Cops: Spurned Husband Sought Revenge

Police in Albuquerque, N.M. say that when Richard Robert Sanchez's wife kicked him out, he wanted to get back at her any way he could. Cops say he found a way to hurt her without touching her.

On August 21, 2000, police say that Sanchez, armed with a stun gun, pushed his way into the home of his estranged wife's sister. Then, they say, he spent several hours raping her, and prodding her with a cooking fork. Her 5-year-old son witnessed the atrocities.

In Jail -- Then Out

Because of the brutal and repeated nature the crimes he's accused of, Sanchez is charged with eight different counts of criminal sexual penetration.

Police say that because the crime was committed in front of the victim's child, Sanchez is also charged with child abuse. Adding to the list, since police say Sanchez confined his sister-in-law and her child, he is charged with kidnapping.

In November 2000, Sanchez turned himself in to police. He was indicted and released on a $200,000 bond.

Children In Danger

While he waited for trial, Sanchez had to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. But police say it did not deter him from fleeing.

Detectives believe when Richard Sanchez realized he would go to prison for his crimes, he panicked and abducted his three non-custodial sons: Christopher, Daniel and Richard, Jr.

Police say Sanchez cut off his electronic bracelet and fled with the boys.

Cops: Bodies Presumed To Be Sanchez And Sons

When a New Mexico man's truck accidentally rolled into a lake, he had no idea he'd provide the missing link to a case that had nearly gone cold.

Police had been searching for Richard Sanchez and his three children since August 2000, when he allegedly abducted his three children following a custody battle.

It seemed as though Sanchez and his boys vanished, until a complete stranger solved the case in an accident.

On June 15, 2009, police say a man collecting wood with his pick-up truck near Cochiti Lake, N.M. suffered a major loss when cops say the man's pick-up truck accidentally rolled into the lake.

The state police dive team headed to the scene to recover the vehicle. While they found what appeared to be an automobile at the bottom of the lake, the water was so muddy, they had to postpone the recovery until the following day.

When the dive team returned to pull the vehicle out of the lake, cops say instead of dragging a truck out of the water, they recovered a different vehicle that appeared to belong to Sanchez based on the license plate and vehicle description.

Additionally, cops made a sad discovery inside: the bodies of a man and three young boys.

Since the recovery, cops say they believe the bodies belong to the Sanchez and the missing boys based on compelling circumstantial evidence.

The office of the medical examiner says an ankle bracelet found on the adult male body corresponds to the one Sanchez was supposed to have been wearing at the time of his flight from justice.

Police are now processing DNA to confirm the boys' identities.