Munoz Bonds Out, Legal Questions Mount in Murder Case

Fallon businessman, Daniel Lee Munoz, accused of killing his wife and burying her beneath the family trampoline is now under house arrest after posting $5 million bail in March. However, the case against 71-year-old Munoz — and the legal questions surrounding it — are far from resolved.

Xiaoxia Zhang, 40, was last seen alive between Nov. 8 and 9, 2024. Known as Shawna to friends in the United States, her body was discovered nearly two weeks later in the backyard of the couple's Del Rio Drive home in Fallon. That discovery led to an open murder charge, to which Munoz has pleaded not guilty.

Munoz was arrested in Fallon and taken into custody, then transferred to Washoe County, with investigators believing the killing occurred in Reno. On Nov. 23, he appeared in Reno Justice Court before Judge Ryan Sullivan, with defense attorney Orrin Johnson representing him and Deputy District Attorney Adam Cate appearing for the state. Sullivan set bail at $5 million, bondable only, over strong objection from the defense.

Johnson and co-counsel Robert M. Draskovich filed a motion in January for bail reduction, citing bail companies' refusals to underwrite the amount. In their reply, the DA's office wrote, "While a defendant is entitled to bail, he is not entitled to an amount he can afford," maintaining concerns over flight risk and concealment.

Sullivan denied the motion, stating, "Circumstances have not changed significantly enough to reconsider the decision made at the bail hearing."

Shawna had not been seen since early November. On Nov. 17, after learning the couple's children had been withdrawn from school in Reno and re-enrolled in Fallon, friends contacted both the Reno Police Department and the Churchill County Sheriff's Office. A joint investigation led to searches of both the Reno and Fallon residences. Her body was located on Nov. 21, buried in the backyard.

Despite initial claims from Munoz that his wife had "returned to China," the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner's Office confirmed her identity. A U.S. marriage license has not been located, and its existence remains unverified, though records searches are ongoing.

The medical examiner's report, released Jan. 17, did not identify a specific cause of death, listing only "homicide." According to the defense, the report noted decomposition but found no signs of gunshot wounds, stabbing, strangulation, blunt force trauma, or poisoning.

"There were no obvious wounds or broken bones which would explain the death," wrote Johnson and Draskovich in their motion. The ME classified the death as a homicide "based solely on the circumstances of the death," not physical evidence.

The defense also raised jurisdictional concerns, challenging whether Washoe County has standing in the matter. Prosecutors allege the killing occurred in Reno, and Munoz moved the body to Fallon. However, the defense contends that no forensic evidence supports the claim that a crime occurred in Washoe County.

"Strikingly, there is no direct forensic evidence which would establish that any criminal activity happened in Washoe County at all," they wrote. "There is nothing to indicate a violent murder was committed in the Reno home — no evidence of large blood stains or recent cleanup, broken furniture, signs of struggle, bullet holes, etc."

According to the defense, the Fallon property also yielded little apart from a bleach odor and a chemical stain on Munoz's pants. Police seized the pants, but "no matching evidence of a half-cleaned crime scene was discovered." Munoz told police he had been cleaning his pool.

"Even if, for the sake of argument, Mr. Munoz had killed Shawna, the available evidence suggests that this act occurred wholly within Churchill County," the defense wrote.

If the court finds that the death occurred exclusively in Churchill County, the Washoe County District Attorney could lose jurisdiction, and the case would need to be refiled by the Churchill County DA's Office. The defense is expected to challenge jurisdiction at the preliminary hearing.

Arrest documents allege a fatal altercation occurred after 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 8 at the couple's Reno home in Rancharrah. The state claims Munoz transported Shawna's body from Reno to Fallon, excavated the burial site, and concealed the grave beneath a trampoline.

During the Nov. 26 bail hearing, Cate said one of the couple's children told investigators Munoz admitted there had been a fight, that Shawna pointed a gun at him, and that the gun went off while he was trying to wrestle it away.

In contrast, the defense asserts a different child reported their father said Shawna attacked him with a weapon and that the death occurred during self-defense. The motion also references allegations that Shawna had a history of violent outbursts, including threats with a knife and throwing scissors at family members.

The defense noted: "Even an intentional killing in self-defense is not a crime at all." Yet, according to police interviews, Munoz initially told investigators, "There were no problems in the marriage, mental health issues, fears of threat, or of suicide and the family was financially stable."

Cate originally requested $10 million bail and argued against bail reduction, stating Munoz had substantial assets — including multiple properties, a construction business, and cash found in a vehicle. The state claimed $40,000 during the November hearing, while the defense cited $20,200 in their motion to reduce bail.

Despite his holdings, Munoz could not secure a surety bond until last month. A letter from Financial Casualty & Surety Inc. stated the risk was too high even with collateral. On Mar. 6, Able Bail Bonds issued the bond. Munoz was released from custody under the conditions he enrolled in house arrest and surrendered his passport.

The defense maintains that the case against Munoz weakens as more evidence emerges. "The State does not — and cannot — dispute that as more facts come to light, the likelihood of conviction diminishes," they wrote.

Shawna was the mother of Munoz's two youngest children. The older two, also in the home, are not her biological children. Their biological mother has not been publicly identified, and her whereabouts are unknown. Following Munoz's arrest, all four children were placed with Munoz's adult children from a previous marriage.

Munoz's three-day preliminary hearing begins on Apr. 29 before Judge Scott Pearson in Reno Justice Court. If the state successfully challenges jurisdiction, the case could be dismissed and refiled in Churchill County, potentially causing delays, altering strategy, and raising the stakes for both sides.