The Overdose That Wasn’t Suicide | Poisoned | Death Comes Knocking | Forensic Files

[AUDIO LOGO] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] [SIREN BLARING] DISPATCHER: Laredo 911. What's the address of emergency?
JOEL PELLOT: I found my wife unresponsive. And I'm scared that she's not breathing.
DISPATCHER: Can you check her pulse, please? JOEL PELLOT: Yeah. Oh, my God. DISPATCHER: What about her chest?
Is her chest rising up and down? JOEL PELLOT: No. Is somebody coming? DISPATCHER: Yeah, there should already
be an officer getting close. JOEL PELLOT: An officer or an ambulance? DISPATCHER: We have both an officer and an ambulance.
JOEL PELLOT: OK. NARRATOR: This video provided by a neighbor shows a threatening man.
He's seen walking past a home holding an ax. [SCREAMING] [POUNDING] [STREET BUZZING]
LUIS MATA JR: My name is Luis Mata, Jr., and I am a sergeant for the Laredo Police Department
in Laredo, Texas. What I can tell you about this neighborhood is that it is very calm.
It is not uncommon to see kids running around in the neighborhood. There's a park close by.
It's a very, very lovely neighborhood. NARRATOR: In September 2020, all that changed.
- Our patrol officers responded to an unresponsive female. The information that I received was that
we have a female in her 30s that apparently had been depressed. The husband indicated that he had found her on the bed,
what he thought was asleep. She ended up being unresponsive. Right now we're approaching the residence.
This has been five years now, but it feels like I was just here last night. [SIREN BLARING]
DISPATCHER: I have some officers outside if you would be able to unlock the door really quick.
I'm gonna let you go, so you can speak with the officers. OFFICER: What's going on?
JOEL PELLOT: Could you just come this way. OFFICER: What's going on? JOEL PELLOT: --unresponsive on the bed.
NARRATOR: First on the scene is an officer from Laredo PD. JOEL PELLOT: But I can't feel a pulse.
NARRATOR: He finds Joel Pellot doing CPR on his wife Maria. He says she might have overdosed on antidepressants.
OFFICER: She has medication here? Where's it at? JOEL PELLOT: We take the same medications.
OFFICER: OK. JOEL PELLOT: I gave her some. NARRATOR: When paramedics arrive, they continue trying to resuscitate Maria.
OFFICER: Where did you find her? JOEL PELLOT: On the bed. I brought her over here.
OFFICER: How long ago did you find her? JOEL PELLOT: Like-- maybe like 20, 25 minutes.
- No, man, she's gone. She's been gone for a while. Yeah. OFFICER: OK. - Are you calling it?
EXAMINER: Yeah, she had no rhythm. [TENSE MUSIC] JOEL PELLOT: I have two kids in the house, too, by the way.
OFFICER: They're asleep? JOEL PELLOT: Yeah. OFFICER: Can you give me a sheet? EXAMINER: Yeah. Yeah.
OFFICER: Just in case they wake up, you know, we don't want them to see them. [SCARE CHORD]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NARRATOR: With Maria pronounced dead by the medics, Sergeant Luis Mata is called to the scene.
- My job as an investigator is to go in there and rule out foul play. And 9 times out of 10, there is no foul play.
He had a prescription drug. Where is it? However, she's a 30-year-old woman that passed away
in her own home unexpectedly. Sir, you got to go downstairs. We'll be with you shortly.
He was behaving like any husband would, that had just been told that his wife had passed away.
His wife of 10 years is gone. You gotta just hang tight. NARRATOR: Despite Joel's distress,
Sergeant Mata needs to find out what happened before Maria died. LUIS MATA JR: You got to go outside.
I approached him. I expressed my condolences. And then I started my questioning,
that I would in any common death investigation. How did she die, and why did she die?
What's going on? What happened? I noticed that he was wearing scrubs. So he's some type of nurse some type of medical employee.
NARRATOR: Joel explains that he's a nurse anesthetist. He and Maria are no longer living together,
but they'd agreed to discuss their relationship after his shift. - We're going through some problems.
[SIGHS] I've been ignoring her. She's been super depressed. [SIGHS] And I came to talk to her, like, really just talking.
- Joel indicated that Maria and him had been having marital problems, that she had been drinking lately
and had been using pills to help her go to sleep. OFFICER: So you're not staying here right now?
