Orem man allegedly confesses to strangling a woman, calls police on himself

OREM, Utah – Orem police arrested a man Saturday after he allegedly called dispatch to report he had strangled his girlfriend and he needed to be taken in.

The incident happened Saturday at a basement apartment near 800 South and 750 West.

According to an affidavit, when police entered, they saw a man on his knees with his back to officers and his hands behind his head. The document said his hands appeared to have blood on them and the man identified himself as Daniel Padilla-Ang.

Padilla-Ang, 27, lived at the apartment.

Officers searched the home and found the woman, identified as 20-year-old Sandra Robles, dead in a bedroom. They tried to revive her but were not successful.

The document said her face was swollen and covered in blood.

Police later interviewed Padilla-Ang at a police station. The document said, “Daniel was brought to the interview room and prior to being read his Miranda rights stated that he had nothing to hide and that he had called the police on himself and that he was there to face the consequences.”

Padilla-Ang said he had been in a four-month relationship with the Robles.

He said she came over to his home earlier Saturday and the two of them started drinking.

The document said she had a vape cartridge that was broken when he grabbed it from her. He said Robles hit him and pushed him. The court document said Padilla-Ang then told police he grabbed her neck and started to choke her.

“The female victim then went to the ground where Daniel stated he punched her in the face and then started to choke her with both of his hands,” the document said.

He said he kept choking and told her to die until she did not move. He said he then checked to see if she was still alive “by placing his hand over her mouth and pinching her nose to she would gasp for air.”

He said she did not respond. He then took a couple of shots of alcohol and texted two family members that, “he had just killed someone and he wouldn’t be seeing them for a while.”

The document said, “Daniel admitted numerous times during the interview that he had killed the female victim and that he needed to be locked up.”

The probable cause statement said Padilla-Ang had been arrested five times over the last eight years. Two of the arrests were for domestic violence.

“Daniel stated that he was currently on probation for these offenses and that he had just finished his counseling services,” the document said.

The document said Padilla-Ang was booked into jail on one first-degree felony count of murder.