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OREM — Orem police have released the identity of a woman allegedly strangled by her boyfriend during an early morning argument after the two had been drinking.
Just after 3 a.m. on Saturday, police were called to a home near 800 South and 750 West, where they found the body of 20-year-old Sandra Robles in a bedroom. She had "significant facial injuries" which was swollen and covered in blood, according to a police booking affidavit.
Daniel Padilla-Ang, 27, was arrested for investigation of murder.
Padilla-Ang told police he and Robles had been in a relationship for the past four months. She went to his house that night and the two consumed alcohol, the affidavit states. At some point during the evening, Padilla-Ang grabbed a vape cartridge from Robles and claimed she then hit him, the affidavit states. Padilla-Ang responded by punching Robles in the face and choking her with both hands while telling her to "die," according to the affidavit.
When Robles was no longer moving, Padilla-Ang said he checked for breathing.
"Daniel stated that when she did not respond, he took a couple of shots of alcohol and sent two text messages to family members stating that he had just killed someone and that he wouldn't be seeing them for a while. Daniel admitted numerous times during the interview that he had killed the female victim and that he needed to be locked up," the affidavit states.
Padilla-Ang then called 911, told emergency dispatchers what he had allegedly done and stated that "he needed to be taken in" and later told police that he "was there to face the consequences."
A GoFundMe campaign* was started by Robles' father to help pay for funeral expenses.
"It breaks my heart to know that I will never see my daughter again," Wilfredo Robles wrote in Spanish.
Officers noted that prior to Saturday, Padilla-Ang had been arrested five times in the past eight years, including twice for domestic violence-related crimes, which he was on probation for at the time of his Saturday arrest.
According to court records, Padilla-Ang was convicted of assault in 2015 in Provo Justice Court. He served five days in jail and was placed on probation for one year. He also pleaded guilty in February of 2021 in Orem Justice Court to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief for a 2017 domestic violence-related incident that was originally charged as assault, according to court records.
In January 2021, he pleaded guilty to having another person's ID, and giving and a false name to police after officers stopped him while he was walking across the freeway in traffic and then found he had a fake residency card, court documents state.
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
