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The Ambush: Who Killed Officer Daniel Green? | My Life of Crime

2022-12-07

On the morning of February 5th, 2015, Tulare County police officer Daniel Green took his son to school and then returned home. While on the toilet, he is shot dead. Police have no gun, eyewitnesses, or DNA evidence. During routine questioning the following day, Daniel’s ex-wife, Erika Sandoval, tells police she hasn’t visited Daniel’s house in weeks, but her story appears to contradict a neighbor’s surveillance footage. 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty presents her investigation into the killing of officer Daniel Green on her podcast, My Life of Crime. Based on the 48 Hours episode "The Killing of Daniel Green”.

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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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follow along as I go beyond the scene of each crime, beyond prison walls and into the killers in her thoughts. It's all on this seas. and of my life of crime. Erica sand of all, is the person that you could meet on the street and say, while she seems like a really nice person, she had the type of bringing that millions of full of had before she dated She fell in love. Is nothing quite like that burst real love, love. She was so into daniel with a first time. She spoke about him. She was just like all the color of his eyes and he was so nice. Sir her she was in Heaven, Erica always wanted to just have a say. What relationship have children it is unclear?
Should I believe, one of the most intense, profound emotions and person can feel when everything was going, the way they should be in her eyes. She was pleasant to be around its only when things didn't go away she became nasty and things got ugly between the two of them, but winning love lips and ate it can leave, to violence for what I saw the bad was really bad, should cut the couch and should cut up the bed springs in sight. Poles in the wall and taken a bottle of take syrup and just spread over the carpet, just ridiculous amount of vandalism or even murder. On february, sixty two thousand fifteen afternoon times that still unclear county when we in the law, enforcement community came to find out that. Daniel Green was executed that afternoon in the sanctity in private
of his own home I'm era moriarty forty eight hours- and this is my life of crime. There's a reason why cops investigating murders look first at the person closest to the victim, I mean who else feels so intensely that they rest every day to hard another person, the danube green case may change the way you look at domestic abuse. What you think it is who you think, commits abuse and whether the legal system treats all abusers the same begin on that awful afternoon in february, two thousand fifteen the day Thirty one year old, Daniel green was found shot to death in his own bathroom in the town of go shouldn't california. He was executed here man who was literally on the toilet,
and he was shot, that's the district attorney for to Larry county timor he was still angry when I spoke to him about the case, because Daniel green wasn't just a young man senselessly murdered, he was also cop and eleven year veteran of the exeter police department. This crime? When this happened really ripped apart now small town that he was from an end was a police officer and the kind of the law unfortunately community as well, and because Daniel was it where dealings with local gangs. Investigators, if first beard is that, might be connected to his job. The killer had fired, bore bullets green, the fatal shot at him in the forehead Found lying on his back and the bathtub wanted to stumble. Officers is the one they discovered, Daniel love, being a alex keyser. The fellow officer who found him
getting out into the community and making indifferent some day. The incident Daniel was succumbing to work right. for me, when I got to the point, station. I asked lieutenant were dinner. Was you get this gut feeling that some wrong. Something bad was happening. Genius home was just yards from his neighbours, but because you shot in the day. Many of them were at work, so no one heard the shots or call nine. When one know, why witnesses, saw the killer, enter or leave the house and the killer with the murder weapon that call, and I ever heard. Knots voice like this and he says: hey what's going on I can't really get it out. Daniel sister, misty. Gray. First heard the news from her other brother Daniels twin brother, his idea
about twin brother Matt. I didn't see anything. It was like there were no words. and I said new. I said tell me then ok tell he's ok, that's what I can. I happened to be a twin myself and I'm not sure I have ever seen two brothers Boolooroo. So much alike, even matt had trouble pointing out to me in fact, as were kind of, The team is the very last against the world type of thing. The green up in there by small town, a porter vill california, both brothers became these officers, although man later traded law enforcement for law school. I always thought it was brought about by my big brothers- were twins, were both police officers at the same time, in
actually have the same photo of the two of them and I cherish and now Daniel was gone. We will never be the same, never My wife will forever be changed by this. That's to sound the spell Why is the next to his job? Daniel did have a reputation is up hard knows. I the book cop Theory didn't leave investigators anywhere, so they took a closer look. In your personal life. At the time of his death Daniel grey, was divorced and living alone, but at one time he had had a very passionate and often to mulch was relationship. With Erika sand about his ex wife out, after dinner was found, dead, Erika rushed to the scene, terry eyed and distraught. She told me
said she hadn't seen Daniel that day and Daniel Brother mad believed. Her if it had been years earlier, I think I wanna have automatically assumed it was her, but we'd just seen them together. You know of before and down. It didn't seem like there is any attention, so I just didn't I didn't know what to do I've been doing had met his future wife six years earlier in two thousand and nine, and he fell ard. I felt He loved her in his way He wanted the family, He wanted so desperately to have a family. now was married by then I was married and he was the only one that was not he was infatuated with her and Erika was justice infatuated with em the little girl, like you know when they get can't make a super state she was so into Daniel. Wash she was.