- [SIGHS] No. Um, we had sex. We took a shower. - He goes in and takes a shower.
When he comes out, he thinks that she's asleep. - Then I thought she was, like, knocked out.
I was like, hey, what's up? What's going on? I didn't think anything of it. So I just kept on doing my thing.
- He checks on her 10 minutes later. He finds her unresponsive. - And then I go back upstairs, and she's just--
LUIS MATA JR: This is what he brought. And he said that he thinks she took these.
He went all the way into the medicine cabinet and brought these. I suspected the possibility of an intentional overdose which
could have been a suicide. OK, just your phone here. Just leave that here. - No, no, no, no.
I need my phone. LUIS MATA JR: Just leave your phone here. You can't have your phone.
Just put it here. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NARRATOR: As Joel is taken outside, Sergeant Mata combs the house for evidence.
LUIS MATA JR: We're looking for notes, medication, bottles, pills things that could explain
the reasons why she died. We found a needle-- [CAMERA CLICKS] --on the stairwell.
Alongside the body were wrappers of a syringe-- [CAMERA CLICKS] --wrappers that you see, like, in a hospital setting.
Joel's account was telling us that he had taken a shower. We went into that shower, and it was very dry.
It looked like it had not been used for several hours. There was no evidence that she had been in a struggle,
had been abused had been tortured, had been assaulted. However, we found one mark on her elbow crease,
a mark that is consistent with an individual getting their blood drawn or getting an IV started.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] I'm asking myself, why are there syringe wrappers scattered throughout the home?
Why is the shower dry? Why is there a mark on Maria's elbow crease? Why is there a needle on the stairs?
Those are the questions that I want answered. Something's not quite adding up here.
[SUSPENSE CHORD] [DRAMATIC MUSIC] NARRATOR: The coroner takes Maria's body in for autopsy.
[SIREN BLARING] Joel is taken to the station to answer further questions. LUIS MATA JR: We want to get the background of what's
going on in Maria and Joel's life that could lead us to this point. - [WAILING] [CLANKING]
LUIS MATA JR: Joel's demeanor was of a hysterical spouse. - [CRYING] [TENSE MUSIC]
- The detective is coming in. - Thanks. NARRATOR: Sergeant Mata starts the interview by asking
Joel where he's been living. - So when you separated, did you leave the house? - Yeah.
- OK. How often would you go back to the house? - Oh, a lot. - You still had your keys and stuff like that?
OK. Were you there almost everyday? - A lot, yeah. I wanted to see my boys. - OK.
NARRATOR: If Maria did take an overdose, could their separation be the reason? - She didn't think it was gonna last this long and on, um--
So it's been a constant thing that she needs more pills to go to sleep. Sometimes, she can't go to sleep at all--
- OK. - --because she's so depressed. She cries all day. - So Maria was taking pills for depression.
Were they prescribed to her? - Yeah, they were. And hers ran out. So I just went to give her some.
- You know the name of the drug? - Yeah, 1 milligram of clonazepam. - OK. - His reasoning was that she was very depressed and very sad
because she was losing him. I asked, have Maria been drinking? And he had said yes.
Did she drink today? - I don't know. All I can tell is that she really needed, like, relief.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] - When you say she really needed relief-- - From her depression.
- OK. NARRATOR: Sergeant Mata asks if Maria could have injected herself. - Does she do drugs other than clonazepam?
Has she ever done drugs? - Uh-huh. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. - Did she do any type of injections?
- Lately, I'm not sure what she's been into. - OK. If she did, what would it be?
- I don't know. - When we asked Joel about the needle prick mark, he could not explain it.
I feel like you're not telling me something about that track mark. What's going on? - Yeah.
I-- - What do you suspect? - I don't want to speculate. - You're not speculating.
You're helping me out. - Yeah, but she just died. - Exactly. - You know, that's my main concern.
- Exactly. And my main concern is, how did this happen? - But I'm not gonna speculate.
- And I flat out asked him towards the end of the interview, did you kill Maria?
Did you have anything to do with your wife's death, anything? - No. I love my wife.
I don't know what my kids are gonna do without her. - He seemed shocked. He said, no.
Me? No, I loved her. I loved her. - I would rather die. - Yeah. - I would rather die.
