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On February 20, 2015, when a team of investigators reached the residence of Ernie Ibarra in Texas, responding to a 911 call received earlier, they found Ernie's wife, Samantha Wohlford, tied up in her bedroom unharmed.
Wohlford told investigators that a group of three intruders broke into the house and kidnapped her husband. However, an investigation later revealed that Wohlford designed a well-orchestrated murder plot to get rid of her husband.
In an episode titled Friends Like These, ID's true-crime series The Murder Tapes is set to examine the circumstances surrounding Ernie Ibarra's murder case. The episode aired on July 13, 2022, at 9 PM ET.
Read on to learn some chilling facts associated with the Ernie Ibarra murder case: A tale of strategy and betrayal
1) Ernie Ibarra was first attacked, then murdered
Ernie Ibarra was kidnapped in the wee hours of February 20, 2015, and was killed by a gunshot around two hours later. After beating him for a while, the kidnappers drove Ernie to an isolated area in Camp County, Texas, where Jose Ponse, one of the kidnappers, shot him in the back of the head.
Ernie was also allegedly punched in the face after being shot and hit with the pistol multiple times.
2) Samantha initially planned to set Ernie up for a drug bust
According to investigators, Samantha Wohlford and Johnathan Kyle Sanford, one of the kidnappers, had initially decided to plant methamphetamine in Ernie Ibarra's truck and frame him for drug abuse. The day before the murder, Samantha, along with the kidnappers and her children, headed to buy methamphetamine but changed their minds when they realized that it would be "easier" to kill Ernie than to set him up for a drug bust.
3) Wohlford tried to mislead the investigators
When investigators questioned Wohlford about Ernie Ibarra's murder, she had a story prepared.
Wohlford told investigators that she suspected a guy named Johnny Rebel to have killed her husband. She said that she went to the hospital the day before to meet her husband, where she chanced upon Johnny Rebel. While talking to Rebel, Samantha complained about her husband being abusive, to which Reb allegedly took annoyance.
Acting on Wohlford's information, investigators rushed to the hospital and arrested Rebel. Rebel was later identified as Johnathan Kyle Sanford, a 25-year-old recently released from prison.
4) Wohlford was found guilty
Johnathan Kyle Sanford revealed to the police that Samantha and two others, Jose Ponse and Octavius Rhymes, were also involved in the abduction and murder case, following which all four of them were arrested. They also told the police that Wohlford had planned the entire murder.
Wohlford was subsequently found guilty and was sentenced to 50 years of imprisonment for kidnapping and 99 years for murder.
5) Ibarra and Wohlford were involved in regular fights
As Wohlford's YouTube career took off, Ernie reportedly did not support her internet fame. Ernie's sister Abigail Ibarra said,
“She felt like this was going somewhere. She kind of started paying less attention to her kids and she acted like her so-called job was more important than that. She wanted to be internet famous ... My brother didn’t like that kind of thing.”
Wohlford used to discuss her passions and her life in YouTube videos. She also fought with Ernie because he was too involved in gaming.
