Kriti Mehrotra
It was on November 30, 2022, when everything turned upside down for a family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as 32-year-old Monica Deleon was found dead following an unexpected assault. As carefully chronicled in A&E’s ‘After the First 48: Cold Fury,’ she was a single mother of three with seemingly no enemies and serving as a registered nurse at local hospitals and assisted living facilities. Therefore, no one could have ever expected that she would be killed, but thanks to the efforts of authorities, her case was soon brought to a satisfactory close.
Monica Deleon Died of Her Injuries at a Hospital
Born in August 1990 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the second youngest of eight in a big, happy family, Monica Deleon grew up surrounded by affection, care, love, and unwavering support. Therefore, she ended up developing a very outgoing and social personality, which enabled her to make friends with anyone she ever met and have a good time, no matter what. According to one of her older sisters, Rosa Valladolid, she also “smiled a lot; she knew a lot of people. Always into everything, always messing with everybody, you know. Just happy. Happy-go-lucky.”
However, Monica’s passion was caring for others, which is why she pursued a career in the healthcare industry and earned a certification as a nurse — helping those in need brought her true joy. If she wasn’t working, as per her family, she was either spending time with them or enjoying the company of her friends, all the while remaining dedicated to her three young children. They were her pride and joy, so her loved ones knew that if there was a way for her to have survived, she would have for them.
It was after 5 in the morning on November 30, 2022, when officials responded to a call from an area near 41st Street and 145th East Avenue. All they knew was that a woman wrapped in a jacket in the backseat of a car parked outside a suburban home wasn’t breathing. The dispatcher instructed the female caller to administer CPR, just for her to then claim that it was making the victim bleed from her neck. When officials arrived, they rushed the injured woman to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead at around 6 am. She was later identified as Monica, and her cause of death was the injuries to her body — a deep laceration on each side of her neck and bruising all across her body.
Monica Deleon’s Assailant Had Fled the Scene Following an Argument
While Monica was being rushed to the hospital, the female who had called 911 told deputies that she was not the resident of the house. She asserted she had been called by her estranged husband, claiming that their son, Isaias Torres Jr., had shown up at his doorstep at around 4:30 because he and a woman had gotten into an accident. The son’s car had ended up in the pond, and he had managed to drag the woman out, but they needed help. So, his father hadn’t hesitated, but once they returned with the woman in the back, an argument had ensued between the father-son duo.
According to the aforementioned show, Isaias’ father was mad because his son was stumbling around as if he were drunk or high on drugs, which is when they called his mother. It was she who reportedly prioritized the injured woman without even knowing her name and dialed 911, only for his son to flee the scene without a word to anybody. Isaias thus immediately became the prime suspect. When the mother was interviewed again at the police station a while later, her statements remained exactly the same, but she gradually began shutting down after being told the victim had passed away.
Isaias’ father corroborated this entire account, too, adding that his son had called the woman Monica, but he had no idea who she was or what their connection was. He also closed down a little after being told her fate, which the officials understood as they were parents, but they still asked them both to get in touch if they knew where their son could be. Only then were they able to identify the victim as Monica Deleon, learning that her injuries were extensive enough to not be consistent with just a crash. Hence, finding Isaias became their top priority, and they were fortunately able to locate him at his sister’s place on December 6, 2022. He was arrested after a brief standoff at her apartment complex near 81st and Mingo.
Isaias Torres Jr. is Serving a Life Sentence in State Prison
Although Isaias was charged with first-degree murder, he maintained that he did not intentionally harm Monica in any way, shape, or form. Instead, he stated that she had insisted she drive on that fateful night, but they soon ended up in the pond, from where his vehicle was later recovered. He told officials he tried to get her out of the seatbelt, but it was stuck, so he used a knife to try to free her, which is how she got the lacerations on her neck. However, in the end, he got the seatbelt free in another way, dragged her out, and realized he needed help, so he left her alone in the secluded area to go to his father.
Officials hypothesized that Isaias was not telling the truth because of indications he was intoxicated on the fateful night, as well as evidence of an assault on the ground mere feet away from the pond. There was fresh blood and a matted texture on the grass not far from where the car had ultimately ended up, so officials maintained it was a murder rather than an accidental death from neglect.
When Isais ultimately stood trial, he maintained Monica’s injuries were from his efforts to free her, but prosecutors painted a different picture. They also questioned why he had fled the scene if he was innocent, resulting in the jury ultimately finding him guilty of second-degree murder on August 7, 2024. He was consequently sentenced to life in prison, so at the age of 31, he remains incarcerated at the Allen Gamble Correctional Center in Holdenville, Oklahoma.
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