What happened to Joel Leyva? Details about the subject of Snapped on Oxygen explored

Joel Leyva was a 52-year-old family man whose life was tragically cut short in March 2010 when he was murdered by Angela Sanford, a woman he had recently met. On March 24, 2010, Sanford invited Leyva to a Wiccan festival called Beltane.

There, Sanford attacked him with several stabs - around 13 times - said to be at the abdomen part using a dagger, which killed him. The coroner's report confirmed multiple stab wounds to his head and torso, contradicting Sanford's later claims that she had only stabbed him three times.

Joel's murder case was featured in Snapped season 35 episode 5, aired on Oxygen on February 2, 2025. The official synopsis of the episode reads,

"When a woman survives an alleged assault in the New Mexico desert and her purported attacker is found stabbed to death, investigators must get to the bottom of a bizarre murder plot driven by one suspect's obsession with the occult."

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Joel Leyva's meeting with Angela Sanford and the invitation to the festival

According to ABC News, Joel Leyva was said to be a family man who lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had met Angela Sanford, a 30-year-old self-identified Wiccan, at a local racetrack. According to reports, they struck up an unlikely friendship that would soon take a dark turn.

According to CBS News, Sanford invited Joel Leyva to join her in celebrating Beltane, a Wiccan festival that marks the arrival of spring. She tricked him into an area of the Sandia Mountains out of site because she claimed it was part of the spiritual journey.

According to ABC News, on March 24, 2010, Joel Leyva met Sanford at the location she had said they would celebrate. According to the evidence, Sanford allegedly stabbed Leyva about 13 times with the ceremonial dagger Leyva described as part of her Wiccan ritual. The coroner's report showed the extent of injuries Leyva suffered, including stab wounds to the head and torso.

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The incident and aftermath

According to ABC News, Sanford described the scene of the events as a picture of self-defense. She indicated that Joel Leyva had tied her up and was threatening her with the dagger. At this moment, she claimed to have taken advantage of his carelessness to turn the knife against him. However, this explanation raised many skeptical eyes from law enforcement personnel and witnesses.

Sanford was seen in her undergarments, as per police reports. According to her account, she had been r*ped. According to the witnesses, neither cries for help nor signs of struggle were heard or seen during the incident.

According to ABC News, the investigation showed contradictions in Sanford's version of what happened. She had claimed she was attacked. For example, her clothes were found folded neatly beside Joel Leyva's body.

Moreover, witnesses testified that they saw her approaching them apparently without cause for alarm before making the allegations. The police, therefore, ruled out that no evidence supported the version of what Sanford had described.

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Legal procedure and conviction

According to ABC News, after the killing, Angela Sanford was taken into custody and faced a single count of murder charge. During the arraignment, Sanford entered a not-guilty plea. Her bond was set at $500,000, and the trial was moved to a date after her court appearance.

According to the prosecutors, Sanford committed an act of premeditation, not of self-defense. During the trial, it became clear that her claims about celebrating Beltane were dubious; local Wiccan practitioners noted that this festival typically occurs at the end of April or early May.

According to Oxygen, in December 2011, after extensive legal proceedings, Sanford was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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For more details on the case, watch Snapped on Oxygen on February 2, 2025.