I would rather my sons not have me than not have her. - My condolences, OK? NARRATOR: With no evidence of wrongdoing,
Joel is free to leave. [TENSE MUSIC] Maria's friends hear of her heartbreaking death.
LUIS MATA JR: That day, I had 15 or 20 missed calls of friends that wanted to come forward.
She was well loved, and they were adamant that Maria would not take her own life.
[AMBIENT MUSIC] [WHIRRING, WIND WHOOSHING] [METAL CREAKING] ELIZABETH SEARS: I first met Maria not long
after she had moved to Laredo. And she quickly became just an instant best friend.
Really and truly like sisters. I mean, we raised our sons as almost siblings, and we were there for each other.
We talked about everything. This is one of the-- one of the last pictures, I think,
Maria and I took together. We were at her house. And we had been hanging out and talking about life,
talking about plans. Maria was always happy, always encouraging, beautiful, naturally beautiful.
Really could lift you up no matter what. - Take 1,000. [LAUGHS] - Maria was smart.
[PIANO PLAYING] Maria was intelligent. She was passionate. She was a family person.
She loved her husband. She loved her kids. MARIA MUÑOZ: I am great! - I am great!
- I've never known Maria to do anything that would even align with wanting to take her own life.
[PIANO CONCLUDES] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] MARISELA JACAMAN: When we started reviewing the case
we noticed that Maria had several cameras inside the home. OK. We realized that this was a camera that was
no longer mounted to the wall. It was removed. That's a red flag. LUIS MATA JR: We also discovered Maria's journal.
As a detective, when we find a book like that, like a journal, especially with recent entries up until the moment
that she died, that's our victim talking to us postmortem. MARISELA JACAMAN: Several journals of Maria all indicated
her great faith in God. I believe she loved God. She loved her family. She trusted her husband.
And she believed in the idea that if you were good, you would not be harmed. LUIS MATA JR: There was no suggestion
that Maria was suicidal. Something's not right. There's needles, syringe wrappers and she has one mark.
And it just happens to be where a nurse could start an IV. And what's her husband do?
He works in anesthesia. [CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC] NARRATOR: Sergeant Mata speaks to Joel's former employer
for background on him. JOHN HUNTSINGER: Well, I knew Joel. He would come across as very humble,
but he was actually a very bright guy, especially in the area of pharmacology. NARRATOR: Joel's modesty turned to pride
when it came to his wife. JOHN HUNTSINGER: He would bring her to some of our business meetings,
and we were a little surprised by that. It just jumped in my mind that he's just trying to show off
that he has a beautiful wife. [AMBIENT MUSIC] ELIZABETH SEARS: They presented as a loving couple.
They acted like they were in love, and it was something that you would expect to see
with any other married couple. And then something seemed to change about him. LUIS MATA JR: It became evident that as time was passing,
Joel was changing. ELIZABETH SEARS: Joel had always prided himself on being a father.
That part faded away. He was becoming heavily obsessed with finances, money, becoming a millionaire, heavily obsessed with being at work,
as well as the way he looked. NARRATOR: Joel's coworkers also noticed the change.
JOHN HUNTSINGER: He put blonde streaks in his hair. He lost weight but gained muscle mass.
He became more aggressive. He had several confrontations with surgeons and other physicians.
To me, that suggested that he was probably taking testosterones or anabolic steroids.
It was very disappointing and shocking that Joel began to change as he did. NARRATOR: Sergeant Mata makes a surprising discovery.
LUIS MATA JR: Joel had been having a secretive affair with a coworker of his who's a nurse, named Janet Arredondo.
JOHN HUNTSINGER: I talked to Joel about rumors of a relationship, and it's making a lot of us
feel very uncomfortable. There was an air of anxiety whenever he was around. - I became aware that Joel was having an affair as there
had started just to be rumors amongst the friends groups, the medical community.
There was just a lot of talking behind the scenes. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] I was definitely shocked when we
started to see some of the verbal abuse, the disrespect, and the control that Joel had over Maria.
LUIS MATA JR: The most common theme that we gathered from all these interviews was Joel's narcissism.
Another factor was lack of respect for his coworkers, lack of respect for his supervisor.
