Suvechha Sarkar
The episode titled, ‘Something About Him’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘American Monster’ takes the viewers through the disturbing murder of 21-year-old Margarita Lemus Sanchez in Sioux City, Iowa, in 2015. This heinous act completely stunned the community, especially her parents and siblings. The episode focuses on the investigation and what the officials discovered during this period of time. As they delved deeper, it was revealed that her husband — Rogelio Pablo Morales — was the sole reason for her tragic death.
Rogelio Pablo Morales’ Heated Argument With His Wife Led to the Murder
Rogelio Pablo Morales was born in Hubbard, Nebraska, sometime around 1987. He had grown up in a happy and fulfilling life surrounded by the love of his parents and five siblings. When he turned 19, he joined the Marines. His life took a significant turn after he met Margarita Lemus Sanchez on social media when he was 24. The duo completely hit it off from the beginning, and their connection was effortless. After three months of dating, they got married, which did not sit right with her sister, Monica Terriquez, and her mother, Margarita Sanchez Reyes. Only after a few months did the long distance start taking a toll on their relationship, and they started having arguments. However, in December 2012, Rogelio and Margarita announced that they were going to become parents. After she moved in with him, things did not seem so well. They often had problems as Rogelio’s alleged verbal and physical abuse towards Margarita increased.
After their son, Christian, was born, things started to look up, and Rogelio was settling into the family life. Soon after, his true colors came to light when he ended up choking Margarita. He was then charged with a third-degree assault with a domestic component but was later released on bail. He also got a restraining order, but Margarita let him meet Christian despite that. Things further took a turn for the worse on April 19, 2015, when 911 received a call from Rogelio’s sister, who mentioned that her brother and sister-in-law got into a fight and she was in the car unconscious. As soon as the authorities arrived at the scene, she was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital but pronounced dead upon arrival. Rogelio was sitting on the porch during this time, and he broke down as the backup officers approached him.
Rogelio was taken to the Sioux City Police Department, and the lead detective, Nick Thompson, started questioning him. He confessed that he had picked her up from her workplace around 10 PM, and they ate at Sonic. After that, he claimed that they started arguing, and he blacked out before choking her. Further investigation revealed that he discovered that Margarita was seeing someone else and would divorce him. The jealousy prompted his anger to take hold of him, and judging from the scratch on his nose, it was evident that she had struggled for her life. He also stated that their then-19-month-old son was sleeping in the backseat at that time. The autopsy results revealed that her cause of death was strangulation, and the officials allegedly considered the murder to be premeditated. Hence, his initial charge of second-degree was upgraded to first-degree murder.
Rogelio is Currently Serving His Sentence in an Iowa Prison Facility
Two years after the murder of Margarita, the trial of Rogelio finally began in 2017. The prosecutors had meticulously mentioned his string of past abuse and control over the victim and called Monica as a witness. She further talked about his alleged controlling and jealous nature and informed law enforcement about their horrific arguments. According to her, Margarita and Rogelio were in the basement arguing during her wedding, and she could not see her sister for the whole evening. The prosecution also presented a handwritten letter from him in which he apologized to his wife for his past mistakes. He wrote, “I apologize a million times for what I did, I love you more than you’ll ever know babe. What I did is not me, it’s not who I am. I am sorry, my love, and please forgive me.”
On the other hand, the defense argued that Rogelio suffered from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because he was in the military. They claimed that this mental state eventually contributed to his outburst, which led to the tragic event. However, Monica was not willing to accept this statement and said, “That statement, we don’t believe it… at all because he has been through more traumatic stress or whatever he wants to call it because he was in the military. He’s seen worse. For someone to tell him, “I want a divorce,” or whatever her last words were, for that to cause him to do that, I just don’t believe it.” During this trial, Rogelio pleaded not guilty and claimed that he had blacked out. Monica felt that he showed no remorse for the crime he committed, and his face did not show any emotions.
On July 21, 2017, the jury failed to confirm that this was a premeditated murder. Hence, he was convicted of second-degree murder of 21-year-old Margarita Sanchez. After much deliberation, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison in Woodbury County District Court. It was mandated that he needed to serve at least seventy percent of his original sentence to become eligible for Parole, which won’t be anytime before 2050. After his conviction, he appealed again to a higher court in 2018. He believed that the police should not have used certain statements that he said during his questioning. He wanted these statements to be excluded from the evidence. However, after review, the court stated that he completely understood his rights and had given them up willingly while speaking to the police. Rogelio is currently serving his time in Anamosa State Penitentiary, which is located in the Jones County community of Anamosa, Iowa.
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