In the quiet, early morning hours of December 18, 2012, the life of 25-year-old Beatriz 'Betty' Cintora-Silva was tragically cut short in a violent act that also claimed the lives of her sister and brother-in-law. A Hispanic woman, Beatriz had sought refuge at her sister's Longmont, Colorado, home after a tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Daniel Sanchez, had ended.
The events that unfolded that morning were the culmination of a pattern of domestic violence that had escalated in the days prior.
Only hours before the fatal encounter, Sanchez had been released from the Boulder County Jail on bail. He had been arrested just two days earlier on charges of domestic violence, kidnapping, and false imprisonment for holding Beatriz against her will. Following his release, Sanchez drove to the home of Maria Cintora-Silva, Beatriz's 22-year-old sister, and her 32-year-old husband, Max Aguirre Ojeda, where Beatriz was staying. Just after 4 a.m., he forcibly entered the residence by shooting out the back door.
A frantic 911 call from Beatriz captured the terrifying final moments. The dispatcher heard her desperate cries of 'No, no, no,' followed by the sound of a gunshot. Sanchez then took the phone and chillingly informed the dispatcher that he had killed three people and intended to take his own life. A final gunshot was heard before the line went silent. When Weld County SWAT officers entered the home, they discovered a horrific scene. The bodies of Maria and Max were found in one bedroom, while Beatriz and Sanchez were found in another, all having succumbed to gunshot wounds.
Investigators found a. 45-caliber Glock handgun near Sanchez's body, along with numerous spent shell casings throughout the house. The tragic event was ruled a triple murder-suicide, with Sanchez identified as the sole suspect. The community was left to mourn the loss of the three victims, remembering Beatriz as a caring individual who had graduated from Skyline High School and was attending Front Range Community College while working at Marshalls and Chipotle. Her untimely death, a result of a domestic dispute that ended in the most violent way imaginable, left a permanent scar on the Longmont community.
