Despite the man’s continuous assertion that his wife had overdosed on medication, initial clues made the police suspicious of this story.
When Maria Munoz, a young and healthy mother, suddenly passed away, authorities discovered seven different types of drugs in her body. The police investigation not only clarified whether this was a homicide or a dreadful accident but also shed light on the truth about her marriage.
The medicine box disappeared
In the early morning of September 22, 2020, the Laredo city police entered the home where Joel Pellot and Maria Munoz lived with their two young sons. Before this, Joel had called 911 stating that his 31-year-old wife might have taken some prescription medication and was unresponsive.
There, the police saw Joel, dressed in green surgical attire, performing CPR on his wife near the main bedroom. They noticed Maria’s body was still warm. Joel claimed Maria was depressed and may have overdosed on medication.
Joel then went into the bathroom, and opened the medicine cabinet. Upon returning, he handed the police a medication box containing clonazepam. Clonazepam is a drug commonly used to treat anxiety disorders. It was prescribed for Joel, not Maria.
The medication box was set aside to focus on emergency care for Maria. Joel continued to explain that Maria had been struggling lately, showing signs of despair. The couple’s two sons, aged 5 and 2, remained in their separate bedroom nearby, seemingly unaware of what was happening.
Shortly after, medical personnel arrived, swiftly endeavoring to revive the young mother. At this point, the police realized the medication box had vanished. Knowing Joel had taken it, they grew suspicious that this man was attempting to conceal something.
Unusual Details
At 3:58 AM, less than three hours after Joel’s 911 call, Maria was pronounced dead at home.
When questioned about what had occurred, Joel claimed they had sexual intercourse, after which he went to shower. Upon returning, Joel found his wife nearly collapsed. He spoke while covering his face with his hand and began to cry. This demeanor also struck the investigators as abnormal.
In addition, according to police experience, when someone overdoses on drugs, the drugs are often close to that person. However, in this case, the clonazepam prescribed for Joel was found in a different room.
During the conversation, an officer observed Joel sweating profusely, drenching his clothing, while he wore a suit, carried a gun, and bore nearly 9 kilograms of equipment on him without sweating as much. Joel appeared to have used drugs and might be under their influence.
At this point, the police still didn’t know whether Maria’s death was a suicide, or accidental overdose, or if Joel was somehow involved. They needed to search the house for clues. But to do so, they required Joel’s permission.
Upon learning of this intention, Joel stated, “I don’t want you guys rummaging through stuff because I’m a very private person.” However, after the police mentioned they would seek a search warrant, Joel eventually agreed.
Joel was then taken back to the police station for further investigation. While alone in the interrogation room, he screamed, pounded the walls, pushed objects, creating loud noises.
Around 4 AM, the interrogation commenced.
Contradictory Testimony
At the start of the interrogation, Joel Pellot admitted to giving his wife, Maria Munoz, a box of clonazepam medication that was prescribed to him, but he couldn’t recall how many pills were in it and didn’t know how many his wife had taken. Joel also couldn’t pinpoint the exact time from when he left the bathroom until he noticed Maria was unresponsive, estimating it to be around 10 minutes.
However, the police found no logical explanation for the sudden death of a healthy 31-year-old woman like Maria. And so was her husband’s explanation.
Joel’s initial testimony was that he took a shower, thinking Maria was asleep, and only realized she was unresponsive 10 minutes later. However, the bathroom in the main bedroom he mentioned using showed no signs of steam, soap, or shampoo smells, with the showerhead completely dry.
Investigators found a syringe casing on the floor and an intravenous needle on the staircase. Syringes and IV equipment in a medical bag were also discovered in the house. Joel then claimed the syringe was used for injecting steroids.
While Joel was at the police station, Maria’s close friend Angela Montoya and her husband Luis Ayala hurried to the house to care for Joel’s two sons. Luis, who was also Joel’s colleague, stated that he began noticing changes in Joel two years before Maria’s death.
The Truth in the Diaries
When Joel met Maria, he was a nursing student and 11 years her senior. A few years after their marriage, the couple moved to Texas, where Joel landed a decent job as an anesthesiologist. At the time, Joel was seen as the family man, diligent and intelligent. His stories revolved around his wife and children.
