Murder of Emily Sander

Emily Irene Sander (February 26, 1989[1] – November 24, 2007[2]) was an 18-year-old student at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, United States,[3] who was reported missing on November 23, 2007[4] and found dead six days later.[5] Her disappearance was widely covered in the mainstream news media. Israel Mireles was named as a suspect; he was arrested in Mexico[6] and in February 2010 found guilty of her murder.[7]

Emily Irene Sander
Born
Emily Irene Sander

(1989-02-26)February 26, 1989
Olathe, Kansas[1]
DisappearedNovember 23, 2007
El Dorado, Kansas
DiedNovember 24, 2007(2007-11-24) (aged 18)
El Dorado, Kansas
Cause of deathMurder
Body discoveredNovember 29, 2007
Other namesZoey Zane

Disappearance
Israel Mireles, convicted of Sander's murder

According to police, Sander and a man they identified as 24-year-old Israel Mireles were seen leaving a bar in east El Dorado on November 23, 2007. This was the last time Sander was seen alive.[8] Later, blood was discovered in Mireles' motel room next door to an Italian restaurant where he worked as a waiter[9] and Sander's car was found still parked at the bar. The rental car Mireles was driving was found abandoned on November 27 in Vernon, Texas, where he has relatives.[10]

Six days after Sander's disappearance, on November 29, investigators found a body 50 miles (80 km) east of El Dorado,[11] later confirmed to be Sander's. An autopsy was performed, but the results and cause of death were sealed until the trial, when it was revealed that she had been stabbed multiple times and strangled to death with a telephone cord.[12]

Apprehension

El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren said that a special task force of FBI and Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents was assigned to the case.[13] On December 19, 2007, local police apprehended Mireles in Melchor Múzquiz, Mexico. He was subsequently charged in the U.S. with capital murder, rape, and aggravated sodomy.[6] When captured, he was with his 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Victoria Martens.[6][14] Although prosecutors promised not to file charges against her, she initially refused to return to Kansas.[15]

According to Victoria Martens' mother, Sandy Martens, her daughter had called her on November 24 to tell her Mireles had been involved in an altercation when another man attempted to rob him,[16] and her daughter had also sent her a text message days after the couple fled saying she "had a lot to tell her mother".[16] Sandy Martens later said she believed her daughter thought the trip with Mireles to Mexico was a vacation.[17] Victoria Martens later called home and was picked up at the border and taken to Texas, where she was put in juvenile custody. Because Mireles was suspected of impregnating her, he was also charged with aggravated indecent liberties with a child.[17]

Mireles was a Mexican citizen who had been in the United States legally and had returned to his home country. A potential complication of the case was that before extraditing a suspect, Mexico requires that authorities submit the most serious charges that the suspect could face, and will not allow extradition of someone who could face the death penalty. The maximum penalty Mireles could face was life in prison without the possibility of parole;[6] On June 26, 2009, he was back in the US following extradition.[18]

Trial

Mireles' trial on charges of capital murder, rape and aggravated criminal sodomy was held from February 8 to 12, 2010.[7] He was convicted of rape and capital murder; the aggravated sodomy charge was dropped as part of the capital murder charge.[19] On March 31, 2010, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[20]

In 2013, Mireles appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court requesting a new trial;[21] the court upheld his conviction.[22]

Career as a pornographic model

After several days of speculation following her disappearance,[23] it was revealed that in addition to being a secretary, Emily Sander worked as an Internet pornography model using the pseudonym Zoey Zane.[24][25] Friends said she had been recruited for an internet porn site in summer 2007, shortly after her 18th birthday.[26] She apparently kept her career mostly to herself and only close friends knew about it.[26][27][28]

Investigators said they did not believe that Sander's involvement in porn was connected with her disappearance.[29] A statement on the Zoey Zane porn site criticized the media, saying they had blown Sander's porn career out of proportion and that it was a shame that the site drew more viewers after her death than it had drawn previously.[30] The site was later redirected to an online memorial for Emily Sander.

Aftermath

A vigil was held for Sander at Butler Community College.[31] Her funeral took place on December 6, 2007.[32]

References
  1. "Services set for Emily Sander". The Augusta Daily Gazette. 2007-12-03. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  2. "Online Memorial and Obituary of Emily Sander". Carlson Colonial Funeral Home. 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  3. Stan Finger and Tim Potter (2007-11-26). "Police suspect missing Butler student 'was victim of violence'". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  4. Tim Potter and Hurst Liviana (2007-11-30). "Body found; may be Emily Sander". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  5. Mike Carney (2007-11-30). "Family grieves likely death of 18-year-old Emily Sander". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  6. Roxana Hegeman (2007-12-19). "Arrest in Student-Porn Actress' Death". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2008-02-12.
  7. "Court readies for trial in Kansas porn model's death". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. 2010-02-03. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  8. David Schoetz (2007-11-28). "Bedspread Clue in Kansas Teen's Disappearance". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  9. Tim Potter (2007-12-05). "Mom pleads to hear from daughter". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  10. Roxana Hegeman (2007-12-13). "Body of Secret Porn Star Found in Kansas". AOL NEWS. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  11. Roxana Hegeman (2007-11-29). "Body matches description of missing girl". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  12. Denise Hnytka (2010-02-08). "Israel Mireles Trial: Day One". KWCH. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved 2014-09-27.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. Tim Potter (2007-11-29). "Emily Sander case takes an unusual twist". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  14. Roxana Hegeman (2007-11-24). "Foul play suspected in disappearance of Kansas teen". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  15. David Lohr (2007-12-20). "Mexican Authorities Arrest Israel Mireles". Court TV Crime Library. Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  16. "Mother pleads for pregnant daughter to call". The Kansas City Star. Associated Press. 2007-12-04. Archived from the original on 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  17. "Girlfriend of Slaying Suspect Returns". Associated Press. 2007-12-28. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  18. "Suspect in Kansas porn model slaying back in US". Yahoo News. Associated Press. 2009-06-26. Archived from the original on 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  19. "Man convicted in model slaying". Topeka Capital-Journal. Associated Press. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  20. "Man gets life for killing model". Topeka Capital-Journal. Associated Press. 2010-03-31. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  21. John Hanna (2013-03-06). "Kan. Supreme Court hears appeal in student's death". The Hutchinson News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  22. Hurst Laviana; Associated Press (2014-08-08) [2013-05-10]. "Kansas Supreme Court upholds conviction in Emily Sander murder". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  23. Jeff Freeland (2007-12-02). "Emily Sander as Zoey Zane: Internet Porn Star Meets Tragic End". National Ledger. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  24. "Emily Sander". Fox News. 2007-11-29. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
  25. David Schoetz (2007-11-29). "Body Found in Search for Teen Porn Star". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  26. Rozana Hegeman (2007-11-28). "Missing Student May Have Been Porn Star". Fox News. Archived from the original on 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  27. "Missing student an Internet porn star?". Edmonton Sun. Associated Press. 2007-11-28. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  28. "Man held over teenage web porn star killing". news.com.au. 2007-12-21. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  29. "Autopsy Slated for Secret Porn Star". WIBW News. Associated Press. 2007-12-01. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  30. L.A. Vess (2007-12-04). "Adult Site Slams Media on Portrayal of Slain Student Emily Sander". GayWired.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  31. Natasha Trelfa (2007-11-30). "BCC Plans Vigil for Emily Sander". WIBW News. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  32. "Funeral Set for Emily Sander". WIBW News. 2007-12-03. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
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