Man sentenced to over 38 years for St. Paul double homicide

A man was sentenced to over 38 years (458 months) in connection with a double homicide in St. Paul in October 2022.

Joseph Francis Sandoval II, 34, was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder.

For the first count, he received a sentence of over 23 years (278 months). For the second count he received a sentence of 15 years. The two sentences will be served consecutively.

Sandoval has credit for 638 days, or just over a year and a half, already served for the first count. Court records show he entered a Norgaard plea in May.

As previously reported, St. Paul police were called to a home on Lawson Avenue East on Oct. 21, 2022, after a man ran out of the home screaming that someone had been killed inside.

Responding officers saw Sandoval, covered in blood, leaving the home. Court documents note that he told officers he had taken fentanyl despite having just moved to a sober house.

“The TV kept saying take your opportunity, so I took my opportunity,” Sandoval told police. When asked to elaborate, he answered, “The TV said they’re going to kill me. … The TV said they were gonna kill me and told me to take the opportunity.”

Two men were found dead inside the home, both lying in pools of blood with multiple cuts and stab wounds, according to the complaint. Jason T. Murphy, 40, was found in the basement and Jon R. Wentz, 56, was found upstairs.

Murphy was a handyman and Wentz was a resident of the home.