JOHN HUNTSINGER: There was an incident where I was called in emergently to help them in the room,
and the patient was flatlined. We had to immediately do CPR. But when I walked in the room, he
was texting on his cell phone. After that incident, I brought him to our office,
and I let him know that we were gonna terminate him immediately. After Joel left, I had hoped that perhaps
he would straighten out. He would go back to being a good husband and father and forget about Janet.
NARRATOR: But nothing changed. Joel got work at a different hospital and continued his affair with Janet.
Maria eventually found out. - At this point in the investigation, I had my suspicions that Joel had killed Maria,
but I still couldn't prove it. We needed more evidence. NARRATOR: Sergeant Mata's team searched through Maria's phone.
- There was one particular video where Joel and Maria are having a conversation in a vehicle.
Maria is spilling her heart, and Joel arrogantly just continues eating his food.
MARIA MUÑOZ: I want to know what is it that you want me to do. What-- you know, what do you want me to do?
I have already forgiven you. LUIS MATA JR: When Maria tells him, it's just over.
You've made this choice. - [SIGHS] You walk out that door, we're getting a divorce.
- All right, fine. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] LUIS MATA JR: He gets mad and storms out of the car
and slams the door. [THUDS] We also discovered an email. It seems that you already made your decision.
You've gone with Janet. That's OK. I wish you two the best. And I just hope that we make this relationship be civil
for the sake of our children. The next step I want you to do is to turn in your keys
to the house. Maria had just filed a divorce appointment with a local attorney. She was leaving him.
Once Maria mentioned the word "attorney" and indicated to Joel that she had already made
an appointment, he emailed her, indicating that he's had a lot of time to think about it, that he wants this marriage to work.
He wants his family. And all he asks before she goes to an attorney is to have one last heart-to-heart talk.
[SURGING MELODY] NARRATOR: Chief assistant DA Marisela Jacaman doesn't believe that's what Joel wanted.
She thinks this was another example of his coercive control over Maria. - I believe that Maria was subjected to various levels
of emotional abuse. And when he felt he was losing control and she said, we'll end this amicably,
we can even go talk to an attorney, he didn't want that. That was not part of his plan.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC] NARRATOR: Sergeant Mata calls in Joel's girlfriend, Janet, for an interview.
- Has anybody been staying with you recently? - Um, sometimes. - Joel? - Mm-hmm.
- Does he stay with you sometimes? - Sometimes. - When we asked Janet what she knew of Maria,
she mentioned that she had been told that Maria had been very depressed, that she was
refusing to let go of Joel, and that she did not want this divorce. Why is Joel still married to her, in your opinion?
- Why? Because she won't give him the divorce. - And in her mind, it was a boyfriend
that just could not get away from his wife, who was refusing to let him go. - Because last night, at about 1:30
in the morning or earlier in the day, Pellot's wife passed away. OK? - I'm sorry.
- I understand. Take your time. When I told Janet that Maria had been found dead,
that's when she told me, I had a chance to talk to her two days ago, and I wish I should have.
That is when she told us about the incident when Maria had gone over to Joel's house.
- Yes, she went to my house on Saturday. - On this past Saturday? - Yes, sir. - And did she see you?
- I didn't open the door. - Did you call the police? - Yes. - Did she, like-- was she trying to say something?
NARRATOR: Janet explains that the incident was recorded on her door cam. - Do you have a--
- I might still have it. I think it's this one. It's 29. - OK. - She's there. NARRATOR: Janet hasn't been charged,
so Detective Mata has no right to seize her footage. So when she offers the video, he records it on his phone.
LUIS MATA JR: Maria and Joel had taken the boys to a Halloween pumpkin farm, but
he cut the trip short, saying that he had to go into work immediately. Maria became suspicious.
Drove to Janet's house. She's like, I just want to go tell Janet that I'm not gonna bother her anymore.
She can have him but to be responsible and be mature for the kids. - She told them, like, you need to pick.
And he said, I'm staying here. I'm gonna be here. NARRATOR: Maria phones Joel repeatedly.
He eventually agrees to talk with her in her car, away from Janet. Soon after, a police officer responds
to Janet's previous call. JANET ARREDONDO: Hello. OFFICER: Hello, ma'am. Did you call police? JANET ARREDONDO: Yes, I did.
OFFICER: What's going on? - I had a woman come by that she was already told not to be here.
She was here. She was asked to leave. She refused, so I called you guys. By the time I was on the phone, she left.
