Ms there arent a lot of murders in paradise. A darling girl with two darling children. Its a story Keith Morrison followed for nearly ten years. I get a call from her boss said she hadnt showed up for work. They found her in the car. I saw in the back, ligature marks. Didnt deserve that. A small island. Small pool of suspects. I had no idea he was a drug dealer. The soon to be exhusband. That morning he called in sick. Was there a polygraph. And the lover . He didnt do that good either. Without much to go on, this case was growing colder by the day. Nothing, just nothing happened. But a father doesnt forget. I have to have justice for my daughter. After all these years, are there still secrets to uncover . Quite a journey for you. It isnt over yet. This father finally got his answer. But is it the one he wanted . Every in my wildest dreams would i imagine what were going through now. held. Sandra galas was born and raised on an island known as one of the most beautiful places on earth. How could something so ugly happen there . The young mother found strangled to death in her garage. Police immediately set their sights on two men close to sandra. It would take a fathers relentless pursuit of the truth to unravel this mystery. Heres Keith Morrison with the other side of paradise. Wandering through this land, you wonder if youre transported through the beginning of biblical times. To a garden free of want, temptation or betrayal. And in i land so distractingly beautiful, tourists who ebb and flow like the tides could be forgiven for looking past this, a lone tormented father begging for help for a terrible reason, to solve the murder of his precious daughter sandy. I really appreciate it. Anything we can do. We hope wie hope we get an arrest. We first came upon Larry Mendonca on another assignment in 2009 which is when we shot this video. He was 68 years old then. Alone he worked. Handing out flyers, gruff and stoic. Except when the pain was just too much. Just three years. Still rough. Larry took us to sandras grave, told us how he promised to bring her killer to justice. She wont be forgotten as long as im alive. We had no idea then where this meeting would lead us. That our journey would last a decade. A case that would expose evil lurking in this garden in paradise and bring larry to the edge of his own mortality. Vide. Like many, she was multiracial, she was half japanese, half portuguese. She attended st. Katherine school. When people ask what was she like, you tell them. She was absolutely a gogetter. She was teachers pet. Oh, really . She was perfect. Always had her perfect nice and done. You know, she was always focused. In high school sandra was an athlete, a cheerleader. Very popular. She was the complete package. And her home life . Oldfashioned, traditional family. Catholic. Played by the rules type of people. Disciplined. Very important thing to larry. 20year air force veteran. I was trying to toughen her up if you want to put it in that expression. To know what the real world was like. That was why larry insisted sandra leave kauai a to go to college. She ended up in honolulu. For a small island girl, it felt as big and lonely as new york city. She missed kauai, her family and would come home as often as she could. She got involved with darren. Darren was here. Darren was here. Darren galas, a little older. Made good money in his highway construction job. Sandra was crazy about him. So son austin, came nine months later and braydon, two that. By anyone 24, she was the matriarch of her own little clan. They were the apple of her eye. Life was good until april 2005 when sandra came to her parents very upset. As she told us, she was cleaning out her husbands backpack and two phone numbers fell out. She called the phone numbers and it turned out to be two different married women. Sandra confronted darren. He would never admit it. He kept saying they were friends. She knew koiz. She new otherwise. She moved out. Got a job at a beach house restaurant. An island landmark. It was a life changer. She was a darling girl, you know. With two darling children. A waitress at the beach house saw her transformation into young working woman. She wore her hair back, was prim and proper. Was very subdued. As soon as she got away from darren, she was she cut her hair in a bob and was cute and stylish all of a sudden. Sandra started going out with friends and as is obvious in this concert video, she was enjoying her new life. Before too long, sandra started getting friendly with one of the chefs, a recent transplant from oahu named ryan. He wined and dined her and took really good care of her. He was really nice to her. They were doing fabulous things. Going on honolulu Shopping Trips where ryan would lavish expensive gifts on sandra. Louie vuitton luggage. Larry and sandras mom knew little of him. In january 2006, they were visiting their son when they got an odd call from sandras boss. Said she hadnt showed up for work. Very unusual for her. Hours later the phone rang again. It was 3 00 a. M. A time when bad news comes calling. Larrys son answered the phone. This is basically how it goes. Hello. Oh, hi. Hi cousin. No coming up. She was slumped to the right of the passenger seat facedown. Who wanted sandra dead . She goes driving by with her boyfriend in the car. From what were told he went ballistic, he flipped out. When dateline continues. I wanted more from my copd medicine, thats why ive got the power of 1,2,3 medicines with trelegy. The only fdaapproved, oncedaily 3 in 1 copd treatment. With trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works 3 ways to open airways, keep them open, and reduce inflammation for 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. 