The Journals of Maria Muñoz | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] I was the address of emergency I call my wife on responses she's not
breathing she may have taken some some pills okay what is your [Music] [Applause]
address when we get the alert tone they say it's an overdose they're saying that
he's performing CPR oh is somebody [Music] coming he's on his third fourth fth cycle and that's when I get to the
house I'm Officer gorio De La Cruz I was the first officer on the scene hello what's going on M subject shows up
at the door and he just turns around and darts into the residence I can see him heading up the stairs I just see his
shadow from the light that's on so I follow him what's going on he's helping giving
CPR he's wearing scrubs so I believe he's a higher level of care than I can provide and I ask him you want me to
help do I help you and he right away relinquishes giving CPR what did she take I think Flynn has a p
she's been pretty depressed lately I don't see any drugs usually when somebody overdoses on
drugs the pills are nearby the needle nearby the syringe something's nearby and nothing
was I'm probably at the scene within the next 30 to 45 minutes I'm Sergeant Luis MAA Jr I was
the lead detective in the case then I start trying trying to get information from him and I noticed him not answering
fully and when I asked him what's going on Joel he goes well I live a very private life and those questions are
something that I don't want coming out Maria had been seeking help through the church through a pastor wasn't she
also being treated for severe depression and anxiety she had been getting some medical attention as well but this case
was unique because she was also expressing her thoughts her feelings her emotions in a
diary my fears are losing my family losing my husband damaging my kids making the wrong choice as the da my job
was putting the right team together to work this case she described that she was going
through a tough time but that she loved those kids and she couldn't wait to do more in the
future I want to be a good mom a mom that is present engaged and involved with my kids how important how crucial
were those journals very she wasn't a drug abuser she loved those kids she would never leave them
behind there's no [Music] way [Music] [Music] in the early morning hours of September
22nd 2020 when Laredo Police Officer gregoria De La Cruz walked inside the home on
Kenyon Oak Drive his body camera was is recording the emergency unfolding in front of
him what's going on at the top of the stairs near the main bedroom helel poo dressed in teal surgical scrubs was
performing CPR on his wife Maria Munoz the La Cruz soon took over we sometimes zoom into the body cam footage to avoid
graphic material what kind of shape was she in when you started giving her SE she was warm she was still warm to touch
while Dill Cruz desperately tried to revive Maria he asked her husband about the drugs haa told the 911 operator his
wife may have taken some pills he stands up he goes to the restroom he opens a medicine cabinet I can I can tell all
this cuz I hear it I'm not really sure upon his return he hands D Cruz a pill container a
Kazaam is a drug that is often used to treat anxiety it had been prescribed to hell not to his wife Maria D La Cruz
quickly tossed the pill container aside to continue CPR H told D La Cruz that Maria had been struggling lately she's
been super depressed how told the officer that the couple's two young Sons were still in separate bedrooms nearby
here sleep yeah seemingly unaware of what was happening to their mother Maria she would like to take her
children to the park she read to them before they went to bed just a really dedicated mother yazn Martinez says her
friend Maria adored her boys 5-year-old Alejandro and Valentino who was turning two I am happy I am happy Maria enjoyed
being a s home mom take 1,000 she was learning to play the piano and planning to resume her career
I asked her if she had gone to school and she said yes she was a nurse in Puerto Rico and she's like I'm actually
studying to take my test so I could work here it was in Puerto Rico where Maria met howel peot he was 11 years older and
a nursing student a few years after they married the couple moved to Laredo Texas
Howell had landed a lucrative job as a nurse anesthetist known in the medical profession as a CRNA a nurse anesthetist
or a CRNA certified registered nurse anesthetist and a physician anesthesiologist use the same medication
same techniques to provide anesthesia for people of all ages Tina dores also a CRNA work with Howell peot at doctor's
hospital in Laro did he seem dedicated to his work yes very much so he he always wanted to be better when I first
met him he was very family oriented a hard worker smart guy he would always talk about Maria and Alejandro and
showing pictures of his son and just talking about family life in general and now at the payot home