OFFICER: Do you have her on video camera? - I have her on my Ring. OFFICER: If you have her on camera, it's enough for me
to go warn her not to return. - So the officer says, OK, what I'm gonna do right
now is I'm gonna warn her. That way, she already has the official advisory. If she comes back after that, do you want to put her in jail?
At that time, she says if she were to come back a third time, then yes. [PHONE RINGING]
So when the officer called Maria-- JOEL PELLOT: Hey! I'm [MUTED] talking to you right now!
Hang up the [MUTED] phone! [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] OFFICER: I guess that's your boyfriend?
- Yeah. LUIS MATA JR: Joel was in a rage. That just tells me that he is domineering,
and he is aggressive. [PHONE RINGING] And then you can see Janet on the phone sending text messages.
We were able to get cell phone records. It was her sending Joel a message. Hey, the police just heard you yelling.
It's the police trying to get a hold of Maria. So when the officer calls back, you'll
notice the calmer demeanor. The switch was flipped back to being a rational individual.
JOEL PELLOT: Hello? OFFICER: Hello, yes, sir. I'm looking for Maria Muñoz. JOEL PELLOT: Yeah, she's here.
I'm having a conversation with her. OFFICER: All right. This is Officer Jalomo, Laredo PD, sir.
[RADIO CHATTER] JOEL PELLOT: Yeah. OFFICER: I'm calling on behalf of Janet Arredondo.
Can I speak to her? JOEL PELLOT: Sure. OFFICER: Thank you. LUIS MATA JR: The officer then explains that she's not
welcomed back at Janet's home. And then when she comes back onto her property, she's gonna be arrested for trespassing.
MARIA MUÑOZ: Hello? OFFICER: Yes, Ms. Muñoz. MARIA MUÑOZ: Mm-hmm. OFFICER: I understand you came over to Ms. Arredondo's house
earlier today. MARIA MUÑOZ: Mm-hmm. OFFICER: OK, I'm gonna ask you to not return.
If not, you will be placed into custody. MARIA MUÑOZ: OK. OFFICER: OK. She has video surveillance, so this is your official warning.
If in the event you return, you will be placed in jail. So I suggest you do not come here no longer, OK?
MARIA MUÑOZ: OK. OFFICER: Do you have any questions? MARIA MUÑOZ: No. OFFICER: All righty.
Thank you, ma'am. - Maria says that she understands, and the conversation ends. OFFICER: Thank you.
JANET ARREDONDO: Well, thank you. OFFICER: Bye-bye. [TENSE MUSIC] LUIS MATA JR: Within 24 to 48 hours,
we received a call from a local attorney indicating that Janet was not gonna be making herself available to talk to the police any further.
Now it's just getting more and more clearer that there's something more to this case.
Janet has information. She doesn't want us to know, and she's hiding something that's very revealing.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NARRATOR: Despite its poor quality, the doorbell footage showing Maria's visit to Janet
could prove crucial to the investigation. NICK BARREIRO: Video forensics is the scientific analysis,
enhancement, authentication of any sort of video evidence that may be used in a criminal case.
It's the scientific analysis of recorded evidence. Video evidence is critical in a lot of cases, especially
nowadays, with Ring cameras, Nest cameras, surveillance cameras of all types. There's almost always video evidence
associated with any sort of critical incident that happens. And it acts as a silent witness,
as a objective view of what actually occurred as opposed to eyewitness statements.
The way that this video was recorded is not ideal, but we can still gain a lot of very valuable information
from it. I'm gonna make this footage look as good as it possibly can. The first thing I want to do is get
a better view of what's happening on that small screen. We see that the footage is moving around,
and that's because the person holding the phone, that's recording this screen, is moving around.
I want to see this footage stable the way that it's meant to be. So the first thing that I'm gonna do
is I'm gonna stabilize it. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] So now we can look at this footage
in a way that more closely approximates the original footage. NARRATOR: Marisela Jacaman studies the police
body cam evidence in detail. - We noticed that there was inconsistencies in his story.
He mentioned that she had overdosed, that he gave her a bottle of clonazepam. OFFICER: What'd she take?
- I think clonazepam. - But when he was asked for the bottle-- OFFICER: Where's it at?
MARISELA JACAMAN: --it wasn't around Maria's body. So he gets up, and he leaves the room.