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She was beyond out of sight of the rich and burdened estates of the she was the working class suburbia, in her garage, in her car, she had been strangled to death. It was sandras new boyfriend who called the police that he found her that way. And she was slumped to the right to the passenger seat face down into the seat. Roy asher is one of the original investigators. We spoke to him in 2009. This was two years after sandra was murdered. I saw the back of her neck, ligature marks. We have an idea of what could have been used. What . Thin cord, like a fishing line. Sandras shirt and bra were askew. Her lip was split as if she had been punched in the face. Ryan, the boyfriend, hes the one on the right of the screen, told investigators he discovered sandras body around 9 00 p. M. But the cops could see she had been dead for a while by then. Probably eight to ten hours. Putting the time of death in the morning. Can you get more exact . No. Given that the estranged husband, darren, used to live with sandra and ryan was now dating her, their fingerprints could certainly be explained. Nothing suspicious there. But ryan finding the body, well, that was potentially suspicious. Did he have an alibi . Yes. It checked out . Yes. Do you remember what it was . He was at work. So who else . There was sandras estranged husband darren, of course. This was interesting. That morning he called in sick. In other words, he didnt have an alibi . No. Based on that lack of an alibi, the Police Arrested darren. The police said, do you think her husband could have done it, my first reaction was no. Even as larry tried to wrap his mind around that idea they says we got to let him go. We dont have enough. We dont have enough. Meaning what . Was darren involved or not . Grieving and impatient for answers, larry launched an investigation of his own. It was like, i dont know, a panic. Ive got so many things to do and ive got to get it done now. As a native from kauai and intelligence analyst, larry had the connections and the skills to piece together the details surrounding his daughters murder. For instance, he found out that two days before the killing darren while working on a road crew saw sandra and ryan together. She goes driving by with her boyfriend in the car. From what were told from his coworkers, he went ballistic. He just flipped out. At that time this is important to the case sandra and darren shared custody of their two sons. Remember, she worked evenings at the restaurant so the boys slept over with darren and at 6 00 in the morning, she would show up, take them out for breakfast, get them ready for school and daycare. But larry discovered that on the night before she was murdered, sandra stayed over at ryans house, her boyfriends. He dropped her off at her place at 6 00 a. M. And then the neighbors told larry, they saw her leave in her car soon after that apparently heading to pick up the boys. Neighbors confirm they saw sandras car return a short while later but without the children. Larry learned through his contact that sandra had a 10 00 that morning to get her nails done at a salon about 45 minute away. She never made the appointment. So this is how we narrow down the time of death. Before about 9 00 where she would have had to leave to make her appointment. Larry learned from his own sources the boyfriend ryan had an alibi. Well, husband darren did not. All of which got larry thinking the same thing as the police. Must have been darren who murdered sandra. Right now, im driven by the case. I mean many of sandras friend, like krista hall also thought darren was guilty. I think everyone thought darren would be arrested immediately and hed be going to jail and the children going to the grandparents or her brother and everything would be okay. Exactly one year after the murder there was indeed an arrest. But it wasnt darren. Coming up weve got to get this case solved. A new theory about sandras murder. She may have been smuggling drugs in her new Louis Vuitton suitcase and not known it. When dateline continues. The countdown has begun. til everyone can enjoy a professional clean feel. At home. Youre stronger than you know. So strong. You power through chronic migraine, 15 or more headache or migraine days a month. One tough mother. Youre bad enough for botox®. Botox® has been preventing headaches and migraines before they even start for almost 10 years, and is the 1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. Botox® is for adults with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. Effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a lifethreatening condition. