PHOENIX - A woman was arrested after allegedly beating a man with various items before he eventually became unresponsive and died, court documents say.
Much of this was caught on surveillance cameras inside the home where the events took place.
On Sunday evening, Phoenix Police went to the home on West Tamarisk Avenue to assist the Phoenix Fire Department with an injured person call. The fire department was performing life-saving measures on a man when police arrived, according to court documents.
When the fire department got there, there were handcuffs on both wrists of the man, identified as Michael Moreno. Police removed the handcuffs so the fire department could continue life-saving measures, but Moreno, 49, was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes after police arrived on scene.
Officers noted cuts on Moreno's wrists where the handcuffs were as well as large bruises to his torso, according to court documents.
The suspect, Lazara Sanchez, and another witness were located inside the home. As Sanchez spoke, officers could smell alcohol on her breath and she said she was arguing with Moreno and he hit her in the face.
Sanchez said Moreno put the handcuffs on himself, attempting to place one on his wrist and another on hers. Sanchez said Moreno then became unresponsive and Sanchez told the other witness to call 911.
Sanchez was taken to the police station where she was interviewed again. She said she and Moreno took their three grandchildren to the Phoenix Children's Museum the day before. Moreno showed no interest in going, which angered Sanchez.
After dropping their grandchildren off at their parents', Moreno and Sanchez bought beer and began drinking and using cocaine. Sanchez threw the cocaine, which angered Moreno.
Then, according to court documents, Sanchez said Moreno hit her with a closed fist. The two yelled at each other and physically hit each other throughout the day.
Moreno allegedly pushed Sanchez to the ground and slammed her head into the ground and then placed one handcuff on one of his wrists and attempted to put the other handcuff on her. Somehow, in the struggle the other handcuff attached to Moreno's free hand.
Sanchez said she went to wash her face and returned to find Moreno unresponsive on the floor. She performed CPR and told the witness to call police.
Investigators then discovered there were audio and video recording cameras inside the home. There were around 100 individual video clips recovered, which recorded interactions between the couple on Oct. 13 until the arrival of the Phoenix fire personnel on Oct. 14.
According to court documents, police say the video clips show Sanchez attacking Moreno with numerous items, including striking him with a one-gallon paint can to the torso, full beer cans to the face and head, an aluminum baseball bat to the arms and legs, a flyswatter and broom handle to his torso.
Additionally, Sanchez allegedly stabbed and hit Moreno in the face with a set of keys. There were two separate times where Sanchez observed Moreno choking while on the bed. In between those instances, Sanchez is seen kicking him in the groin and punching him in the head and torso.
According to court documents, Moreno begged for Sanchez to stop, asked for a doctor and screamed for help.
Sanchez could be heard on recordings allegedly threatening to kill Moreno if he touched her.
At one point Sanchez was observed holding a large metal wrench, which was later found inside a suitcase and had blood on it. The bat with blood on it was found under the bed.
Furthermore, a camera inside the bedroom was pointed toward Moreno as he laid in a prone position with only one handcuff on his left wrist. Sanchez was observed moving the camera so the view was away from him. He could be heard after that yelling for help.
That camera was later found in a drawer in the kitchen wrapped in a pillow case.
Sanchez admitted to police that she hit Moreno with the items because she was angry at his behavior at the museum the day before.
Sanchez was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The specific cause and manner of his death is pending an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday. More charges could come as a result of that determination.
Sanchez was released on $150,000 bail. She's due next in court Oct. 22.