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The Journals of Maria Muñoz. A young wife and mother dies unexpectedly with a strange mix of drugs in her system. Investigators turn to her journals for answers. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. Air Date: Dec 16, 2023.
- 41 min
- Overview
- ANOTHER WOMAN
- SUSPICIONS CONTINUE TO GROW AGAINST JOEL PELLOT
- DEATH BY PROPOFOL?
- ACCIDENT OR MURDER?
In the early morning hours of Sept. 22, 2020, when Laredo, Texas, police officer Gregorio De La Cruz walked inside the home on Canyon Oak Drive, his body camera was recording the emergency unfolding in front of him.
At the top of the stairs, near the main bedroom, Joel Pellot dressed in teal surgical scrubs, was performing CPR on his wife Maria Muñoz. De La Cruz soon took over.
Erin Moriarty: What kind of shape was she in when you started giving her CPR?
Officer Gregorio De La Cruz: She was warm. She was still warm to the touch.
While De La Cruz desperately tried to revive Maria, he asked her husband about the drugs. Pellot had told the 911 operator his wife may have taken some pills.
Officer Gregorio De la Cruz: He stands up, he goes to the restroom. … He opens a medicine cabinet. I can — I can tell all this because I hear it.
SGT. MATA (police interview): What was the time period between the time you got out of the shower … until when you noticed she's not really responding anymore?
JOEL PELLOT: Uh, 10 minutes? … I'm not 100 percent sure.
The sudden death of a healthy 31-year-old woman like Maria Muñoz didn't make sense to Mata. And neither did her husband's explanation.
Sgt. Luis Mata: His initial statement was that he went in and took a shower … he thought she was asleep. … and then 10 minutes later … He realizes that she's unresponsive.
Sgt. Luis Mata: When a common person showers … what's going to be in the bathroom? Steam, condensation, the smell of soap or shampoo … that master bedroom shower, which is the one he alleged he used, was as dry as a desert.
Investigators had also discovered a syringe wrapper on the floor and a needle catheter on the stairs. Syringes and IV equipment in a medical bag were found inside the home.
On a Sunday afternoon at the First Baptist Church in Laredo, a large crowd of family and friends came to mourn Maria Muñoz, including her estranged husband, Joel Pellot.
CHURCH SERVICE: The victorious life is — is also a life of service. … All of our lives were impacted by the precious life of Maria.
Yazmin Martinez: Her funeral was really sad … Joel was there and he was crying. He seemed very upset, very sad.
To Maria's friend Yazmin Martinez, he seemed a little too upset, too sad.
Yazmin Martinez: What made me feel angry … was him near the casket … crying over her, giving her kisses. Like why now? You have made her suffer and cry so much and you're doing this now?
Joel Pellot's display of grief did nothing to deter the investigation into his wife's death.
When Joel Pellot's former boss, anesthesiologist Dr. John Huntsinger saw the list of drugs found in Maria Muñoz – seven different medications — he was surprised by one drug in particular.
Dr. John Huntsinger: I was very shocked to see propofol.
Erin Moriarty: Where would he get that propofol? You can't just go to the drug store to get propofol?
Dr. John Huntsinger: You have to get it from a hospital.
While most of the drugs found in Maria's system could be consumed by mouth, Propofol is usually injected by someone else with an IV.
John Huntsinger: One of the things about propofol … it relaxes you greatly … but it doesn't last very long. … it makes you stop breathing if you have too much.
Joel Pellot, wearing a blue suit and a dark grey tie, listened carefully as his defense team presented his case.
ROBERTO BALLI (in court): Now, Maria died and there's no question that Joel was there.
Defense attorney Roberto Balli claims Maria was terribly depressed and had been drinking and abusing drugs for months.
ROBERTO BALLI (in court): When Joel arrived Maria was already on something…
According to the defense, Pellot didn't intend to kill his wife and the proof, his attorneys say, is in that toxicology report. They admit Pellot gave his wife medication to calm her down, and then when he found her unconscious they say, he gave her Narcan, a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose.
ROBERTO BALLI (in court): Someone tried to bring her back to life, and it wasn't the paramedics, it wasn't the police. It was Joel. So he did not want her dead. This was a terrible accident.
- 48 Hours" Correspondent
- 3 min
- CBS News
- Erin Moriarty
Dec 16, 2023 · The all-women prosecution team built a strong case against Joel Pellot, and showed the jury the type of wife and mother Maria Muñoz was. The prosecutors told "48 Hours" that Muñoz's...
- 41 min
- Annabelle Allen,Iris Carreras
Watch CBS News. New "48 Hours" episode investigates death of Maria Muñoz. In the early morning of Sept. 22, 2020, Officer Gregorio De La Cruz responded to a call at a home in Laredo,...
- 4 min