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Dont receive botox® if theres a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Go on with your bad self. You may pay as little as zero dollars for botox®. Ask your doctor about botox® for chronic migraine. You got this. Kauais unique is many ways, not least of which is this. Its almost a mediafree zone. Most information spreads here and it has for generations by wo wordofmouth. Where facts, opinions all swirl together as one. As the news swept across the island like a wave, ryan shinzo had been arrested but not by the island cops. By the fbi. Then we hear that ryan has gone to jail. Were like oh, my god. What did he do . Then we hear no, no. He went to jail for drug dealing which none of us knew he was a drug dealer. I had no idea. He was a player in a big money Drug Trafficking ring. Running meth from the mainland to oahu to kauai. When people found out about that, rumors started to fly. Was ryan using sandra as an unwitting drug mule when he took her to honolulu . Was she bringing back meth with her . Who knows . She may have been smuggling drugs in her knew Louis Vuitton suitcase and not known it . The final part of that story, maybe she was killed before she could go to the police. But that was just a rumor. In a sea of rumors. Police didnt seem any closer to finding sandras killer, whoever it was. The case grew colder with each passing year. Larry still thought darren killed sandra. It seemed wherever larry went on this small island, there he was. With the boat and the truck. Its not easygoing by here knowing hes still running free. Weve got to get this case solved. On this day, larry and sandras mom had to see darren at grandson austins Little League game. Thats darren on the field coaching. In the dugout with his girlfriend. The woman he had known since before sandras murder. It was at this point 2009, three years after sandras murder when larry felt the time had come for him to go from investigator to avenger. He was seriously thinking about killing darren. If i ever figure out a way to get away with it, it will happen. Fortunately, the arrival of a new kauai police chief put his plans on hold. A 30year veteran of the honolulu p. D. Agreed to meet with larry and listen to his theories about the case. He showed me the scene and explained to me what happened. I could feel his grief. It wasnt the point was what . The point was i wanted him to realize that theres somebody there that is listening to him. What do you do next . We went to stood there what were you thinking about . I was thinking about the sadness and the loss of a child. Nothing, nothing like it. Nobody can understand unless theyve been there. Not unless you lost a child. Chief barry was struggle to tell us he did know what it was like to lose a child. He came out of retirement and took the job as head of the Kauai Police Department after the sudden death of his 26yearold son. I feel like im working through him. That he motivate me. I believe that. Things happen for a reason. I told him, theres a reason why we met. I dont know what the reasons are. But im here for you. So after meeting with larry, chief perry sent sandras file to a couple of friend in honolu honolulu, investigators with the cold case unit. Ask them to find anything we may have missed. They did indeed find something using breakthrough science for that time, early 2009. Cold case investigators extracted touch dna from sandras shirt and bra. She have perry called larry with the news. He said, we got something. They rescanned her clothes i i e they found two, how did he put it. Two microscopic particles of a male origin. Sometimes its what you find and sometimes its what you dont. Coming up what i found really interesting is its pretty detailed from january 1st all the way up until the 24th. But on the morning of sandras murder. We have nothing. When dateline continues. Protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. All the way out here just for a blurry photo of me. Frontline plus. Oh, thats a good one. Wait, whats that . Thats just the lowbattery warning. Oh, alright. Now its all, check out my rv, and, lets go fourwheeling. Maybe theres a little part of me that wanted to be seen. Well, progressive helps people save when they bundle their home with their outdoor vehicles. So theyve got other things to do now, bigfoot. Wait, whatd you just call me . My name is daryl. Heres whats happening. There are over 11 million coronavirus cases across the globe and more than half a million have died. Just in the past 24 hours, brazil reported nearly 38,000 new cases and over 1,000 deaths. England reopened restaurants and bars for the first time in three months on saturday. Despite the governments move to ease lockdown measures, some restrictions persist as a limitation on crowds and ban on live music. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline. Im natalie morales. Three years after sandra galas murder, the investigation has stalled. Enter chief darryl perry. Like sandras father larry, chief perry knew the pain of losing a child. Motivated by their shared grief, he asked state investigators to take a look at the files and remarkably they found new evidence. But in a case full of twists, there was another one just around the corner. Here again is Keith Morrison with the other side of paradise. It took a scientific breakthrough to finally get Larry Mendonca the answers he was pleading for. Touch dna, microscopic skin cells on sandras shirt and bra. It was a match to darren. When that result came in, tell me what your first thoughts were. We got him. Larry was wary. It isnt over yet. Because what seemed like great evidence to the cops did not to the newly elected prosecuting attorney. For one simple reason. The dna did not exclusively match darren. It could have come from the two children. Larry, though, refused to be dis discouraged. The driving force is to get this case solved, put my daughter to rest. Because she isnt yet. Hopefully it will be this year. Hopefully it will be 2009. Were close. 