But two years prior, Joel underwent physical and personality changes. He attempted to lose weight and bulk up, and became more outgoing and flirtatious with women.
From the family-oriented man who liked to showcase his wife and children to friends and colleagues, Joel deleted Maria’s photos from social media, only posting pictures of himself. Making more money, Joel indulged in displays of wealth, buying a new sports car and flaunting everything.
These changes became more alarming in 2018, around the time Maria gave birth to their second son. Joel started pursuing a woman named Janet Arredondo, a surgical nurse at his workplace.
Joel took Janet on vacations to Europe, Spain, France, and Greece. Maria discovered her husband’s affair when she found flight tickets. Her disappointment turned into depression, and she was prescribed medication.
These incidents were documented by Maria in diaries found by the police at home. In them, she expressed sadness, a broken heart, and tortured thoughts. Sometimes Maria showed hope, believing she could mend her 10-year marriage.
In 2020, just a few months after taking his lover on a trip to Europe, Joel gifted Maria a lavish getaway to Las Vegas.
Thinking it was an opportunity to mend their marriage, Maria was mistaken. Joel couldn’t leave his mistress. He moved in with Janet 5 months before Maria’s death.
The Needle Mark on the Arm
Five months before Maria Munoz’s death, her husband, Joel Pellot, moved in with his mistress, Janet Arredondo. Working with the police, Janet admitted Joel was her boyfriend but asserted she had no knowledge related to Maria’s death.
Meanwhile, Joel told investigators that Maria might have overdosed on clonazepam, but during the autopsy, medical examiners found no traces of the drug in the victim’s stomach.
Instead, they discovered a small needle mark on Maria’s right arm with no signs of drug or similar substance usage. Joel also denied administering any injections to his wife on the evening she passed away.
The autopsy report indicated Maria died from mixed drug toxicity. Although the medical examiner couldn’t explain how drugs entered Maria’s system, they ruled out suicide after speaking with Maria’s friends and reading her diary. On the day before her death, Maria showed determination when she wrote, “What do I want? Move forward!”
Was Maria’s death accidental overdose or homicide? When anesthesiologist Dr. John Huntsinger, also Joel’s former boss, heard the autopsy results, he immediately became suspicious.
John suggested the police analyze toxins to determine which drug killed Maria and how it entered her body. It would take nearly 4 months for authorities to get the answers they needed.
Discovery from the Cameras
At Maria’s funeral, Joel appeared visibly distraught and shed many tears despite having caused his wife much suffering. Joel’s display of grief didn’t deter the investigation into his wife’s death.
Upon careful examination of video footage from police body cameras at the time of Maria’s death, investigators discovered the missing medication box at the crime scene was actually taken by Joel.
In the footage, unnoticed by others, Joel swiftly tucked the medication box into his clothing. If this was indeed the medication Maria allegedly took according to Joel’s testimony, why would he want to conceal it? The small needle mark on Maria’s right arm also raised suspicions, linking to the intravenous needle found at the scene.
With increasing doubts, investigators knew it wouldn’t be easy to prove, especially since even medical examiners weren’t certain about Maria’s cause of death.
While awaiting detailed toxin analysis, the police interviewed the victim’s friends and discovered that a confrontation had occurred at Janet’s house the Saturday before Maria’s death, when Maria saw Joel’s car there.
The door camera recorded Maria ringing Janet’s doorbell and giving Joel a choice: “Are you choosing her or me?” Joel’s surprising response was, “I choose Janet.”
Shocking Test Results
While awaiting the detailed toxin analysis in Maria Munoz’s body, the police interviewed the victim’s friends and made a startling discovery about events that occurred on the Saturday before her death. Maria spotted her husband Joel Pellot’s car at his mistress’s house.
A confrontation ensued, and the mistress, Janet Arredondo, promptly called the police. Upon their arrival, Maria left with Joel. During a phone call to Maria, captured by a police body camera, Joel could be heard berating his wife. He became so agitated that he punched through the windshield.
On Sunday, two days before the incident, Maria texted Joel about hiring a divorce lawyer. Joel suggested they settle matters themselves because it would cost “too much money.”
Later, Joel suddenly changed tack, sending Maria an email stating, “I am very sad and hurt inside… I want to sit down and have an honest, heartfelt conversation with you, no arguing.”
