Ghazal Mansury's brutal crime- A complete timeline of events ahead of Snapped

In January 2015, Ghazal Mansury was found guilty of the murder of her 79-year-old mother, Mehria Mansury. Mehria disappeared from her quiet Serra Mesa home in September 2013, setting off a frantic search and leaving her family desperate for answers.

Her daughter, Ghazal Mansury, insisted dementia was to blame, but relatives suspected foul play. Days later, their worst fears were realized when Mehria’s body was discovered near the Barona Indian Reservation.

What followed was a chilling investigation that revealed how Mehria's own daughter murdered her. The case is explored on Snapped Season 18, Episode 7, which aired on September 18, 2016, and is re-airing tonight, September 22, 2025.

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The murder of Mehria Mansury and the role played by Ghazal Mansury

Mehria Mansury was the mother of 42-year-old Ghazal Mansury, who struggled with drug use and lived in the garage of her mother’s home on Amulet Street with her boyfriend, Lucio Moreno. The relationship between the mother and daughter was strained, and family members even suspected abuse.

By late 2013, the relationship had grown more volatile, and relatives started noticing signs that something was wrong. On September 23, 2013, Mehria’s brother visited her home and was struck by the sight of her red, swollen eye. She dismissed it as allergies, but within hours, she disappeared, as per the San Diego Union-Tribune.

When the family could not reach Mehria by phone or at her door on September 24, they were alarmed. On September 25, her relatives reported her missing. Ghazal Mansury told them her mother had gone on a walk and never returned.

The search for Mehria stretched on for days, but to no avail. Eventually, suspicion fell on Ghazal and her boyfriend, Moreno. When both were interviewed, Moreno refused to testify in court, pleading the Fifth Amendment, as per NBC.

When investigations were conducted into Mehria’s home, authorities uncovered troubling signs. There were blood stains on her living room chair and on the walls, all of which tested positive for Mehria’s DNA, suggesting violence had occurred in the house. Moreover, detectives learned that Ghazal had conducted online searches for “homicide” and “how to clean blood stains.”

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The discovery of Mehria's body

Mehria's body was discovered (Image via Getty)

On October 2, 2013, following two tips, investigators went to the Barona Indian Reservation to look for Mehria. A retired sheriff’s deputy, Thomas Bennett, volunteered to assist in the search.

That afternoon, he discovered Mehria’s decomposing body under a tree in a dry gully off Wildcat Canyon Road, a short distance from the Barona Resort & Casino. She was still dressed in a faded nightgown.

That same morning, detectives had trailed Ghazal to a pawn shop, where she had sold a box of her mother’s jewelry. She told staff that her mother had “passed” and admitted she might need the money for her legal defense.

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The arrest and sentencing of Ghazal

On October 3, 2013, Ghazal Mansury was arrested. She pleaded not guilty to murder, maintaining that her mother’s death had been an accident. She claimed she had accidentally struck her with a door, causing a fatal injury, and, in a panic, hid the body.

However, prosecutors countered with testimony saying that she had strangled her mother and intentionally disposed of the body at the Barona Casino. Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood argued that Ghazal’s motive was to prevent her mother from attending a doctor’s appointment the next day, where medical staff would likely have noticed evidence of abuse, according to NBC.

Ghazal’s trial began in early 2015, and the defense clung to her “accident” narrative. However, jurors were unconvinced and in January 2015, after a day of deliberations, they returned a guilty verdict. On March 6, 2015, Judge Jeffrey Fraser sentenced Ghazal to 25 years to life in prison. For Mehria’s relatives, the verdict brought some closure and a sense of justice.

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Ghazal Mansury's case re-airs tonight on Oxygen's Snapped.

Edited by Sneha Haldar