2009 ended as it had begun, with the case in stasis. No breaks, no leads, no arrests. 2010 was no different. Same for 2011. Nothing. Its fair to say, sandras Murder Investigation was very much cold. So 2012, no. Six years after the murder and three years after that dna test, chief perry gave the case to a new detective named bryson ponce. Who reinvestigated the evidence in the car. Undisturbed. She was sitting in the drivers seat and from her waist up was pulled, slouched over the passenger seat. It appeared she was yanked over that way. It appeared. We believe there was a struggle in the vehicle in the granl. Thats due to some evidence on the outside front of the vehicle. Wait a minute. Smudge, marks. When you look at how this happened, it wasnt sexually motivated or a robbery. It was focused on anger. So ponce circled back to the original two suspects, husband darren, boyfriend ryan. But which one . From the file, ponce learned ryan, in addition to being a drug trafficker, had been c convicted of Domestic Violence. Was there something fishy about how he found the body . He told cops he went to her house. Doors were locked. He said he peered through the ventilation spots at the base of her garage wall and saw sandra in her car. Calling out, sandra, sandra and he said that he couldnt get into the door. He called a friend to help him open the door. Called a friend to help him find a body . Wouldnt be the first time a guilty party about d. That. Did ryan remain at the scene and wait for the Police Officers . Yeah. Was there anything in the report about his demeanor that night . Initially, investigators thought that maybe he wasnt saying everything that happen. Holding back a little . Yeah. Maybe he was a little bit nervous. But ryan had an alibi, right . He was at worklld. He found out the estimated time was more of a rough guess and that sandra could just as well been murdered hours earlier when ryan wasnt at work. Then there were the results from ryans 2006 polygraph exam. What was the result that of . It didnt look good for ryan, except for darrens polygraph result didnt look so great either. How did he do . He didnt do that good. He didnt pass. That was interesting. Both suspects failed the polygraph. So now ponce looked at the evidence against darren who gave police two entirely different accounts of the morning of the murder. First he said sandra came by to get the kids. Then a minute later said she didnt. Now, remember darren and sandra were going through a divorce and a heated child custody battle. So darren apparently thought it would be a good idea to take note of like the time she was late in picking up the boys, hoping it would one day help him in court. I went to the calendar and i found it interesting that its pretty detailed from january 1st. Every day all the way up until the 24th. The very last entry. On the 25th you got nothing. Why is that important . Because sandra was murdered that very morning, the morning of the 25th. About the time when she would have been picking up her son. You would expect darren to have wrote down in there that sandra never showed up to pick up the boys. That he had to take off from work. But he didnt. Nor did he call her to find out why she was a noshow. Ponce theorized that sandra actually did go to darrens house to get the boys but there was an argument of some sort and she left without them. Darren, still angry, followed her home, parking his truck on a street behind sandras cu culdes culdesac. This path basically leads to the culdesac and her house is three houses down. Very, very close, easy access. So you think that darren came up, followed her, had the confrontation there, killed her with a ligature, choked her to death. Then what did he do . I think after this the incident happened over here, he went back to where he came and just took off and headed back home. And nobody saw him . It was still dark. Ponce i saw this email sandra sent her lawyer three weeks before her murder. Darren started asking me about my boyfriend as he called him, ryan. He got really up set of and started swearing at me. He started shaking me, telling me to tell him the truth and dont ever call him again. Ponce worked the investigation for close to a year. As he weighed and reweighed the evidence, he always came back to darren. Who lacked and alibi, who called in sick to work, who gave conflicting accounts about the murder. Who left blank the diary entry for the 25th. Who failed a polygraph. Who was jealous of ryan. Who never called sandy to find out why she didnt pick up the boys. Ponce delivered his final report to chief perry and the prosecutor and a handful of fellow investigators. We all believed it was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the case was not going to get any better than what we had. And the prosecutor finally agreed to present the case to a grand jury. And in october 2012, the grand jury indicted darren for sandras murder. So was larrys quest for justice finally over . Oh, no. Not by a long shot. Coming up this case is a textbook example of why you do not insert politics into peoples lives. A new prosecutor, a new delay. Kauai is a murderers paradise. If you want to kill somebody, youve got 80, 90 chance to get away with it. When dateline continues. Creating a coast to Coast Network to deliver your car as