paramedics and police were struggling to save the life of the young wife and mother when more help arrived de Cruz
sent H peo downstairs to the kitchen and that's when D La Cruz realized that the
pill container he had tossed to the side earlier hey there were some drugs here was now missing he had a prescription
drug where is it I was like he has to have them so that's when I ask hey does he have pills he comes up to the first
landing of the stairs and he tosses them to me all right so he had taken him now I'm
thinking now you're trying to hide something at 3:58 lesson 3 hours after helel peota call
911 his wife 31-year-old Maria Munos was declared dead inside their home what's going on what happened
police began asking how what had happened to his wife we had sex we took a shower then I I thought she was like
knocked out and then I go back upstairs and then she just by now things just didn't feel
right to the investigators and there was something about Howell's appearance that
seemed suspicious he was really sweaty I'm wearing a vest I'm wearing a gun I'm wearing almost 20 pounds of gear right
and I'm not sweating as bad as he is so what went through your mind when you saw
how sweaty he was he's using drugs he may be on the influence of drugs you want to see a fire truck come
on let's go outside the couple's children now in the care of law enforcement what's your name were
escorted outside my name is Alejandro Alejandro authorities immediately launched a death
investigation when I get there um I meet with Officer De La Cruz he runs the information by me lead investigator
Sergeant Luis mat didn't know if Maria had died by su suicide an accidental overdose or if her husband was somehow
involved Ma knew he needed to search the house but to do it he would have to get
hoel bot's permission and he said well I don't want you going through my stuff cuz I'm a very private man then I said
look Joel I'm not going to force you to this is your right but I'm going to have
to go and get with my da and apply for a search warrant yeah leave those Howell eventually gave consent for the search
still ma had a lot of questions to get some answers he directed authorities to put how in a police
cruiser to take him to the station could you see him before you went in I could see him through my
camera everything's there is recorded he's hitting walls he's moving furniture it was scaring some of the people down
the hall in the dispatch room so that's how loud it was holding up around 4:00 a.m. ma begins his
interview with helel peot who claims he had given Maria that container of claz aam prescribed to him is it possible
that she swallowed them [Applause] all how many pills were there before I don't know
medals I agre he couldn't remember the minorous things I don't know how many times I asked him play back to me the
minute you got there what did you do and he well what did I do what did I do what
did I do well you know what if you remember the truth you don't have to think about
it what was the time period between the time you got out of the shower to when you noticed say she's not really
responding anymore 10 minutes not 100% sure the sudden death of a healthy 31-year-old Woman Like Maria Munoz
didn't make sense to Sergeant Louise Mata and neither did her husband helel pe's explanation
his initial statement was that he went in and took a shower he thought she was asleep and then 10 minutes later he
realizes that she's unresponsive unresponsive on the bed when a common person showers what's going to be in the
bathroom steam condensation the smell of soap or shampoo that master bedroom shower which
is the one that he alleged to use was as dry as a desert investigators had also discovered a syringe wrapper on the
floor hey there's a needle right here and a needle catheter on the stairs syringes
and IV equipment in a medical bag were found inside the home why would there be syringes in the house so like I don't
know then H makes a hand gesture and Taps his bicep me with h peot at the police
station Maria's close friend Angela Montoya and her husband Louis Ayala rushed over to the house to take care of
the kids Louise A co-worker of H says he had begun to see changes in H's physique
and personality two years before Maria's death he lose our weight and then start
gaining muscles did you suspect that maybe he was taking steroids maybe maybe he was changing like more friendly with
girls flirting more yeah the family man who had once bragged a friend and colleagues about his wife and kids began
changing his social media post too he deleted the pictures of Maria or he just started posting everything by himself
not with his kids how in demand as a nurse anesthetist was making a lot of money and according to Angela he enjoyed
showing off his wealth he has this new sporty car I bought Maria that one and I bought myself this one bragging about it
but friends the changes they saw in haah went much deeper in 2018 around the same
