Sanchez Charged With Murder

A Simi Valley handyman linked to a string of violent sexual assaults was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the July 5 slaying of a 20-year-old college student.

Prosecutors further allege that 30-year-old Vincent Henry Sanchez killed Megan Barroso during a kidnapping and a rape or attempted rape. The allegations make Sanchez eligible for the death penalty.

Standing next to his defense attorney, Sanchez, a short dark-haired man dressed in a blue jail uniform, made a brief court appearance after the charges were filed. He did not enter a plea. An arraignment was postponed until Sept. 25.

Outside the courtroom, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth said she expects the murder case will be combined with a 57-count sexual assault complaint filed against Sanchez earlier this month.

“We anticipate the two cases will be joined at some point,” she said. “Potentially, it is a capital case.”

Sanchez has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of rape, kidnapping and burglary in at least 11 sexual assaults on Simi Valley women between September 1996 and February 2000.

Sanchez allegedly broke into the homes of several women, forcing them to perform sexual acts and raping them at knifepoint. In three instances, Sanchez allegedly kidnapped the women and took them to isolated locations to rape them.

Authorities suspect Sanchez’s violent conduct escalated to murder with the slaying of Barroso.

A Moorpark College student, Barroso was last seen leaving a friend’s house in Thousand Oaks about 2:30 a.m. on July 5. Her bullet-riddled car was found beneath a freeway overpass about a mile from her home.

The engine was still running and blood was found inside the car. Authorities found assault rifle casings, part of an assault rifle and Barroso’s shoes at the scene.

After a massive search, her half-clothed body was discovered Aug. 4 under brush in a canyon southeast of Simi Valley. The cause of death was a gunshot to the stomach.

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies had been led to Sanchez as a possible suspect after he was arrested July 27 on suspicion of burglarizing a neighbor’s home.

While in custody, Sanchez called one of his housemates and asked him to get rid of a bag he had placed in the trash. The roommate found the bag contained photographs and videos of naked women bound and gagged.

The housemate contacted police, who concluded Sanchez was the serial rapist they had been pursuing for years.

During subsequent searches of Sanchez’s rented house on Woodrow Avenue, detectives found items allegedly linking him to Barroso’s disappearance, including her olive-colored jacket and an AK-47 assault rifle.

At a news conference Monday, called to announce Sanchez’s arrest on suspicion of murder, Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said the rifle was the one used to kill Barroso. Brooks declined to comment on whether Barroso had been raped.

On Wednesday, Henke-Dobroth declined to comment on the evidence in the case. She also declined to discuss whether any other suspects are under investigation in the Barroso killing.