They agreed to meet on Monday evening. Before Joel arrived, Maria texted her friend, indicating she would talk to her husband that night. This was Maria’s last message to her friend. Maria passed away early Tuesday morning.
Nearly four months after Maria’s death, the police finally received the long-awaited toxicology test results. Shockingly, there were no traces of clonazepam—the medication Joel claimed Maria had taken on the night she died.
Instead, the toxicology report revealed seven other drugs in Maria’s system: morphine, demerol, versed, propofol, ketamine, lidocaine, and narcan. Most of these drugs are commonly used in surgical procedures, and one of them can only be administered intravenously.
Revelations from the Mistress
At this point, investigators were almost certain Joel had murdered his wife. They swiftly returned to his residence. When arrested, Joel showed no reaction.
When anesthesiologist Dr. John Huntsinger, also Joel’s former boss, saw the list of seven drugs found in Maria’s body, he was particularly shocked by one: propofol, a substance that can cause respiratory arrest if used excessively.
Propofol isn’t something readily available at pharmacies; it must be obtained from a hospital. Unlike the other six drugs that could be consumed orally, propofol is only administered intravenously. Dr. John Huntsinger believed Maria’s death was due to propofol.
With Joel in custody, authorities believed Janet knew more than she had previously revealed in her initial interview.
Janet subsequently agreed to a second interview with her lawyers present. She confessed that Joel often brought illicit substances into the house, including ketamine, morphine, lidocaine, fentanyl, and even propofol.
The police obtained a search warrant for Janet’s house. Additionally, the prosecutor proposed a plea deal to Janet in exchange for further information.
The prosecution believed Joel meticulously planned his wife’s murder. Furthermore, Maria had endured mental abuse for several months before her death.
Sophisticated Plan
The prosecution believes that Joel Pellot meticulously planned the murder of his wife, Maria Munoz, in detail. Moreover, Maria had endured mental abuse for several months before her death.
Evidence of this was found in Maria’s diary, where she wrote: “Life is so unfair. My husband, the man I love deeply, is the one who hurts me so much.”
Maria also left evidence on her cellphone. It was a video she secretly recorded about four months before her death. At that time, the couple had a heated argument in the car.
However, besides the video and Maria’s diary entries, the prosecution needed more to prove that Joel had given his wife all those drugs.
In the second interrogation, Joel’s mistress, Janet Arredondo, said that Joel had told her about the night Maria died. He said he went to see Maria to have a heartfelt conversation with her and then injected her with medication. This action was not intended to kill but to help her calm down.
However, investigators believed that the sedative was part of Joel’s plan to murder Maria. Allegedly, before injecting Maria’s arm, Joel may have mixed some sedatives, including ketamine, versed, morphine, and Demerol, into her favorite coffee to render her unconscious. At this point, Joel administered a lethal dose of propofol. Joel was believed to have deliberately waited before calling 911 to ensure that no one could save Maria.
The mistress, Janet, also said that Joel admitted to disposing of some medical equipment used to inject Maria before the first responders arrived at the scene.
Important Witnesses
In addition to murder, Joel was charged with tampering with evidence. 2.5 years after Maria Munoz’s death, in March 2023, Joel went to trial for killing his wife.
The prosecutor stated that the most important witness at the trial was Maria herself, and her diary showed that the pain of betrayal was gradually subsiding. Joel had the motive, intention, and means to kill Maria.
Fifteen witnesses were summoned to court. Among them, the prosecution’s key witness, Janet Arredondo, testified to what she had previously shared with the police.
Joel’s lawyers admitted that their client had administered drugs to his wife but insisted that he had no intention of murder; he was only trying to save Maria. Joel gave his wife medication to help her calm down, and after seeing her unconscious, he quickly gave her Narcan, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses.
The defense argued that the incident was a horrific accident resulting from the combination of whatever Maria had consumed and the drugs Joel injected. However, the prosecution argued that although Maria was very unhappy in her marriage, there was no evidence that she abused drugs or alcohol. They believed that Joel’s motive was money. He murdered Maria because he did not want to pay for a divorce and divide assets.
After eight days of testimony, the jury took less than an hour to decide Joel Pellot’s fate. Accordingly, he was found guilty of killing his wife and tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and would be eligible for parole in 2053, at the age of 75.
