anniversary dinner and found the chilling crime scene when they received no response to knocking on the door. Herman reportedly entered the house using the open garage door and heard cries for help coming from inside.
Inside the closet in the master bathroom of the bedroom, Sandy was located face down, her ankles bound and her arms tied behind her back. A chair was placed to block the closet door from the outside. Jaime Melgar's naked, bloody body was discovered in another closet.
2) Jaime sustained more than 50 stab and blunt-force injuries
According to reports, Jaime Melgar sustained more than 50 knife wounds, cuts, and blunt-force injuries. He suffered severe head and face wounds, including 31 knife wounds that heavily damaged his skull, brain, and facial bones.
According to experts, Melgar and his assailant allegedly fought in a hand-to-hand confrontation before he was murdered and put in the closet.
3) Authorities alleged that the crime scene was staged by Jaime Melgar's wife after she murdered him
While being questioned by authorities, Sandra Melgar stated that she never heard or saw her husband being attacked and that she had trouble recalling what had transpired that night.
The mother-of-one alleged that she either lost consciousness after being hit or may have suffered from an epileptic seizure. Authorities raised questions about her version and finally charged her with murder over a year later.
It was alleged that Sandra staged the crime scene, stating that the draws were neatly organized rather than strewn. Additionally, there was no sign of forced entry. Authorities believed she killed Jaime Melgar by stabbing him with a kitchen knife after tricking him into tying up his legs with a telephone cord as part of some s*x game.
4) According to the prosecution, Jaime's life insurance policy and divorce were probably the motives for the murder
Prosecutors suggested Jaime Melgar's $250,000 life insurance policy as a motive for murder in Sandra Melgar's 2017 trial. They also painted her as a wife who intended to divorce her husband but was prevented from doing so because of their devotion to Jehovah's Witnesses, for which she could've been shunned. Thus, she opted to murder Jaime and stage the crime to look like a home invasion.
5) Male and female DNA was retrieved from the crime scene that did not match any of the Melgar family members
On the other hand, the defense emphasized that Sandra Melgar had no tangible signs of involvement in the crime, such as a lack of blood evidence on her body or any other physical signs.
Her arms were bruised, but she was otherwise unharmed. Unidentified male and female DNA was also discovered on the dresser drawers and door handles. The defense also said that expensive things were stolen from the house, indicating that the couple was a victim of a home invasion.
Tune in to Dateline: Secrets Uncovered this Thursday, December 22, 2022.