And he comes back with a bottle of clonazepam and shows it to the officer. JOEL PELLOT: It's clonazepam.
OFFICER: Clonazepam? JOEL PELLOT: Yeah. MARISELA JACAMAN: And you see his hand grab the bottle
and put it in his pocket. There was absolutely no need to do that. NARRATOR: The pinprick found on the crease of Maria's arm
is also concerning. MARISELA JACAMAN: One of the first things we said was, why isn't any of the paraphernalia there?
If it was truly an accident, then the syringe would be there. Why was it cleaned up?
NARRATOR: As Maria's body is held by the coroner for autopsy, Sergeant Mata gets a call from Joel's former boss, Dr. Huntsinger.
He's suspicious about Maria's death and recommends a full toxicology test on her blood.
- Dr. Huntsinger's gut feeling from the get-go was that Joel played a role in Maria's death.
Joel had access to several potent drugs that could kill anyone. JOHN HUNTSINGER: So a full toxicology
report that included anesthesia drugs had to be done. I'm not familiar with police work,
and my concern was that those drugs are not always looked for. I was very concerned that if the body was cremated,
evidence would have been lost. [CAMERA CLICKING] NARRATOR: With only circumstantial evidence
against Joel, discarded medical wrappers, an open, used needle found on the stairs,
and the prick mark on Maria's arm, the toxicology report will be crucial. LUIS MATA JR: We had all this evidence,
yet we still didn't have the confirmation that Joel had killed her. We might have suspected it, but we needed the proof.
NARRATOR: When the autopsy is complete, the coroner, unable to determine Maria's cause of death, sends her blood sample to the lab.
She has no choice but to release her body back to Joel, who quickly arranges her funeral.
LUIS MATA JR: At this point, Joel's not accused, so he is Maria's next of kin. Joel then has free rein to do whatever
he wants with that body in terms of selecting a funeral home, selecting a burial or cremation.
He started making arrangements almost within 24 hours of her death to get her cremated.
What that says to me is that in his mind, he wants to get rid of any evidence in the event
that we would ever need Maria's body again. He wants to dispose of it completely.
[AMBIENT MUSIC] NARRATOR: Weeks go by. With the toxicology tests held up in the lab,
the investigation stalls. - We hit a wall in waiting for that toxicology report.
The question that I kept asking myself was, if and when these results come back, how are we
gonna be able to prove that he injected her? Unfortunately, it's just a waiting game.
ELIZABETH SEARS: It was very frustrating. The longer that it took to get an outcome or cause of death,
the more fearful I became we weren't gonna get one. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] NARRATOR: The team reexamined the evidence,
including the door cam footage, which shows how estranged Maria and Joel had become.
NICK BARREIRO: The video footage helps to show how long she was out on the porch.
We know that she went there to confront her husband. We know that she was standing on this porch ready to have
a very difficult conversation about her marriage, and this video just corroborates that.
She's standing on the porch. She's waiting for an answer. And we can see that she's on the phone.
[FRANTIC MUSIC] NARRATOR: Police query the time Maria made that call. - Her phone is recording the exact moment
that call connected. So if we can compare the phone records with this video footage, we can get
a very accurate time stamp for exactly when she was standing at the door. [CLACKING]
[CARS WHOOSHING] [AMBIENT MUSIC] NARRATOR: Four months after Maria's blood samples went to the lab, detectives received
the toxicology report. Did Maria die from a clonazepam overdose, as Joel claimed?
The whole case rests on these results. OFFICER: What'd she take? JOEL PELLOT: I think clonazepam.
And then I go back upstairs, and then she just-- [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] - You know the name of the drug?
- Yeah. 1 milligram of clonazepam. - When we got those toxicology results, zero traces of clonazepam in Maria's body.
That completely refutes Joel's constant indication to the dispatcher, to the paramedics,
to the responding officers, and to us that Maria had taken clonazepam. LUIS MATA JR: The report reveals
that Maria was poisoned by a cocktail of drugs, including ketamine, Versed, and propofol.
- We needed to figure out how she submitted to this without any physical bruising.
Several of her friends mentioned that they would meet at a coffee shop and that she loved coffee.
So when the toxicology report came back and it indicated that there was caffeine, it hit us.
We knew now how he got her to submit to take these anesthetic drugs. NARRATOR: Although a tainted coffee cup was never
found in the house, investigators speculate that this was how Joel was able to poison Maria.