soon as tomorrow. Recruiting an army of customer advocates to make your experience incredible. And putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. Thats why weve become the nations Fastest Growing retailer. Because our customers love it. See for yourself, at carvana. Com. No matter how you stay fit keep it light with light fits rainbow of delightful, proteinpacked flavors. On october 31, 2012, darren galas was charged with the murder of his wife sandra. He pleaded not guilty was released on bail. 6 1 2 months later, may 15, 2013, sandras dad larry and mom toesh i held this memorial dedication at the Domestic Violence center. Chief perry was there, as was bryson ponce, but darren stayed away, as did sandras two sons. As most of you know, today is sandras birthday. This is a very special day for us. At this point larry and his wife thought they were in the homestretch, that darrens trial was months away. But the prosecuting attorney lost her bid for reelection, defeated by this man, justin he said the case wasnt ready for trial. This case is a textbook example of why you do not insert politics into peoples lives and into their families. Now larrys quest for justice was mired in the political battle. With the new prosecutor saying he couldnt pursue it because the ultimate suspect ryan shinzo was never completely eliminated. If you have cases with multiple suspect, youre going to charge one of the suspects, you better be sure youve excluded the other suspects. Then they said the entire Investigative Team voted to seek an indictment. The team decided unanimously, it wasnt shalenes decision, it was the teams decision. I definitely feel that there was more than overwhelming evidence to convict mr. You could have gotten that conviction . I definitely believe so. Shes dreaming said kollar. She never would have won. So kollar reopened the investigation again and delayed the trial again. His office tried to strengthen the case. The result was one trial delay after another. And three years later, 2015 now, larry was one serious 74yearold man. Kauai is a murderers paradise. If you want to kill somebody, come to kauai. Youve got probably an 80, 90 chance to get away with it. I firmly believe that. There was never any point during this process where the file was just sitting on the shelf getting dusty. There was always something being done. Another piece of evidence being tested. Another witness being looked for. But you must have been ready to let it go at one point. We cant do that. That conversation happened any number of times over the years. But each time we said no. Theres got to be a way to move this forward. It was larrys constant input part of the thing that kept you going here . Of course. None of us wanted to get that call saying, larry wants to see you right away and hes not happy. When we spoke to larry in 2015, darrens trial was on the calendar for march of the following year. The odds larry gave of that happening i would say better than 50 50. But even that was optimistic. The trial was delayed again until november 2016. But as that trial date approached, the defense requested another delay and the judge granted it. The case was continued to august 2017. And as that date approached, we look back on what larry said to us in 2015. Someday this is going to end. One way or another. Then maybe i can rest a little bit. Early in the morning of the 14th of february, 2017, Larry Mendonca, age 75 went out to play a round of golf, wasnt feeling well, called his son lawrence in texas. Told me he was having a heart attack and was going to the emergency room. It was pretty intense. But being as stubborn as my dad is. Dont worry. Theyre going to put a stent in me, ill be fine. I dont think he knew the magnitude of the situation at the time. Coming up, a father fights for his life. To see him in that hospital bed was tough. Very tough. What would happen to his fight for justice. To prove in a court of law. When dateline continues. Devin, did you know geico is now offering an extra 15 percent credit on car and motorcycle policies . Ok . Thats 15 percent on top of what geico could already save you. So what are you waiting for . Dj khaled to be your motivational coach . Yo devin remember to brush in a circle motion. Thank you. Dj. Khaled. Tiny circles, devin. Do another one. Another one. Is this good . Put in that work, devin. Dont give up. Geico. Save an extra 15 when you switch by october 7th. Should i invest in stocks or not . Meaning, are stocks going to rise or not . , lets instead stop looking at the investments, which we cant control, and lets now look at our goals, which we can control. In other words, we only want to take as much risk as is necessary to achieve our goals. We need to protect the money thats there. And that says you should be investing in. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Welcome back. For more than a decade, Larry Mendonca tried to get his daughters killer behind bars. He believes darren killed her. Prosecutors agreed. Yet darren remained free on bail. Larry was far from giving up his crusade but the endless frustration was taking its toll. A father who fought so hard for justice, would he live to see it . Heres Keith Morrison with the conclusion of the other side of paradise. Larry mendonca didnt comprehend as he played his round of golf. It was only later when the doctor intervened rushed him by air ambulance to honolulu. Heart attack then quintuple bypass surgery and then a stroke. jw3s1. cnau e yig, ÷i5q vulnerable he was at that time. He seemed like the invulnerable man. He was superman to myself and my sister. To see him in that situation, that hospital bed, it was tough, very tough. It was sheer that pulled him back from the brink. My cardio says the whole thing was due to the 10, 12 years of stress. Larry spent months in physical therapy to build up the strength to attend darren galas trial scheduled for the summer of 2017. But it was delayed yet again. And darren, during all this time, out and about. This time we found him at son austins soccer game. Thats him wearing the black tshirt, gold chain and wraparound sunglasses. In you blue shirt, his wife. Larry and his wife were there, always are. What larry felt in his chest was more rage than physical pain. Someday i might lose it all. I really dont know what im going to do. You never know until it happens. Then, late 2017. A breakthrough. The prosecutor felt the investigators had finally and fully eliminated ryan as a suspect which now only left darren in their sights. We had done some work over the years that had made the case somewhat better. Maybe darren looked himself in the mirror and said, i know i did it. I dont know. But they said, well plead. But plead guilty to murder . No. He agreed to plead no contest to assault. You had a murder case here. No contest to assault sounds not very bad. Well, we may think we have a murder case, know he did it. But its what we can prove in a court of law. On january 29, 2018, 12 years after sandras murder, we were with larry outside the courthouse an hour before the plea hearing and as you might have guessed, he wasnt happy. Theres no, no justice. What are the chances that could fall apart over there, this morning . Theres a possibility. He can change his mind at any given time up to the time of the sentence. What drawing your attention to the no contest plea form has darren formally changed his plea of no contest to assault 1 was not final resolution but more delay. The Court Granted him four more months of freedom before sentencing. And larry, well im very mad. Im very upset. There was once a time after sandras murder when larry and his wife were hoping to raise sandras boys. But now hes been working on them for 12 years. Hes been brainwashing them. They hate their mother and their grandparents. You have court. Darren was protected by friends and relatives, which included the two grandsons. Darren declined to speak with us. But his defense lawyer, michael green, did stop to talk. Theres a big difference between pleading no contest and pleading guilty. Suggest he did something to her. He assaulted her. That very day. He does no contest means he neither admits nor denies the charges. For nour months uncertainty. Because the judge had the power to sentence darren to anything from 10 years incig, theyre going to ask for leniency. Do you think he could avoid going to prison altogether . At this point i wouldnt put anything past him. On may 30, 2018, we were back outside the courthouse with Larry Mendonca, this time he was the one surrounded by supporters. A 12year investigation now reduced to an hour in court that felt as stressful and tense as any jury ctrial. Would darren be carted off to prison or would the judge grant him probation and send him home. His lawyer reminded there was an alternate suspect. A person of interest the entire time. Then he told the judge to remember, this was not a murder case. Theres an agreement that my client will plead guilty to nothing. Nothing. Hes offered to plead no contest to an assault charge. And then larry got his chance finally to let 12 years of pain pour out starting with that first awful night when he broke the news to his wife. How do you tell a woman that the baby she had once nursed falling asleep in her arms, played on her lap, skipped off to school with the lunch she had made for her was now dead . We received a life sentence full of pain, sorrow, agony and frustration, a life sentence with no parole. Lasting eternity. Darren stoically sat through it all. And then what sentence would the judge impose . She began by quoting darrens attorney. That is that he pled no contest to the charge of assault in the first degree. Thats what the sentence larrys stomach started to tighten. My lawyer reached over and said, this doesnt sound good. And then six minutes into her ruling finally. Here it was. You are here by ordered committed to the custody of the director of the for a period of ten years. Ten years. The maximum she could impose. With that, the mendonca familys 12year quest for justice came to an end. That was my promise to my daughter. I fulfilled it. Larry and his wife follow a series of rituals from the anniversary of sandras death. They bring flowers to her memorial outside the ywca, have lunch at the beach house restaurant where sandra once worked. And they pray by her graveside at Holy Cross Cemetery where she is surrounded by her ancestors. Sandra, so homesick when away from this island she loved. Now forever a part of it. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im natalmorales. Thank you for watching. I am craig melvin. Im natalie morales. This is dateline. It sucks the life out of you. Your dream life isnt going to happen. That wedding youre planning, you dont get to have it. Evil exists. Evil dwells in people. It was a night like this, just before halloween. A killing that