5 key details about Vonda and Angel Goyena's double murder

The upcoming episode of Bad Romance: A Special Edition of 20/20 will cover the double murder of Vonda and Angel Goyena, who were brutally and ferociously stabbed to death in their own home in Norfolk, Virginia. The case drew sufficient attention in 2007 and still remains a chilling reminder of a romance gone bad.

This episode will be the subject of Bad Romance: A Special Edition of 20/20's upcoming episode, titled Betrayed. This episode is slated to premiere on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 10.00 PM EST. A brief synopsis for the episode reads:

"A bride-to-be and her mother are murdered just weeks before the wedding. The investigation leads police to a bizarre trail of clues, including taunting letters from the killer."

This case is riddled with small but consequential details that give a better understanding of the case. Ahead of the episode, let us go over five such details about the double murder of Vonda and Angel Goyena.

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5 key details about the murders of Vonda and Angel Goyena

1) Vonda and Angel Goyena were murdered by someone they knew

When the brutally stabbed bodies of Vonda and Angel Goyena were found in their Norfolk home, authorities were certain that this was done by someone who knew them. This was because there were no signs of forced entry, and the sheer brutality with which the crime was committed hinted that someone who knew them did it, and purposely so.

However, almost everyone who could have committed the crime, including Angel's fiancé David Hoshaw, had solid alibis.

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2) The police received a couple of letters from the killer two weeks after the murder, and these were instrumental in getting to the killer

While the murderer did not yet know this, the two letters he sent to the police, taunting them and claiming that he had killed the two women because Angel had rebuffed his advances, ultimately became his downfall.

Nearly two years after this, the police would use the paper trail of David's cell phone records and credit card receipts to place David Hoshaw in the vicinity of the post offices from where the letters were mailed.

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3) David Hoshaw started showing concerning signs, the more investigators looked into him

While David initially seemed to have an airtight alibi, some things about him stood out. For one, he did not attend Angel Goyena's funeral and moved to Michigan and started living with another woman, Amanda, soon after.

Moreover, friends of Angel claimed that he had allegedly grown distant in the months leading up to the wedding. His ex-wives also later revealed his traits of abuse. It was also discovered that he started dating Amanda when he was still with Angel.

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4) David Hoshaw was arrested based on circumstantial evidence, but soon gave away more

While Hoshaw was initially arrested only based on circumstantial evidence, he soon confessed to the murder unintentionally. This happened when Amanda came to see him, and the police left the two alone to observe from behind a one-way mirror.

When they were alone, Hoshaw admitted to murdering Angel Goyena and her mother, Vonda. He also admitted to sending the police the letters to get them off track.

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5) David Hoshaw ultimately pleaded guilty to the murders

When he confessed in front of the police, he was finally trapped. To avoid the death penalty, he took a plea deal and was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

He remains incarcerated today.

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The upcoming episode of Bad Romance will cover this case in further detail.