LUIS MATA JR: Our suspicion is that Joel arrived with a cup of coffee, but the coffee was spiked.
- That was an aha moment. - Once she's fully knocked out, fully paralytic, fully sedated,
Joel then injects her with propofol. JOHN HUNTSINGER: The purpose of using propofol
as a murder weapon is specifically to stop someone from breathing. NARRATOR: It's the propofol that killed Maria.
- This is flat-out murder. [STREET BUZZING] Once we got the toxicology results, we had more of a case to get a search
warrant for Janet's video and surveillance. [DOORBELL CHIMING] We were hoping to find digital evidence, possibly
home video, possibly the door cam footage that showed Maria at her house two days prior to her dying.
Janet. Sergeant Mata, Laredo PD. I know yesterday you spoke to the prosecutor. JANET ARREDONDO: Just give me a second.
LUIS MATA JR: All right. JANET ARREDONDO: Yeah. [CHUCKLES] LUIS MATA JR: I suspected strongly
that Janet was involved. But the district attorney's office made a deal with Janet
that as long as she was truthful and willing to testify, she would be immune from any charge,
with the exception of murder. You had some evidence? Do you have that evidence right now?
JANET ARREDONDO: I can't find it. LUIS MATA JR: You can't find it? JANET ARREDONDO: No.
LUIS MATA JR: OK. Unfortunately, by the time we got to Janet's, most of her home video had been destroyed.
I'm gonna tell you something right now. Think about it. They're giving you a deal of a lifetime.
I'll leave it at that. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] We really wanted to re-interview Janet.
She had to have had some type of knowledge of what Joel did that night. We wanted to see if she would be
willing to come forward in exchange for some type of immunity deal. NARRATOR: Janet accepts the offer.
LUIS MATA JR: When we spoke last, we were investigating a deceased person. Obviously, the circumstances have changed.
It's now a murder. OK? NARRATOR: Janet says that Joel told her when he met with Maria the night she died,
she became extremely upset. - Joel told Maria, relax, let me give you something to calm you down.
And that is when Joel injected Maria with a sedative. - He told me that he gave her something to help her relax.
He went to the bathroom. He came back. She was unconscious. And he-- [CRIES] put a needle and
syringe in her [INDISTINCT]. - Mm-hmm. That gives us the answer of how Maria got
that mark on her elbow crease. The med, didn't he tell you what he did with them?
- He just told me he got rid of them. - So now what do you think? Do you think it's possible he killed his wife?
- I thinks it's possible that he did it. - He did what? - He killed Maria. - She told me that Joel had confided in her
that he had killed his wife. It was the smoking gun that we were looking for. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC, SIREN BLARING]
NARRATOR: Police raced to arrest Joel, who's now staying with his parents. [KNOCKING]
LUIS MATA JR: Laredo PD! Laredo Police or we're gonna break down the door! Hello.
JOEL PELLOT: I'm gonna come out [INDISTINCT]. - [SPEAKING SPANISH] JOEL PELLOT: OK.
LUIS MATA JR: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say-- ELIZABETH SEARS: I heard Joel had
been arrested probably within minutes of it being announced. I broke down crying.
LUIS MATA JR: Any questions? - No, sir LUIS MATA JR: No. Is there anything you need?
JOEL PELLOT: I need to call my attorney. LUIS MATA JR: Oh, you could call him. ELIZABETH SEARS: We felt like there
was hope, that there was gonna be justice, and that he was gonna be held accountable,
and that he wasn't gonna get away with taking her life. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] [CARS WHOOSHING]
NARRATOR: With Joel charged with murder, Chief Assistant DA Jacaman builds the case.
MARISELA JACAMAN: The nature of a jury trial is that you just never know what the jury is going to decide.
The plan was to show the video footage of the dynamics between Joel, Maria, and Janet.
NARRATOR: The door cam footage is the last video showing Maria alive. MARISELA JACAMAN: When Maria went to Janet's house,
she wanted to know where her marriage was going. That was her goal, to obtain the truth.
She wanted to know, what's going on here? I thought we were in the process of resolving
our marriage issues. And instead, I find you here. The first witness that we started with
was the officer who was called in on a criminal trespass. JOEL PELLOT: Hey, I'm [MUTED] talking to you right now!
