Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘The Other Side of Paradise’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ chronicles the tragic demise of a mother of two named Sandra Galas outside her home in Hawaii in early 2006. With the investigation leading to multiple suspects, the detectives couldn’t charge any of them until years later, when they gathered enough evidence. The documentary covers all the intricate details of the years-long case and the ensuing investigation. It also features insightful interviews with Sandra’s loved ones and the officials who helped solve the case.
Sandra Galas Was Found Deceased in Her Car in 2006
Larry Mendonca, a 20-year Air Force veteran, and his wife, Toshie Mendonca, welcomed Sandra Mendonca Galas as their little bundle of joy on May 15, 1978, in Japan. Growing up in a household that was half Japanese and half Portuguese, alongside her brother Lawrence Mendonca, Sandra enjoyed her peaceful life in Kauai, Hawaii. The devout Catholic attended St. Catherine School in Kapaʻa, Hawaii. In high school, she was popular among her peers not only for her academic performance but also for her athletic and cheerleading skills. For college, she moved to Honolulu, where she crossed paths with Darren Galas, who had a highway construction job at the time. After dating for a while, Sandra and Darren got married in 1999. Within the next three years, they welcomed two sons, Austin and Brayden, into the world.
By the summer of 2005, she landed a job at the Beach House Restaurant in Koloa, Hawaii. Sandra was looking forward to seeing her two children grow up and achieve success when fate intervened and shattered her dreams. On January 25, 2006, her parents received a call from her employer, notifying them that the mother of two had not shown up to work that day. Later in the evening, Sandra was found dead inside her car, which was parked in the garage of her Eleele home in Kauai, Hawaii. The police inspected the crime scene and her remains and concluded that the 27-year-old woman had blunt-force trauma to her head and was strangled to death with a cord-like object, which caused ligature marks on the back of her neck.
The Police Focused Their Investigation on Two Individuals Related to Sandra Galas
At the time of Sandra Galas’ homicide, she was dating one of her coworkers, Ryan Shinjo, who called 911 after finding her remains in the car on the evening of January 25, 2006. Months earlier, in April 2005, she found out about Darren’s alleged adultery with two different married women, after which their marriage fell apart. By June 2005, Darren had moved out, and the couple began living separately while sharing custody of their two sons. In August of the same year, Sandra filed for divorce and thus began a heated custody battle between the former couple over their children. Thus, at the beginning of the murder investigation, the police zeroed in on two possible suspects — Ryan and Darren — both of whom didn’t pass their respective polygraph tests.
During his interview, Ryan claimed that he found Sandra in her car around 9 pm. He was able to provide them with a concrete alibi as he was at work at the time of her killing, which was believed to be sometime that morning. On the other hand, Darren had reportedly called in sick that morning and couldn’t provide the detectives with an alibi. He also gave contradictory statements about Sandra’s movements during his interview, first claiming she showed up at his house to pick up the kids, then claiming she never did. Thus, due to a lack of alibi, he was arrested but was released when the investigators couldn’t find direct evidence that linked him to the crime. He was also granted the custody of his two sons.
Around the same time, Sandra’s father, Larry, also began his own investigation and learned that a couple of days before her demise, Darren had seen Sandra and Ryan together while working on a road crew. As per his coworkers, he appeared furious about it. Larry also found out that on the night before the murder, Sandra stayed over at Ryan’s place and was dropped off at her place at around 6 am on the fateful morning. According to the show, the neighbors told Larry that they saw her leave in her car a while later, presumably to pick up her kids from Darren’s house, but she returned without them. Upon learning that she didn’t make it to her salon appointment at 10 am, Larry believed that she was murdered before 9 am.
The Perpetrator Was Indicted More Than Six Years After the Homicide
About a year after Sandra Galas’ murder, Ryan Shinjo was arrested by the FBI for being involved in a meth trafficking operation. Meanwhile, the homicide case grew colder. In early 2009, cold case investigators reportedly extracted touch DNA from Sandra’s clothing she was wearing at the time of her murder. Although it matched Darren’s DNA, it wasn’t enough to bring charges against him as the two were still married at the time. A few years later, in 2012, when a new investigator reexamined the evidence in the case, he came across an email Sandra had sent to her divorce attorney three weeks before her demise, in which she said she feared Darren.
Furthermore, the detectives discovered Darren’s personal calendar, in which he used to write notes whenever Sandra upset him. However, he had not written any entry on the day of the murder. Armed with enough evidence, the authorities pinned him with the charge of second-degree murder and arrested him on October 31, 2012. After his indictment, Darren pleaded not guilty and was released on bail while prosecutors gathered additional evidence against him.
Darren Galas Has Been Furloughed Since 2025
After several delays, on January 29, 2018, Darren Galas agreed to plead no contest to a charge of first-degree assault in connection with the killing of Sandra Galas. The judge accepted his plea and found him guilty. Four months later, on May 30, 2018, his sentencing hearing took place. Larry took the stand and delivered an emotional and powerful victim impact statement, addressed to the convict. Ultimately, Darren was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crime. After serving less than eight years, he was placed on unsupervised custody and released from prison in August 2025, almost a year before he became eligible for parole. Since then, he has been leading a free and private life, away from the limelight.
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