 Almost 2 feet below the concrete plate of Arthur Hert's grave at Sunset Memorial Gardens, the key to the one of Greeley's longest-running mysteries was about to emerge. He led Greeley police to the remains of his wife... (Associated Press) 
 
 DENVER (AP) — A Colorado man who pleaded guilty Friday to killing his estranged wife more than two decades ago recently led authorities to her body, which was buried under the grave of a World War II veteran. Sandoval was convicted in 2010 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. On March 7, while awaiting hearings for that second trial on the charge of first-degree murder, Sandoval reached out to prosecutors with the only thing he had to bargain with, said Weld District Attorney Michael Rourke. John Sandoval, 52, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 1995 death of Kristina Tournai-Sandoval. His earliest parole date is estimated to be 2028; upon his release, he will be required to serve five years of parole. More you may want to read 
 
 She moved out in August. By October, she had planned one final meeting with him, to settle an IRS debt during their marriage. Tina Sandoval was neither seen nor heard from again, according to a news release by Terasina White, spokeswoman for District Attorney Michael Rourke. He was the last to have seen her; he had been known to be stalking her; she disappeared off the face of the earth a little too sudden for a promising young nurse who had just landed her dream job; he had fresh scratch marks all over his torso and neck; and he lied about his alibi, which he concocted in jail with his mother. But an appeals court overturned his conviction last year, ruling a judge wrongfully allowed evidence that Sandoval stalked other women, as well as expert testimony correlating stalkers with murderers. Prosecutors considered offering an agreement of a reduced sentence in exchange for the location of the body prior to the first trial, but the family wouldn't accept it.  Bob Kuznik tries to collect himself as he addresses the public in a press conference after John Sandoval accepted the plea bargain Friday, March 31, 2017, at the Weld County Courthouse in Greeley, Colo.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bob Kuznik tries to collect himself as he addresses the public in a press conference after John Sandoval accepted the plea bargain Friday, March 31, 2017, at the Weld County Courthouse in Greeley, Colo. Sandoval pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. “Would our decision to accept a plea deal endanger another woman? Could we live with a longer sentence knowing that we would likely never recover Tina? Sandoval found an open gravesite early in the morning on Oct. 20, 1995, that was scheduled for a burial that afternoon. But authorities did not attempt any exhumations then. Before the meeting, she warned family members that if anything happened to her, her husband was responsible. "There were tips both in 1995 and 2005 about the fact that Sandoval had worked there, there were open graves and perhaps are where they could look," Rourke said in a news conference Friday. The remains of Kristina “Tina” Tournai Sandoval have been exhumed from where he buried her beneath a grave in Sunset Memorial Garden cemetery where a World War II veteran was later interred. On March 22, the family, along with Greeley police and Weld District Attorney's office members, and the honor guard, posted colors over Hert's casket. Hours later, along with the Evans Veterans of Foreign War post, they gave Hert a proper military burial and placed his casket back in the grave, Rourke said. “She would have continued to make a difference in the world if she had not been killed by her husband,” Tournai said in a statement during the plea and sentencing hearing Friday.
– The body of a woman who went missing more than two decades ago has been found—buried under the grave of a World War II veteran. John Sandoval, 52, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Friday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 1995 death of his estranged wife, Kristina Tournai-Sandoval. As part of a plea deal, the Colorado man told investigators March 22 her remains were buried at a Greeley cemetery. Sandoval found an open gravesite early in the morning on Oct. 20, 1995, that was scheduled for a burial that afternoon. Prosecutors say he dug about 2 feet below the grave and buried Tournai-Sandoval's body, which was wrapped in several layers of industrial-grade plastic. Cemetery workers then unknowingly buried the veteran over her remains, reports the AP. The Greeley Tribune reports Tournai-Sandoval had planned to meet her husband of three years for one last time before finalizing their divorce, in order to discuss an IRS debt. That meeting was to take place Oct. 19, 1995; it was the last day she was seen alive. Detectives found a muddy shovel in Sandoval's car, muddy clothes inside his home, and noticed scratch marks on his face, neck, and chest. Charges were not filed at the time because authorities could not find the body, any witnesses, or a crime scene. Sandoval was convicted in 2010 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. But an appeals court overturned his conviction last year. Prosecutors had been preparing for a new trial when Sandoval offered to give up his wife's location in exchange for taking a life sentence off the table, reports the Denver Post. He could be up for parole as soon as 2028.