It's Angelica Ramirez, one of africa's was friends from childhood, but the two came from very different backgrounds: Daniel on his siblings had a tough childhood while Erika was from a close knit mid. Class family from southern california. David is our older brother shoe. What I find the right guy and then I see star having a family, No everyone was surprise when Daniel and Erika skip dead, traditional wedding married in las vegas Daniel was twenty six erika twenty three. I remember getting a text message Ten o clock at night picture marriage license in vegas and some of Daniel's brands, especially from us. motorcycle club, where downright concerned. Few things happen. before they even actually got married, and I pulled Daniel
and I said, do domains jack? That's herbie, Adam me tell me why what What happened that made? You say that it was it was all the innocent. said. The house says Daniel: it talked about Eric S, anger. He said that she once cut up furniture with a razor blade. Daniels brothers said that he had her Daniel crying after erica laced into him. It devastated me to hear my brother crying and assure the way that she was talking to him it broke. My heart. Erica was trying to create arrests in the family between us, do new sister and brother said that he might have thought tat. Kind of behavior was perfectly normal, because a bird not been troubled home with abuse of step. Father
a hot rogues, alcohol abuse stuff, like that were any of you abused to physical abuse, will neglect and stuff. When your some hit, you Where was his hand, always belts boards Well, I guess winter was lane around Her father had a long criminal record that included a rasper assault, domestic violence and driving for the influence and misty says her older twin brothers took the brunt, for matthew, Dario, always protected me. They would get him between my stopped. I try to physically harm and When I would get scared, I would go proud of my brothers. There other one point did get a restraining order against their stepfather, who isn't dad. They worry that domestic abuse that they all endured as children see
be repeating itself with Daniel America. In the case of my brother, he was alive. Constantly being controlled and an isolated and universally and emotionally abused as a officer It would. I run into women who are being abused woody now, recognize himself in that same situation he did interests, probably felt like you. Nothing. He could do about it than he was may be trapped in a cycle. We dont care about male victims, often maybe because men like Daniel, don't wanna met, they are being abused and in fact it's not as rare as you might think, I think men don't come forward for many of the same since that women don't come forward when they are experiencing domestic violence. Hating me runs the two large families services in the county, and she says that she actually had to expand the women shelter to include rooms for man who were also
clean abuse. Erika would cut up. Addresses and couches is that domestic abuse, absolutely property damage, is very common. Female victims, a will often describable, while my partner never hit me, but he did punch a hole in the wall, and so there is this threat of physical violence. If I can do this to your property, if I can do this to the things that you love, what can I do to you
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Domestic abuse isn't always black and white. If Daniel thought, once was normal in a relationship than it might explain some of his own behavior, you, model relationships that have been modeled for you in jail, cover. Ramirez says that Erika had said that Daniel was also abusive. She was told me cos: me that he would crab her choker still me, eight children that she felt issues in a pass out once again, Dan, sister miss day there was a very toxic relationship of people, should absolutely no and understand that it doesn't matter if you're, a man or a woman, you're, five foot or six, why you can be a victim of domestic violence Did you ever tell Daniel to leave course lot yeah he knew. It was bad people. Do change. She's not change. That's not what happens. There was one more violent episode in February twenty eleven when the police were called.
