TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County man is facing a first-degree murder charge after deputies said he killed his 37-year-old girlfriend.
The homicide occurred on June 19, 2026, at a home on Tuscan Loon Drive.
Deputies said Kyle Sanchez, 35, stabbed his girlfriend, Amanda Roark, 37, numerous times.
WATCH: Friends remember Hillsborough County woman stabbed to death in Palm River
Sanchez remains in the Hillsborough County jail on no bond. He faces a first-degree murder charge.
Talia Landman has known Roark since 2011. They attended college together at the University of South Florida. They joined the same sorority.
"I first met Amanda back in 2011. I was at a fraternity formal, and I did not know anyone there," said Landman.
They shared similar interests and often studied together.
"We had similar interests in science and technologies specifically aerospace and space exploration. She just loved that, and we bonded heavily over that," said Landman.
Landman said she cannot make sense of the violence that took her life.
"I've lost people in my life, but never to something like this," she said.
Landman said they took a zero-gravity flight together about a decade ago. It remains one of her favorite memories of Roark.
"When you look at her social media, you see this image of her floating weightlessness and inside an airplane, and that was the flight we did together. This was the last time that I saw her in person and it's a memory, I will cherish forever," she said.
Landman said she moved out-of-state, but the two of them would keep in touch over the years.
"I will remember her as this vibrant, excited, joyous woman who was just stoked on life," said Landman.
Landman said Roark was an engineer and a mentor. She believes she someday would have become an astronaut.
"Very passionate about inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and astronauts, especially young girls, she thrived in male-dominated spaces," said Landman.
"Amanda was so much more than what happened to her, and she was a light in this world, and I really just want people to know that. She was a light in this world."
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