Hang up the [MUTED] phone! [CALL DROPS] OFFICER: I guess that's your boyfriend. - Yeah.
OFFICER: I'm calling on behalf of Janet Arredondo. Can I speak to her? JOEL PELLOT: Sure.
OFFICER: Thank you. MARIA MUÑOZ: Hello? OFFICER: Yes, ma'am. MARISELA JACAMAN: The substance of this conversation
was so difficult because Maria was brokenhearted. He basically broke her in that moment.
That's why this video was used at the beginning of the trial. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] NARRATOR: The call recorded by the officer
is also crucial to the case. JOEL PELLOT: Hey! I'm [MUTED] talking to you right now!
Hang up the [MUTED] phone. - That showed the jury a very good idea of how he was controlling of Maria
and how he could go from angry-- [FINGER SNAP] --to calm in a second. - Sadly, the door cam footage was the beginning
of the end for Maria. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] MARISELA JACAMAN: At the end of the trial,
we believed we had provided for the jury a good understanding of the relationship
between Joel and Maria. They saw it was an abusive relationship, that he was controlling of her.
We were able to show that not only was this not a suicide, not an accidental overdose,
it was an intentional killing of Maria. NARRATOR: The trial lasts nine days. The jury takes less than two hours to reach a verdict.
MARISELA JACAMAN: The jury's decision was guilty on both counts of murder and tampering.
And we were happy for Maria. LUIS MATA JR: Joel was arrogant, was domineering, and
killed his wife in cold blood. NARRATOR: Joel is sentenced to life plus 10 years
for tampering with evidence. - When Joel was sentenced for the murder of Maria, I was so happy.
I felt like she had been able to get the justice that she deserves to have. NARRATOR: With Joel and Maria's children,
now living with grandparents, the question her friends and family are left asking is, why?
LUIS MATA JR: I believe the motive for killing Maria was to prevent the divorce from happening and was
to prevent Joel from having to pay some type of financial resources to Maria. Money was power to Joel.
I believed he would do anything and everything to prevent him from losing any type of those resources,
including killing his wife. - The one thing he did not want was to lose control of Maria.
He didn't want her anymore, but he didn't want anyone else to have her either. JOHN HUNTSINGER: I think that when
he started abusing testosterone, I think he turned into a monster. And the outcome was inevitable that this would happen.
It's extremely shocking to look back at the change that he went through from a very humble family man
to a murderer. [PIANO PLAYING] - I miss Maria a lot. I miss my friend. It's hard when my son asks or when
we drive by places that we shared so much with or when I come back to town and--
or when, you know, I look at her pictures or different things, and it's just a humongous loss that I'll
never be able to replace. [PIANO PLAYING] [SIGHS] [THEME MUSIC] [AUDIO LOGO]

When Maria Muñoz dies from an overdose of prescription drugs, investigators suspect suicide. But doorbell camera footage tells a different story — of love and betrayal.

This true crime series delves into the chilling stories of homicide investigations where crucial evidence is captured on doorbell camera or home security footage.

For More FilmRise Check Out Our Other Channels: FilmRise Television: https://www.youtube.com/⁨@UCVVXDVee0JZ2dlPYtpdTZVg FilmRise Movies: https://www.youtube.com/@FilmRiseMovies Highway to Heaven - Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@HighwaytoHeavenFullEpisodes

Brief Summary

Maria Muñoz's death leads to a murder investigation revealing domestic abuse and toxicology results that contradict her husband's claims.

Key points

Emergency Call for Help. Joel Pellot calls 911, fearing for his wife's life after finding her unresponsive.
A Calm Neighborhood Shattered. In September 2020, a peaceful neighborhood is rocked by a tragic event.
The Investigation Begins. Sergeant Mata arrives to investigate the unexpected death of Maria Pellot.
Toxicology Report Reveals Truth. The toxicology report shows Maria was poisoned, not an overdose. "The report reveals that Maria was poisoned..."
Joel's Arrest. Police race to arrest Joel after new evidence surfaces. "I heard Joel had been arrested..."
Trial Verdict. The jury finds Joel guilty of murder and tampering with evidence. "We were happy for Maria."

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I found my wife unresponsive.

Joel Pellot's desperate call to 911.

0:17WatchMar 19, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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