neither Daniel nor erika were arrested, but it the last straw. The marriage was especially over in january, two thousand and twelve little more than a year after it began. I remember thinking he he escapes this without you know anything terrible happening and that maybe he could get peace and be happy about. The ban. Came who's that erika was pregnant with Daniel's child. I was like cheese is stuck with her for eight years. Erika move back in with genuine. They tried to make it work, but then motorcycle seemed to come between them. She hated them gap spies that goes by can take off, and you know she couldn't sit next to him in the past, in recent yelling at him. She hated it so much the one of Daniels brands things she may have sabotaged by one day before ride. Once the road annual was
able to stop for a red light. Am I was going on man just great, or the wires he's pull them. It was all the wires were all cut up. I'm like oh, my goodness. This is crazy. Then you told mark were tat. He believed his wife wires. He had no question, it was Erika there. Erica later admitted to a friend that she had quote just snipped wires, still Daniel, never reported it to the police, and initially did even tell us siblings. She hit a lot of the star, that was going on. I think, be knew that it would have set us doing on africa's on eight m was born in January two thousand and thirteen. I don't have any doubt that the days and was born was happy, stay beside him happy The kid was the best thing for him on his facebook
reveals a picture of his kid. That was his life. That was his pride and joy, but the couples relationship was just too broken in june, two thousand and thirteen erika moved out of the house and their problems, only got worse, a couple began to engage in a vicious war of words and check mars is erica's lawyer. There's a lot of bitterness and anger throughout his text. Messages no question about it. I mean Daniel does called Erika some very bad names in here and erika does the same daniel one. I married a city of his son, which only deepen the divisions between the two Here's the really weird part, even with all the anger, all the vitriol. A couple would still occasionally sleep together and yet the dysfunction in the relationship was always just below the surface. like a night in the fall of two thousand and fourteen when Daniel told us
ran her better. You woke defined erika, with a gun He told you that she woke up dream, that He had been with another woman and how the gun to his half. What did she say, torment that boy shoes and that she was going to kill him if he left yeah or if he cheated on her by the new year, Daniel and Erica seemed to have turned a new leaf on the relationship they were still living apart, but they were civil with each other and that's why neither Matt nor misty thought she could pass way be responsible. Bores murder at occur one month later tat morning february. Does two thousand fifteen Daniel Green dropped off their son aden with erica's mother and then went to the jail it was when he returned home that someone shot him dad too large district attorney tim ward. This was not anything other than a cold blooded, calculated execution.
The day following the murder erika was brought in for routine questioning and that's when her story I began to ship Erika originally said that she hadn't been inside Daniels house in weeks, but a neighbor surveillance camera appeared to contradict her video that is out. There shows a female enter into that home. On the very day of the murder, you can see a woman entered the house, investigators couldn't de the woman in the video, but they tracked erika and they too folder. They knew it was her. That's when she broke down and lead detect. To an empty lot where they feel the murder, weapon are nine millimeter gone. She had shot Daniel with his own gone erica's and of all was arrested, prefers
Degree, murder,. are you? A fan of the late show esteem colbert than you'll love. The lay show pod show esteem colbert, it's the late show in podcast form later poncho receiving colbert on spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Now streaming on paramount plus criminal minds, evolution all my years as a profiler. I studied killers, but I never studied what a pandemic would do to them. We started communicating to become better predators. The deeper you dig. These aren't just connected cases. This is a serial killing network. The darker regret certain time. It's not over we're just getting started criminal minds, evolution stream, new episodes now exclusively on paramount plus erica sandoval
is, the death penalty for killing a cop who happened to be her ex husband. legal team took nearly five years to prepare defends. Finally, in october two thousand nineteen she went on trial and that's when prosecutors revealed what they believe. The motive Daniel was shot one week after you posted in instagram photo of a new girlfriend one you're old, Brenda valla. Is it possible that and your great would still be alive if he had never posted that picture on social media. It's impossible question, but if you wonder, It's such a tragedy that will never know will never know still, there is compelling evidence to support that theory, including a yellow, sticky note, found erica's hers with Brenda villas name and birth year. Erica also bombarded Daniel with one hundred and sixty seven phone calls in the day?
leading up to the murderer. I think, when Erika found out that the girl hanging out with her son and that kinda made later snap but a trial erica's. An attorney dan chambers tried to shift the gear. away way. Primerica did your brain himself in essence, pudding deb police officer also trial At the end of the day, he was abusive. The jury listened when over again to audio tapes of the couples. Verbal battles like this one over there son aden, who was just a baby at that point, You know that puts me you and then Erika takes a chance and take the stand and our own defence hoping shaking events, the jury that she was driven.
