UPDATE: Robert Boddy was sentenced to life in prison today for the homicide of 65-year-old Nora Sanchez in August 2021.  Boddy entered guilty pleas to first degree homicide, strangulation, and aggravated indecent assault which was a second strike offense carrying a mandatory 25-50 years which was run consecutively to the life sentence.  Boddy also entered pleas to failure to register information as a Megan's Law offender and was sentenced to an additional 5-10 years and a forgery offense in which he received an additional 2.5 year sentence.  Boddy was sentenced to a total aggregate sentence of 32.5 years to 67 years in prison in addition to his life sentence for homicide.  Boddy was arrested in December 2021 for the murder and had previously been registered as a lifetime sex offender.  Investigators identified him as a person of interest because he lived in the same complex and was a previous Megan's Law registrant as a result of pleading guilty to aggravated indecent assault in 2007.  DNA evidence from the scene also came back to Boddy.  

ADA Jen Ponessa and Fritz Haverstick handled the prosecution. 

Previous Article.  The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office and New Holland Borough of Police Department have made developments in the investigation of the death of 65-year-old Nora Sanchez in the 300 block of East Main Street occurring in August.

Robert Edward Boddy, 43, has been charged with criminal homicide, strangulation, and aggravated indecent assault.

Boddy was identified as a person of interest by detectives as he lived in the same housing complex as the victim and was a previous Megan’s Law registrant after pleading guilty to aggravated indecent assault in 2007. 

“The nature and circumstances of this homicide were understandably unnerving for the local community,” District Attorney Heather Adams said. “Thankfully, separate charges were able to be filed against Boddy which resulted in his removal from the community while investigators awaited the results of DNA analysis that confirmed additional circumstantial evidence in the case and led to the arrest today.”

Charges were filed after lab results confirmed DNA samples provided by Boddy matched DNA found under Sanchez’s fingernails. The lab report showed that a full DNA sample was obtained from fingernail clippings of Nora Sanchez. Further analysis of this DNA profile showed that it is 2.6 nonillion times more likely that this DNA profile originated from Robert Boddy than if it had originated from another unknown, unrelated individual in the population.

On September 1, 2021, members of the New Holland Police Department were dispatched to an apartment in the 300 block of E. Main St. for a welfare check on Nora Sanchez called in by her daughter, who was out of state and hadn’t heard from her mother even though they typically spoke every day.

The property manager went to the apartment upon request from the daughter and found it locked. The property manager looked in through a window and saw Sanchez’s body, called for police, and then crawled through the window to check on Sanchez, who was deceased.

Upon arrival, police discovered grocery bags with perishable items inside that were left out at room temperature and receipts stamped for August 31, 2021, around 1 p.m.

On September 2, the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office completed an autopsy that stated the cause of death was strangulation with evidence of sexual assault. DNA evidence collected during the autopsy, including fingernail clippings, were sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Lab Serology Division. Male DNA obtained from the fingernail evidence matched a voluntary sample given from Boddy.

Boddy had been in Lancaster County Prison since October 13 when he was arrested on a felony charge of failing to register with the Pennsylvania State Police for the previous Megan’s Law conviction and four other charges related to forgery.

Boddy had not resided at the address that he had on record with state police at the 300 block of East Main Street in New Holland. Boddy had moved to the 600 block of North Plum Street in Lancaster city in October as he had been observed and documented on multiple dates and times at this new location. Boddy failed to report this new address as required under Megan’s Law.

In addition, Boddy was charged with forging checks and withdrawing money with a stolen debit card that totaled $1,867.50. These offenses occurred in July and were discovered through interviews conducted during canvassing for the homicide investigation in the New Holland apartment complex.

The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

New Holland Police Detective Josh Bitner filed the most recent charges. Lancaster County Detectives assisted in the investigation.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.