OREM, Utah — One man is in jail after confessing to killing his girlfriend in a fight over a vape cartridge early Saturday morning.
According to the police affidavit, Orem police officers went to a residence in the area of 800 South 750 West, where 27-year-old Daniel Padilla-Ang was waiting in the living room, kneeling on the ground with his hands behind his head. He had reported the incident himself to dispatch, saying that he needed to be taken in.
Officers then located the victim — later identified as 20-year-old Sandra Robles — and attempted life-saving measures. Paramedics later arrived and pronounced her dead on scene.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Robles' family with her funeral expenses.
After Padilla-Ang was taken into custody and brought to the Orem PD headquarters, he stated that "he was there to face the consequences."
After being read his Miranda rights, he explained that he had been in a relationship with Robles for the past 4 months. She had come to his house earlier that day, and they had begun drinking later that night. He said robles had a broken vape cartridge, and when he grabbed it from her, Padilla-Ang stated that Robles hit him, after which he grabbed her neck and began to choke her.
Padilla-Ang then told officers that after Robles went to the ground, he proceeded to punch her face and continue to choke her using both of his hands until she stopped moving. Upon confirming that she was dead, he sent two text messages to family members, advising that he "just killed someone and that he wouldn't be seeing them for a while."
The affidavit goes on to say that Padilla-Ang admitted multiple times during the interview that he killed the victim.
Court records state that he has a criminal history of domestic violence. He had been arrested five times in the past eight years, and two of those were for domestic violence assault. He was reportedly on probation for these offenses and had just finished counseling as part of it.
He faces one first-degree felony charge of murder and is currently being held without bail.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence, free and confidential help and support for victims and survivors is available 24/7 by phone at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).
You can also get access to helpful resources by visiting udvc.org.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, please call 9-1-1 immediately.
