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The Cuban Roelmer Sánchez Garrido, 38 years old, remains incarcerated without bail at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, charged with killing his wife following an argument that escalated into a physical altercation, sparked by her plan to return to Cuba with their two-year-old daughter.
The victim was identified as Vanesa Rodríguez Valdés, a 38-year-old Cuban native of Ciego de Ávila, who was found dead in the bedroom of her home on 4300 Esmeralda Avenue, in the early hours of Tuesday, April 28, with a blanket covering her body.
According to the arrest report, Sánchez Garrido admitted to detectives that he strangled his wife with one hand until she stopped breathing, and he stated that "he did not know she was going to die," that he tried to perform CPR, and then covered her with a sofa blanket.
Sánchez Garrido himself called 911 around 3:04 a.m. and said that "something bad" had happened and that his wife was not breathing, local press reports indicate.
The paramedics from the Las Vegas Fire Department arrived at 3:14 a.m. and found the suspect "walking back and forth in the front yard, holding his daughter in his arms."
Vanesa was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD).
Noticing that the death "did not seem natural," the medical staff immediately requested police assistance, and the Homicide Section of the LVMPD took over the investigation.
The reason for the altercation was Vanesa's desire to return to Cuba with her daughter, to which Sánchez Garrido opposed, citing political reasons that would prevent him from going back to the island and his intention to continue making money in the United States.
The victim had taken precautions days before the crime: she handed over her and her daughter's passports to a neighbor for safekeeping; and on April 21, she secretly recorded a conversation with her husband about her intention to separate, sending the audio files via WhatsApp to neighbors "as possible evidence."
A neighbor also testified that Sánchez Garrido approached him before calling 911, handed him two small containers with jewelry, and told him that he had done something "very bad."
The surveillance cameras of one of the residences in the area showed the couple arriving at their home at 6:18 p.m. the previous day and a discussion taking place at the entrance at 7:45 p.m., with no one else entering or leaving until the arrival of emergency services.
On April 29, Sánchez Garrido appeared before the Court of Justice, where he required a translator from English to Spanish to understand the ruling.
The judge informed the defendant: "The court has determined that there was probable cause for your arrest. You are currently being held without bail. You will remain in custody without bail until your next court hearing."
Sánchez Garrido faces a charge of open homicide, which in the state of Nevada allows the prosecutor to determine the specific degree as the investigation progresses.
Your next hearing is scheduled for this Monday at 8:00 a.m. (local time).
The couple's young daughter was placed in the custody of the appropriate authorities.
The case adds to a documented pattern of gender violence against Cuban women abroad. Just 48 hours after the violent death of Vanesa at the hands of her husband, another Cuban killed his partner in a brutal knife attack, in North Fort Myers, Florida.
Three months earlier, another act of gender-based violence claimed the life of a Cuban woman in Las Vegas: Yaimara Leyva Cadet was stabbed to death by her partner.
According to the independent gender observatories OGAT and YSTCC, 12 Cuban women were victims of femicide abroad in 2025, six of whom were in the United States.
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