Dateline: Unforgettable - Who was Tina Sandoval and what happened to her? Disturbing details of the 1995 case, revealed 

Dateline features another chilling case that tells a haunting love story turned tragedy. Tina Sandoval disappeared in 1995, and her case remained stagnant for 22 years with no answers from her, no remains found, and no closure. After decades, her husband, John, revealed the whereabouts of her body. It was shocking for investigators how well-orchestrated John's plan was, which made the body untraceable. John revealed he had buried it right beneath someone else's grave at the Sunset Memorial Gardens in Colorado.

Dennis Murphy, who investigated the case, reflected on how John managed to even control the narrative here, what he had been doing to Tina for a long.

“Just when you think the case is all buttoned up and the monster is in chains, he finds a way to take control again,” Dennis said to Dateline.

Read on to know more about what Tina went through and what happened to her, as shown on Dateline.

Dateline: Unforgettable: Who was Tina Sandoval and what happened to her?

Tina was a Colorado resident and was working as a caregiving nurse at the age of 23. She was one of her nine siblings and was raised in a close-knit family. She had met John Sandoval while studying nursing, where he was training to be a radiology tech. John appeared as a charming guy who was kind and attentive towards Tina. She immediately fell for him, and when they got married in 1992, it seemed like a fairy tale story coming true.

Their life took a turn here when, after marriage, they started to live together. John became very obsessive and controlling towards Tina. Tina decided to separate, and that is when, in 1995, John murdered her, unable to see her so adamant about her decision. Tina's decision, which was meant to bring her freedom, ended her life.

This was not it. Tina was also aware of John's deepest secret, which had left her further in shock. John was a serial Peeping Tom. He enjoyed watching women through their windows, bathrooms, etc. He was obsessed with voyeuristic compulsion, and Tina had discovered him sneaking out now and then out of bed, crawling to people's yards, and spying on women while they undressed or slept. He had also sometimes stolen women's underwear as trophies, bringing them home and keeping them hidden from Tina.

In the Dateline interview, Tina's friends recall how terrified she was about the reality of her husband. It also made her fear for her safety as she started to park outside Tina's house for hours, and one time also climbed onto her deck to see what she was doing.

By 1995, Tina wanted to get a divorce and had also begun dating again after living separately. However, John was still fixated on her. One day, Tina went to meet John to finalize her separation, and that became the last time she was seen ever, as shown on Dateline.

Here are some more details of the 1995 case, as explored in the Dateline episode

When Tina vanished in October 1995, her family immediately suspected her estranged husband. Police already knew John well, as he had a record of harassment, burglary, and voyeurism. The detectives began tracing him and found some suspicious items in his apartment, like a wet shovel, rope, flashlight, and Tina's credit cards. But the prosecutors couldn't charge without a body or confession.

They convicted John of a separate charge for trespassing and sentenced him a six years in prison. He was released after serving 4 years and moved to Las Vegas to restart a new life.

In 2009, a new district attorney reopened Tina’s case. During the investigation, they discovered 2 portraits of Tina and over 100 tapes of women secretly recorded. He was convicted, and in 2016, to reduce his charges further, he made a deal. He would let the authorities to Tina's body, but they had to reduce the charge of second-degree murder.

That is when Tina's remains were found two feet beneath another person's grave. John had buried Tina the night before another person's cremation was scheduled.

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Watch the Dateline episode only on NBC.

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