Woman arrested after boyfriend found beaten to death in Phoenix home
Oct 15, 2018, 4:34 PM
(MCSO photo)
(MCSO photo)
PHOENIX — A woman was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after her boyfriend was found beaten to death in a Phoenix home over the weekend.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson with the Phoenix Police Department said that 45-year-old Lazara Sanchez was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after 49-year-old Michael Moreno was found dead in an apartment near 15th Avenue and Broadway Road on Sunday.
Officers responded to the scene and found Moreno with cuts to his wrist and large bruises to his torso. Sanchez told police that she was arguing with Moreno “and he hit her in the face, causing injury” before he lost consciousness.
Court documents showed that the couple was drinking and using cocaine when Sanchez threw the cocaine, which allegedly angered Moreno to the point where he “hit (Sanchez) with an open hand and (Sanchez) responded by punching (him) in the face with a closed fist.”
The couple allegedly “yelled and physically hit each other throughout the day.” Sanchez claimed that Moreno “pushed her to the ground and forcefully slammed her head into the floor, causing an injury to her face.”
But investigators discovered about 100 video clips from the inside and outside of the home that showed a different story: The videos showed Sanchez allegedly attacking Moreno with numerous items, including a paint can, beer cans, an aluminum baseball bat, a broom handle and a fly swatter.
She was also seen in the videos allegedly choking him, kicking him in his groin and punching him in the head and torso.
“(Moreno) responded to these attacks by screaming and wincing in pain, screaming for help, asking for a doctor and begging (Sanchez) to stop attacking him,” the court documents read.
“At no time was (Moreno) observed hitting, striking or assaulting (Sanchez) in any manner.”
A substance that appeared to be blood was also found on a wrench and the baseball bat, which was found under a bed.
Sanchez later told police that she hit Moreno because she was upset with how he behaved during a trip to a local museum with their grandchildren the day prior.
Moreno’s cause of death will be determined by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office. Sanchez will appear in court next on Oct. 22.
