An Arizona man has been charged with murder after he stabbed his estranged wife to death 38 times after she told him that she had begun dating another man.
Last Thursday, police in Pinal County went to a rural area for a welfare check at a home. Upon arrival, police said they heard two dogs barking from inside the house.
When they went inside, they discovered Christina Lopez, 43, dead on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood.
The blood and other pieces of evidence tied the killing to her 49-year-old husband, Javier. The murder weapon and Javier’s shirt and cell phone were at the scene.
An Arizona man – Keith Lopez (left) – has been charged with murder after he stabbed his estranged wife Christina (right) to death 38 times after she confirmed to him that she had begun dating another man
Detectives assigned to the investigation had learned that the married couple were separated since this past November.
Javier Lopez was still sometimes at Christina’s house to do landscaping jobs and help with other tasks.
The day before Christina was murdered, she and Javier had been arguing over custody of their children.
The next day, Javier took one of his children over to Christina’s house for a visit but asked him to stay in the car so he could go speak to her.
According to investigators, Javier asked Christina if she had begun dating another man. She responded that she was, which upset him.
He then sprung into violence, pulling out a pocket knife and stabbing Christina a shocking 38 times.
Then, bizarrely, he dumped a bag of dog food on his wife because he was so furious at her.
He then drove back home with his son, with the boy asking in a panic if he’d hurt his mother because he was able to hear screaming and crying.
Blood and other pieces of evidence tied the killing to Lopez’s 49-year-old husband, Javier. The murder weapon and Javier’s shirt and cell phone were left at the scene
The day before Christina was murdered, she and Javier had been arguing over custody of their children
The day after the murder, he was arrested in Phoenix after police tried to detain him for questioning.
Javier eventually admitted to murdering his estranged wife, washing his hands before driving home with his son.
Lopez was booked into the Pinal County Jail on a count of first-degree murder and being held on a $1million bond.
In a statement, Christina’s sister said that the victim, who went by ‘Tina’ was an ‘amazing little sister’ who was killed senselessly.
‘She was the bright light in any room, fun, loud and made everyone feel welcomed and loved,’ Shannon Mayfield told AZ Family.
‘[Christina] had 3 sons that were her world that she supported her whole life, even at times working 3 jobs to make ends meet. She was at every sports practice and games running back and forth to make sure she made it to watch them,’ Mayfield added.
She said that she doesn’t want the murder to be the way her sister is remembered.
‘I want the way she lived, to be remembered. She didn’t deserve this. This horrific incident has shattered my parents and her family. I promise I will fight for the rest of my life to make sure that man never gets out of prison.’
Javier eventually admitted to murdering his estranged wife, washing his hands before driving home with his son
Lopez was booked into the Pinal County Jail on a count of first-degree murder and being held on a $1million bond
Priscilla and Keith Miller, Christina’s parents, elaborated on Javier’s jealousy.
‘He couldn’t take it because he knew he would never get her back,’ the Millers told FOX10.
They added that the couple had known each other since they were teenagers but that in recent times, the relationship became toxic.
‘The children have witnessed it, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She said she told me she woke up going to bed crying and waking up crying,’ they said.
The Millers will now take over raising the couple’s children, who they have said had become afraid of their father.
‘The way I know she would have raised her kids, her sons, that’s how we’re going to try. It won’t be mommy, but we’ll do our best,’ they said.
A Gofundme is attempting to raise $100,000 to both pay for funeral service and help Christina’s three children going forward.
Javier Lopez now awaits a preliminary hearing on April 19.