time Maria gave birth to the couple's Second Son ha began pursuing a woman named Janet Arondo a surgical nurse he
met at work Joelle took Janet to like a vacation spree in Europe I don't recall which countries were that he took well
there was one trip there was Spain and then the next trip was France and Greece there you go there you go so Maria found
out about that while he was there with Janet according to Angela Maria confirmed her suspicion about her
husband's infidelity when she found a plane ticket for one of his European trips when her disappointment turned
into deep depression she was prescribed medication but perhaps the best medicine
for Maria turned out to be her daily journals discovered in her home by investigators
I don't want to be sad anymore I don't want my heart to hurt I don't want my mind to be in torture yet at times she
seemed hopeful believing her faith could mend the couple's 10-year marriage Lord this is a lot for me all I
really want to do is see change in him and it seemed to be working just months after her husband had taken his mistress
on those European vacations wild treated Maria to a lavish getaway in Las Vegas and she showed me a couple of Louis
Vuitton he purchased for her but what seemed like a second chance for her marriage didn't last H could never quite
leave Janet how long have you been with Janette about 2 years so out of those two years how long has Maria known about
it she for a while for a long while okay in fact Howell told Sergeant ma that he no
longer Liv with his family and that he had moved in with Janet Arondo 5 months before Maria's death ma wondered how
much The Other Woman knew and asked her to come to the police station to talk what is your relationship with her I
wouldn't have called you at 6:30 in the morning if it was just for for being nosy it's not that I'm trying to be nosy
but I'll get to where I'm going um he's he's my boyfriend ma continued pressing Janet about how have you ever reive and
then told her about Maria the reason that I'm here is because last night H's wife passed away
it doesn't appear to be right now any type of Foul Play we're still pending on autopsy let's get with how did you and H
even start dating I'm sorry um I understand take your time I know it's all kind of thrown at
you so you know I told you at the very beginning I'm going to be honest with you so I am ouring thing now is
obviously is what happened um I'm teror about with your question how when did how long have you and ho been
dating um almost 2 years now okay did Maria and his wife did she do drugs not that I'm aware of he just told me that
he she was very depressed when Sergeant ma mentioned Maria may have overdosed Janet seemed
surpris wa a minute are are you saying she overdose we don't know yet the main thing is this Janet is when we tell her
family you're going to think that either Joel did killed her or that you had something to do with it that's why we
have to rule you out okay has Joel ever confided in you that he was that he wanted to do something to his wife no
haala don't believe that Maria may have overdosed on the drug Clen aapam he think she took but when the autopsy was
conducted 8 hours after Maria was declared dead the medical examiner found no pill residue in her stomach and there
was something on Maria's body at the scene that puzzled both the medical examiner and investigators a tiny mark
on Maria's right arm it was a little little prick kind of like whenever you the common person draws blood or has
their blood checked when they go to the doctor one little dot that's it on her right elbow crease no other signs of
drug use or anything like that the autopsy report states that Maria died from a mixed drug
intoxication while the medical examiner couldn't say how the drugs got into her system she did rule out suicide after
talking to Maria's friends and reading her journal on the day before she died Maria wrote what is it that I want move
forward so could Maria's death have been an accidental overdose or was it murder when Dr John Hunsinger an
anesthesiologist and how's former boss heard the autopsy results he immediately became
suspicious and I called detective Ma and I told him my concerns he urged Sergeant
mat to order a detailed toxicology screening to determine which drugs had killed
Maria and how they got there did you inject her tonight no with anything authorities would have to wait
nearly four months to get the answers they needed on a Sunday afternoon at the First
Baptist Church in Laredo the Victorious Life is is also a life of service all of
our lives were impacted by the precious life of Maria a large crowd of family and friends came to mourn Maria Munoz
including her estranged husband how her funeral was really sad H was there and he was crying he seemed very upset very
sad but to Maria's friend Yasmin Martinez he seemed a little too upset too sad what made me feel angry with him
