Amanda Roark mentored young women and supported defense innovation before her death prompted grief across Tampa’s technology community.
TAMPA, Fla. — Before her name appeared in court filings and homicide reports, Amanda Roark was known to friends and colleagues as an engineer, mentor and welcoming presence whose work connected her to Tampa’s defense-technology community and whose ambitions reached far beyond it.
Roark, 37, died June 19 inside a home on Tuscan Loon Drive in the Palm River area. Her boyfriend, Kyle Sanchez, 35, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a weapon and has pleaded not guilty. A Hillsborough County judge ordered him held without bond after prosecutors played emergency calls and presented investigative testimony at a June 23 hearing. As the legal case has developed, Roark’s friends and coworkers have urged the public to remember the work she performed, the people she encouraged and the future they believed she was still building.
Roark worked for SOFWERX, a Tampa-based organization that describes itself as an innovation platform supporting U.S. Special Operations Command. The organization brings technical specialists, private companies and government personnel together to work on challenges involving national defense and emerging technology. In a statement after Roark’s death, SOFWERX said it was heartbroken and called her a cherished member of its team. The organization said her warmth, dedication and sincere care for other people had made an impact that could not be fully captured in words.
That description was echoed by Talia Landman, a college friend who spoke with FOX 13 about Roark one week after her death. Landman described Roark as a bright and welcoming person whose large smile made people feel included. She said Roark was deeply interested in helping young women enter fields involving mathematics, engineering and technology. Her mentoring was not described as a side note to her professional life but as part of the way she approached technical work: by making room for others and encouraging them to see themselves in demanding careers.
Landman said Roark had the talent to take part in ambitious projects, including future missions to the moon. The comment reflected the scale of the potential friends saw in her rather than a confirmed assignment or job offer. For those who knew Roark, the loss was therefore measured not only by what she had already accomplished but by the work, friendships and mentorship that would no longer happen. Landman said the people close to Roark would need considerable time to understand a death that came suddenly and violently.
The public record of the criminal case presents a starkly different account of Roark’s final minutes. Prosecutors said a 911 call was placed from her phone shortly after 3 p.m. on June 19. According to testimony and court records described by several news organizations, the dispatcher did not speak directly with Roark. Her voice could instead be heard in the background asking someone to stop and saying she was being killed. Parts of the recording were unclear, and the dispatcher was unable to obtain an address from that call.
A second call was placed from Sanchez’s phone about 12 minutes later, prosecutors said. On that call, Sanchez allegedly gave the home’s address, told the dispatcher he had killed his girlfriend and said she was beyond help. When asked what had happened, he allegedly referred to an abrupt and unfriendly urge before saying he grabbed a knife. Those statements were offered by prosecutors as evidence at a detention hearing. They remain allegations, and Sanchez’s defense will have the opportunity to challenge their meaning, context and admissibility as the case moves forward.
Deputies who reached the Tuscan Loon Drive residence said Sanchez opened the door with blood on his body and clothing and a deep cut to his right hand. The Sheriff’s Office said a man at the home was taken to Tampa General Hospital with minor injuries and was in stable condition. Deputies found Roark dead inside. The agency’s first public statement described trauma to her upper body and called the case domestic-related. It announced Sanchez’s arrest and the first-degree murder charge the following day while he was still receiving hospital care.
At the June 23 hearing, Detective Joseph Koehler testified that blood was visible on numerous surfaces inside the home. Reports of the proceeding described blood on walls, flooring, doors, furniture and the ceiling. Prosecutors said an autopsy documented injuries to Roark’s hands, arm, neck, torso and legs. They described the injuries to her hands as defensive wounds and identified a wound to the left side of her neck as fatal. FOX 13 reported that authorities accused Sanchez of stabbing Roark 15 times.
Investigators also recovered a camera from the living room, according to Koehler’s testimony. The device was plugged in, but its lens had been covered by a piece of paper. Detectives sought separate legal approval to examine its contents. Authorities have not publicly said whether the device recorded relevant material, whether any footage was preserved or why the lens was covered. The unresolved status of the camera is one of several questions that remain open as investigators continue to examine physical and digital evidence.
Sanchez reportedly told detectives that he and Roark had been in a relationship since December 2024. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive or described a conflict that preceded the first 911 call. They also have not released evidence of earlier violence between the couple. The charge alleges premeditation, but the state has not publicly provided its full theory of when prosecutors believe Sanchez formed an intent to kill. Those details may emerge through later filings, depositions, forensic reports or testimony.
Another part of the case that initially attracted attention was Sanchez’s employment history. Court testimony indicated that he had worked as a data analyst at MacDill Air Force Base until May and had held a top-secret security clearance. No public allegation connects that clearance to Roark’s death, and authorities have not said the case involves classified information or Sanchez’s former duties. The job detail is part of his background, not an explanation for the killing alleged by prosecutors.
Roark’s own professional background offers a more direct connection to the community now mourning her. Her work placed her among engineers and innovators supporting projects associated with special operations. Friends said she also looked outward, encouraging girls and young women to consider technical careers in which women remain underrepresented. SOFWERX asked that her family’s privacy be respected and said its thoughts were with everyone who had known her.
Landman said she felt a responsibility to speak publicly because the homicide allegations threatened to reduce Roark’s identity to the details of her death. Her comments reframed the story around the person who was lost: a friend with a generous spirit, an engineer with difficult skills and a mentor who believed other women belonged in technical fields. She said Sanchez did not simply take the life of a person described in court as his girlfriend; the killing took Amanda Roark from a network of relatives, friends, coworkers and younger people who had learned from her.
The court’s detention ruling did not determine Sanchez’s guilt. Judge J. Logan Murphy ordered him jailed without bond after considering the state’s preliminary evidence, including the emergency recordings, the scene description and autopsy findings. Sanchez has entered a not guilty plea, and prosecutors must establish every element of the charge at trial. Public reports have not identified a trial date, and a complete account of the evidence has not yet been presented to a jury.
For Roark’s community, the legal process is unfolding alongside a separate effort to preserve her legacy. Her colleagues have highlighted her care for others, while Landman has emphasized her intellectual promise and mentorship. Investigators continue to examine the homicide, and Sanchez remains in custody. No motive has been publicly confirmed, and no date has been announced for a trial that could determine whether prosecutors can prove their allegations.
Author note: Last updated July 19, 2026.