take her husband's live. There was a collective decision, wasn't easy decision. At that point, we arguing along your listening to erika herself on the stand describing the jurors the abuse cheek lame. She said from Daniel over the years he grabbed me my shirt, my shirt and he started shaking back and forth as he was yelling at my face shut the up cause. I know I could kill you make it. Look like an accident the asylum when here Grab me for my pony He saw my headed by the dashboard flowers holding agony and then I told them why she gone into our ex husband's home on february fifth, two thousand and fifteen. According to erica, she had just gone there to snoop around saw the kitchen window, and I figured I'd, try to see if it was open. Until I took off the screen and watched it, and it was open,
through the house browsing lived Daniels guns and then she claims she found it open saved that contained, he'll baldos depicting child pornography. The first picture I sound like a girl to be false, taxi next to that Erika story took prosecutors. and investigators by surprise She had never mentioned the photographs in any previous statements district. in wore doesn't believe her account. That was the very first time that we ever had even heard that organ in close to that lord says, such photos were found, but on the stand erika says she left them in the save It's me fantasy
with me the school gravity where I see in this new stuff around me son. What's the next thing, I remember I heard his truck about eight, and I don't know you, three said to aid and maybe, and then Erika says He heard Daniel come home, and so she hid in a closet and I heard him cooled down the hallway passing by room scared, I know where he was going and winning heard him go into the bathroom Erika, told the jury. She just snapped. It's that out of the closet. He said that in ITALY, I stood right there in front of value. his army.
go you getting out The third reason my arm vanessa. I didn't know shot what you do. I regret it. Every day Are you ready ask me: what an erica's dicks tours story about the photos. Even one cross examined by the assistant d, ay David elevates says who clearly doesn't believe it. You know they're, not the report, so you just expected an imagined racial, no way
advise my attorney ass to where I saw no values. It is my turn It says that she deliberately have the information from investigators I don't trust them they never given me, trust them always told me how they always how each other stocks She never loses or a cool, Adele evasive makes it clear for the jury. What he thinks of our story, that's why may feel that were charge. the you, as here That is the sole purpose of it. But what will the jury with the information will they leave erika where they feel so
I for and find her guilty of something less than first degree murder. In his closing arguments, Erica's attorney dan. Chambers puts the blame on both arrogant and Daniel tied together. He says by it from matting bond at his desk How to understand both. Victims and both are aggressors. On november twenty Two thousand nineteen, the case when the jury will, after long days and deliberations. They tell the trial judge their dawn. they are hopelessly deadlocked, a mistrial deadlocked eleven to one with one single jure, refusing to convict erika murder. In the first degree, three of the jurors agreed to discuss that old out
It became evident that, a day after day after that she wasn't going to waver and then the reality overhung jerry start to say again, he's, never gave much reasoning behind why she felt the wasted. the sky and started yelling at each other, and they were? emotionally involved? The you're, refuse to budge even answer:
of yours, raise doubts about erica's story about finding that child born them saw tells you always might understand. I think a lot of trial was spent by the fence defending her, but rather attacking Daniel think every job had allegedly for her. They also have empathy for here we saw just how forceful that she was towards here. Why she steals the wise. These deals These are the same questions we all have. Why were Daniel and Erika still sleeping together? Could anyone have intervened?
ACA is alive, but she's lost everything lost her son, her freedom, her future, although she wasn't convicted this time around, she will remain in prison until she tried again for the first degree, murder of them- she says she will slugged its devastating there's a whole they'll, never felt it'll, never here ever danielson. Aden is almost an. now living with the man? Who is this bidding image of his dad Matt? you're raising Daniel son, was that attack decision. Blue I wish that I could do is make sure that he knew how much
his father loved him, I'm Erin Moriarty forty eight hours and that's my life of crime. This Gas series is developed by forty. Eight hours in partnership was CBS news, radio Judy I got is forty. Eight hours executive producer, Jonathan lie is CBS news. Radio executive producer production and added aimed at this season. Of my life of prime by our hang there. a bazaar was also produced by paula, rosa and cat terms of forty eight hours. Craig swagger is vice president and general manager of CBS news, radio and finally, a Thank you to all of you are listeners. We owe it all to you. the millions of forty eight hours, bands don't bring to join me online? I'm at ye, have moriarty on twitter m were
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Transcript generated on 2022-12-09.