near the casket crying over her giving her kisses like why now you have made her suffer and cry so much and you're
doing this now helel pe's display of grief hey you got with theator did nothing to deter the
investigation into his wife's death Sergeant Luis mat and Officer gregoria De La Cruz say the footage captured by
the body cam on the morning Maria died shows something curious remember the pills in a container that hell said his
wife had taken D La Cruz tossed it aside when he was giving Maria CPR he had a prescription drug where is it at some
point it disappeared yeah I see it's still here right now exactly and here's how it
happened they say how grabs the pill container and puts it in his pocket reach it and put it in he just
reached over and put it right back in the shirt if that's really what she took why would you want to hide that they
were also suspicious of that needle catheter hey there's a needle right here so the kind used for IVs discovered at
the scene remember Maria had a tiny mark on her right arm Sergeant M shared his concerns with the Webb County District
Attorney's office we have a 247 phone and law enforcement can contct us with any questions Chief assistant DA
Marisella jackaman and district attorney Isidro alenes knew the case would be tough to prove since even the medical
examiner wasn't sure exactly how Maria died the medical examiner is saying I can't say for a fact this is homicide I
remember having this conversation with the Med medical examiner early on and I I remember her saying look I wasn't
there and neither were you all we know is that she has this combination of dangerous drugs in her bloodstream we
don't know who gave them to her if she had some in her system already if she took some later on either accident or
murder accident or murder investigators began to question Maria's friends and discovered that the Saturday before
Maria died there was a confrontation at Janet's house when Maria saw H's car there so that's when she stepped out of
the car and then she rang the doorbell according to Angela Maria seen on Janet's doorbell camera gave Howell an
ultimatum do you choose her or you choose me and then he says I choose Janet Janet called the police and when a
responding officer arrived at her home he called Maria who had by then left with Howell when Maria answered her cell
phone the officer's body cam recorded the sound of hoow berating her in the background hey I'm talking to you right
now I guess that's your boyfriend yeah according to Angela Maria told her that H became violent and he got so
frustrated with everything that he punch the windshield he broke it he broke it yes he broke it on Sunday morning Maria
texted her husband about hiring a divorce lawyer and he replied we can do this with minimal lawyer intervention
it's too much money how then seems to have had a change of heart and sends Maria this email I'm so sad I'm hurting
inside I want to sit down with you to talk without arguing a heart to heart they agreed to meet Monday night before
H arrived Maria messaged her friend Yasmin Martinez to pray for her I just asked if you can pray for me tonight
we're going to talk and then I answered her and I told her that I would pray for
her Maria's request for prayers that night would be her final message to Yasmin she died early Tuesday
morning nearly four months after Maria's death sergeant maada and officer D Cruz
finally get the Toxicology test results they have been waiting for zero Clen aapam zero Kazaam the drug how claim
Maria had taken instead the toxicology report revealed seven other drugs in Maria system so positive for morphine
Demerol veret propal ketamine lidocaine Naran most of these medications are typically used during surgery and one of
them can only be administered with an IV what was your reaction he killed her this guy killed his
wife authorities got a warrant Officer De La Cruz who had tried to save Maria's life returned to hoel's home he knew why
we were there to make the arrest by the time we knock on the door and we announce our presence you the right Sil
just like the way you do the movies comes out I'm here I'm here he puts his hands behind his back lets us cuff him
doesn't put up a fight H was taken to the police station and booked you can call my uh my
attorney oh you could call him prosecutors believe he was the one who gave his wife the deadly mixture but can
they prove he wanted her to [Music] die what do you think was the most suspicious aspect of Maria's death see
more evidence from the case at 48 hours.com when helel pe's former boss anesthesiologist Dr John Hunsinger saw
the list of drugs found in Maria Muno seven different medications he was surprised by One Drug in
particular I was very shocked to see propal where would he get that propal you can't just go to the drugstore to
get propal you have to get it from the hospital While most of the drugs found in Maria's system could be consumed by
mouth propal is usually injected by someone else with an IV one of the things about propal it relaxes you
