HOUSTON — This week marks 10 years since a husband was found stabbed to death in his home. His name was Jaime Melgar and his wife, Sandra, was sent to prison for the murder.
So far, her appeals have been denied, but the couple's only child says she hopes new DNA evidence will eventually clear her mom's name.
"You know sometimes I feel like I don’t even recognize myself anymore because I’m a completely different person," said Lizz Melgar Rose, the couple's daughter.
Click here for more coverage on Sandra Melgar.
From the moment her father was murdered, she stood by her mom and believed she was innocent.
"Just her initial reaction, her body language, my mom was never even good at keeping surprises from me," she said.
It’s been a decade since that night, December 23, 2012. The couple was celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary.
“I give them credit for showing me what a loving, healthy relationship is," said Rose. "They have what I hope I have in 32 years with my husband."
When we interviewed Sandra in prison in 2018, she told us it was a home invasion.
“No, I did not kill my husband, no," Sandra told us during the interview.
She was found tied up in one closet of their northwest Harris County home and her husband was found stabbed to death in another closet. However, investigators didn’t buy her story because she couldn’t remember and told them she had a history of seizures.
At trial, prosecutors argued they were no signs of forced entry and the murder weapon, a knife, was found in the home.
The defense argued there was no physical evidence linking Sandra to the crime and they pointed out the bloody handle of a safe was never tested.
Photos: Crime scene at the Melgar home
Fast forward to today, Rose says new DNA testing on the safe points in a different direction.
“It did come back to a male who is not my father. It does not have any familial match or ties to us," she said.
Evidence the Innocence Project of Texas will now explore as they announced they will work on Sandra’s case.
“We started feeling like we had reached the end of the road, but now that we have them on our side, it feels like the fight has renewed," said Rose.
The family is still offering a $100,000 reward for information.
Melgar is serving a 27-year prison sentence. She is eligible for parole in 2031.