5 chilling details of the twisted case of Angela Sanford’s ‘sacrificial’ killing

Angela Sanford was 30 years old when she was found by a few hikers on the Copper Trailhead outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 22, 2010. She was partly clothed at the time and claimed that she had been s*xually assaulted.

When the police officers reached the scene, she informed them that the culprit was further up in the trail. Authorities soon discovered the body of a man lying in a kneeling position, who was identified as Joel Leyva. Angela claimed that the attacker was killed as an act of self-defense.

However, when the body of Joel Leyva was sent for autopsy, it raised suspicion about the claims made by Sanford. Snapped season 35 episode 5 explores the complete investigation behind the murder of Joel Leyva. The episode titled Angela Sanford first premiered on August 1, 2025.

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Key details about the 'sacrificial' killing by Angela Sanford

1) Angela Sanford claimed she stabbed Joel Leyva as an act of self-defense

Angela claimed that she attacked Joel Leyva as an act of self-defense (Representative image via Pexels)

As reported by Oxygen, the body of Joel Leyva was identified from his driver's licence. A knife was found on the ground beside his body, which was identified as a ceremonial knife. There were marks throughout the victim's body, which looked like Egyptian markings.

When Angela was interrogated by the officials, she claimed that Joel took her ceremonial rope from her waist and tried to tie her hands behind her. Sanford said that that was when she grabbed the dagger, stabbed Joel three to four times in self-defense, before running away.

However, when the body of Joel Leyva was sent for autopsy, it was revealed that he had been stabbed over 20 times. It was soon concluded that Angela was lying to the officers about what had happened while hiking.

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2) Angela Sanford's claim of being s*xually assaulted was found to be false

Angela's claim of being the victim of s*xual assault was found as a lie (Representative image via Pexels)

As reported by Oxygen, Angela Sanford claimed that she was r*ped by Joel Leyva. Investigators sent her for a medical examination, but the results did not find any evidence of s*xual intercourse. Medical professionals also failed to find any signs of s*xual violence.

Additionally, there were no signs of any defensive wounds on Angela's body. Only some minor bruising and new scratches were found, and the police deduced that she was not attacked at all. Authorities went on to question the hiking man, who rescued Sanford.

The witnesses revealed that Angela's clothes were found neatly folded in a pile, which was unusual.

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3) Investigators found that Angela Sanford was a follower of Wicca, a Pagan religion

Investigators discovered that Angela worshipped a Pagan religion known as Wicca (Representative image via Pexels)

As reported by Oxygen, during the interview with Angela, she revealed knowing Joel Leyva before, and the attack was not sudden. Angela revealed to the police that she had met Joel Leyva in a local casino.

Upon investigation, authorities discovered that Angela was a worshipper of a Pagan religion called Wicca. She said that she had gone on the hiking trip with Leyva to celebrate a holiday named Beltane. When Angela's friends were questioned, they revealed that she had shown interest in Wicca since she was 19 years old.

Therapist Anjoli Reed revealed that she would post vampires and supernatural creatures on social media. Police officers also discovered that Angela shared an admiration for serial killers.

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4) Authorities discovered that Joel Leyva was killed to complete a human sacrifice

Angela admitted that she killed Joel Leyva as part of a sacrificial ritual (Representative image via Pexels)

As reported by Oxygen, authorities discovered that the Beltane holiday is celebrated in May, and not in March. Additionally, when Angela's phone records were searched, it was revealed that she was the one who first contacted Leyva.

While searching through Angela's phone, investigators found that the name of Joel Leyva was saved as 'Sacrifice' in her phone. This cleared out that Angela intentionally planned the murder. She took Leyva on the hiking trip to complete a sacrifice as part of the Wiccan traditions.

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5) Angela Sanford was charged with the murder of Joel Leyva

Angela was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison (Representative image via Pexels)

As reported by Oxygen, it was on March 24, 2010, when Angela Sanford was arrested and charged with the murder of Joel Leyva. Soon, she pleaded guilty to committing the murder. It was in December 2011 that Angela was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

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Check out our other articles to learn more details about other cases on Snapped on Oxygen.

Edited by Arunava Dutta