greatly but it doesn't last very long it makes you stop breathing if you have too
much I think most of us when we hear about propol we think of Michael Jackson correct singer Michael Jackson's death
in June 2009 was blamed in part on an accidental overdose of propal and after Maria Muno his death a highly elevated
level of the drug was found in her system hers was the highest level I've seen and what does that say to you I
believe this is death by propal with howel peot now under arrest authorities were convinced that pe's
girlfriend Janet Arondo knew more than what she shared in that first interview so they got a search warrant
for her home the then they offered her a deal in exchange for more information Janet would get immunity from
prosecution Janet agreed to a second police interview and accompanied by attorneys she now seemed ready to talk
did Joel ever bring home any medical drugs yes Janet told police that peot had often brought drugs to her home some
for his own recreational use including ketamine morphine lidocaine Fentanyl and more
propol Janet's information about propal kicked the case into high gear district attorney idro Alan selected a team of
attorneys led by Marisella jackaman I am Kina riio my name is Anna Karen Garza my
name is chist Calderon we are Maria's Team all four prosecutors were convinced that Maria's husband had methodically
planned her murder and that the devoted mother and wife had suffered in the months before her death I've heard of
emotional abuse I've seen it I've worked around it but I never realized how prevalent it is even in our
lives where you can relate to some of the things that Maria was experiencing on the face of it this is a couple
having problems he's having an affair but to you this is domestic violence how well I think it goes so much further
than just being a spouse you could see the power struggle that existed or the the lack thereof assistant district
attorney Karina Rios Maria had no power in this relationship and the evidence of
that prosecutors say is found in Maria's own journals prosecutor Jackman read one
of those entries life is so so unfair my husband the man I love so much is causing me so much pain I want to know
what is it that you want me to do Maria also left evidence on her cell phone that she secretly recorded approximately
4 months before her death what are the expectations you have on this this marriage and she gave us this very
powerful video you walk out that door we're getting a do worse all right fine got it she was having a discussion with
him and that was so painful to watch but prosecutors would need much more than that video and Maria's journal entries
how do they believe that hel peot dosed his wife with all those drugs that was a
million-dollar question we kept saying how did he get her to submit to this during Janet arad's second police
interview she said peot had told her about the night Maria died he had gone there he said to have that heart-to-
heart talk and then injected her not to kill her peot said but to calm her down why did he tell you that he
injected her cuz she was eretic right he wanted to um just Cal it out so he did it with medication
but investigators believe the sedatives were part of pe's plan to kill Maria that before PE put an IV needle in
Maria's arm he could have slipped several sedative drugs into her favorite drink coffee
ketamine foret morphine and Demerol those four could have been put in her coffee she did then passes out after
that they say peot injected Maria with a deadly dose of propal then Chief assistant district attorney Anna Karin
Garza Gutierrez says the peot deliberately waited to call for help I believe he waited until she was dead to
call 911 to make sure that no one can bring her back did you play any role in Mario's dead at all
you Janet said peot did admit to her that he got rid of some of the medical equipment he used to inject Maria before
First Responders arrived he just told me he got rid of them peot was out on bail
so prosecutors had him rearrested and along with murder he was charged with tampering with evidence again he may
bail and would wear an ankle monitor in March 2023 2 and 1/2 years after Maria munoz's
death death her husband went on trial for her murder 48 Hours made several interview
requests to H peot defense team but never received a response while peot declined our request for an interview
the evidence will show that h p the motive he had the intent and he had the means to come Mia
prosecutors presented 15 witnesses to prove to jury the peot had carefully and intentionally selected the drugs to kill
Maria their star witness Janet Arondo who told the jury what she had shared with police did Mr Po indicate to you
that he dumped or discarded the I CER on the bio yes when the defense case begins
H pe's lawyers admit their client injected his wife but they say he wasn't trying to kill
