HEARING her younger sister’s plans for the night, Andrea Henning rolled her eyes.
Nicole Sanchez, then 17, was off to see her Lionel Villarreal and Andrea, then 18, strongly disapproved.
Andrea, now 44, says: “I was the responsible big sister.
“My dad didn’t like Lionel, and neither did Nicole’s friends - and she admitted that he was and told her what to wear.”
So when Nicole went on to explain to her sister that she was finishing with Villarreal that evening, it came as a huge relief.
She could never have imagined that as she waved goodbye, it would be the last time she would ever see her sister.
After she tried to , Villarreal inflicted his evil, twisted revenge on Nicole.
He fired a gun in between her legs in a that took her life.
And now, her killer will soon be up for parole.
Andrea, from Saginaw, Michigan, adds: “Nicole’s got a life sentence away from this Earth and everyone who loves her.
“Lionel’s a brutal and I don’t believe men like that can be reformed.”
Nicole had met Villarreal in June 1999, four months before the attack, and Andrea had almost immediately noticed a marked change in her sister.
She says: “She was a talented singer with dreams of being a vet and she’d never been one of those girls who desperately needed a boyfriend.
“Then, suddenly, only just 17, she’d started staying out late and changed her look, going for heavier and darker make-up.
“She began smoking and stopped talking about her dream job. I thought she was just rebelling.”
The sisters’ parents were divorced, with their dad, Vince, a murder detective, remarrying and having two more girls with his new wife.
Nicole and Andrea spent most of their time at their mum Belia’s house, and she was equally unhappy with the relationship.
Heartbreaking call
When Lionel came to collect Nicole from Vince’s house one evening, it hadn’t gone well.
Andrea says: “Dad had taken an instant dislike to him.
“Our father was our hero, and Nicole and I both trusted Dad’s instincts.
“But Nicole wouldn’t be told.”
A few days after that first meeting, Nicole ran away from home.
Andrea added: “Being a cop, dad tracked her to Lionel’s and brought her back.
“He also discovered Lionel was 23, not 20 as Nicole thought, and he had a child, at least two years old.
“Nicole had promised to end the relationship, but, four months on, kept sneaking off to see him.
“So when she told me she was leaving Lionel, I felt nothing but relief.”
Nicole left to end things with Villarreal on a Saturday in September 1999.
The following morning was their youngest sister’s baptism, and when Andrea woke up to find Nicole wasn’t home, she made her way to the church with her boyfriend, assuming Nicole was already there.
But on the way, Andrea’s boyfriend received a phone call.
“I watched the colour drain from his face,” she recalls.
“He sped straight through a red light and turned off towards dad’s house.
“I thought something was wrong with dad. Him being hurt was my worst nightmare, something Nicole and I both feared.”
Vince’s home was surrounded by police cars, and Andrea feared for the worst.
But her stepmum explained that while her dad was unharmed, she needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Andrea says: “We headed straight there, still not knowing what had happened. I spotted Dad sitting on a chair.
“His face was tear-stained, and he told me that Nicole was gone.
“I screamed and collapsed. I felt my heart break.
“When we had to leave, I became hysterical and security had to be called - I didn’t want to leave my baby sister.”
I stood on the driveway, shaking with grief and the most extreme anger I’d ever felt in my life
Andrea Henning
Surgeons told Vince that his daughter had died as the result of an exit wound from a bullet in her back.
The following day, a detective arrived at Vince’s home.
Andrea says: “I asked him questions about how much she would have suffered and where she was shot.
“But he seemed reluctant to answer them.
“My sister was a fighter. I was sure she would have fought back.”
But Andrea learnt that her sister had been on her back when the gun was fired. It had been shot in between her legs.
“Nicole had suffered - the pain would have been indescribable,” Andrea adds.
“As the detective went inside to speak to Dad I stood on the driveway, shaking with grief and the most extreme anger I’d ever felt in my life.
“I knew Lionel was responsible.”
‘Fought for her life’
Later, Andrea went to see Nicole at the funeral home.
“There was blood under her fingernails, and some were broken,” she recalls.
“She’d fought for her life.
“I helped the morticians do her hair and make-up and told my sister how much I loved her.
“Me and my parents were so traumatised that our Pastor did the eulogy at Nicole’s burial.”
Following the funeral, the family struggled to cope with the loss of Nicole.
“Dad was shattered by the fact he was a police officer and hadn’t been able to protect her,” Andrea says.
“Mum sobbed in the shower every morning.
“It broke my heart every time.”
What he’d done was monstrous, he was pure evil and he’d done it because he thought Nicole was his property
Andrea Henning
In time, the family attended Villarreal’s trial.
Andrea says: “He said the shooting was an accident, though at first, he ridiculously claimed Nicole killed herself.
“I testified that she was about to break up with him and that he was controlling.”
Witnesses said Nicole and Villarreal had been alone in the house where she was killed when they heard him yelling: “If I can’t have you, nobody will.”
They then heard the sounds of gunshots and Nicole yelling “Oh my God” repeatedly.
She was on the ground holding herself between the legs when neighbours burst in.
Villarreal was found guilty of second-degree murder and jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years, plus two more for use of an unregistered weapon.
“I was furious - that was not justice,” Andrea says.
“Nicole’s got a life sentence away from this Earth and everyone who loves her.”
Andrea later married, had two boys, divorced, then married again and had another two sons, and now has a career as a wedding planner.
She says: “Sometimes, looking at a beautiful, happy bride, I’d mourn for the wedding Nicole might have had one day and I’d never see thanks to Lionel’s wickedness.
In May 2022, the family were notified that Villarreal was coming up for parole.
“I had to fight it,” Andrea says.
“I got 20 friends and family to write letters opposing Lionel’s parole and I got 2,200 signatures on a petition to keep him locked up.”
The parole hearing was via Zoom where Villarreal claimed he had “matured” and “learned to control his anger” and wanted time to care for his parents and start a family of his own.
Andrea says: “I couldn’t believe it, he’d destroyed our parents.
“My mum visited Nicole’s grave every day for ten years and my dad lived his life believing he’d failed his daughter.
“Nicole never got the chance to marry and have a family.
“When I spoke, I said what he’d done was monstrous, he was pure evil and he’d done it because he thought Nicole was his property.
“I asked the board whether they could ensure the safety of women. I hadn’t seen a shred of remorse from Lionel.
“To my relief, his parole was refused for another five years.”
It was a small win for Andrea’s family, but Villarreal is up again for parole in June 2027.
“Right now, I’m weighing up what to do,” she says.
“Fighting Lionel’s parole took a huge emotional toll.
“My parents aren’t getting any younger and it’s tough on them.
“But Lionel Villareal should never be released, you don’t do what he did unless you hate women.
“Lionel’s a brutal misogynist and I don’t believe men like that can be reformed.”