her he was trying to save [Music] her H peot wearing a blue suit and a dark gray tie listen carefully as his
defense team presents at his case now Maria died and there's no question the Joel was there defense
attorney Roberto Bali claims Maria was terribly depressed and had been drinking and abusing drugs for months when Joe
arrived Maria was already on something according to the defense H peo didn't intend to kill his wife and the
proof is attorne ATT say is in that toxicology report they admit PE gave his wife medication to calm her down and
then when he found her unconscious they say he gave her Naran a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose someone tried
to bring her back to life and it wasn't the paramedics it wasn't the police it was O so he did not want her
dead this was a terrible accident a terrible accident the defense argues that was caused by a combination
of whatever Maria had taken and the medication peot used to inject her how do you know that naram wasn't there
because he tried to save her that he went too far realized he had gone too far Naran is not a reversal agent for
propol and propal was What stopped her heart at the end the defense never explained to the jury how the propal got
into Maria's system but prosecutors say that the level of drugs discovered in Maria's body could not have been
accidental it was enough medication to survive two major surgeries it was so much and why do you think he gave her so
much to be sure while peyote himself didn't testify his emotional mother did Miriam kisio
told prosecutors during cross examination that Maria had talked about how sad she was about her marriage you
were aware that was weren't you yes she told who told you and did you encourage her to stay in
the marriage I I told her that everybody have a limited and she have a limited when she decided that she don't want to
be no more with him I had my house open but prosecutors insist as sad as Maria may have been
about her marriage there's no evidence that she abused either drugs or alcohol they believe pe's motive was
money and that he murdered Maria because he didn't want to pay for a divorce and
split his assets after 8 days of testimony the jury got the case it took them less than an hour
to decide hel pe's fate guilty of murdering his wife Maria and tampering with the
evidence many members of the medical community attended the trial pe's former colleague Tina dores he's not dumb I
mean he's a smart guy so I don't know if if he just got caught up with his God complex that he thought he was smarter
than everyone and that he was going to outsmart them just hours after the guilty verdict
peot was sentenced to life in prison cuffed and escorted out of the courtroom she loved him and she adored
him Maria's friend Angela Montoya she just loved them too much prosecutors got just is for Maria
but it's a tragic ending for the family she loved and fought so hard to keep together I think sometimes the worst
injuries don't even leave a mark the injuries on your heart on your mind we could never see those on Maria but she
told us about them she carried a lot of scars with her from this relationship Maria's team say the most
important witness of trial ended up being Maria herself and that her journals showed those scars were healing
I want a life that's mine different and unique A Life That's balanced with every
emotion but a happy fulfilling life she was a wonderful soul and she was a great
mother she was just an amazing person and that energy we felt it [Music] [Music]
she disappeared off the face of the earth I started believing she was murdered the dogs went into the backyard
we found a little girl shoe no trace of her for 22 years and then I got a phone call hey uh C he says you sitting down
28 hours Saturday at 109 Central on [Music] CBS

A young wife and mother dies unexpectedly with a strange mix of drugs in her system. Investigators turn to her journals for answers. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Maria Munoz's tragic death leads to a murder investigation of her husband, revealing domestic abuse and drug involvement.

Key points

Maria's Struggles. Maria Munoz battled severe depression and sought help through various means.
Suspicious Circumstances. Howell Peot's actions and demeanor raised red flags during the investigation.
Toxicology Results. The toxicology report revealed multiple drugs in Maria's system, leading to suspicions of foul play.
The Arrest. H Peot was arrested without a fight, raising questions about his guilt.
Maria's Struggles. Maria documented her pain in journals, revealing the emotional abuse she suffered.
The Verdict. After a short deliberation, the jury found H Peot guilty of murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I don't want to be sad anymore.

Maria's journal entry expressing her desire for change.

15:31WatchDec 22, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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