Press Release

JBER Soldier Convicted of Killing Wife

June 16, 2014

On June 13, 2014, an Anchorage jury found 26-year-old David Lopez guilty of murdering his wife, Sara Lopez, in their Anchorage home. David Lopez shot his wife in the head on December 12, 2012 following an argument about her decision to take their two-year-old daughter to the emergency room on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to be evaluated for injuries to her face. The Office of Children’s Services (OCS) intervened on behalf of their daughter and took the child into emergency custody.

Sara Lopez returned home from the emergency room without her daughter and told her husband what happened. David Lopez became enraged. He called OCS and threatened to kill everyone there with his AK-47 rifle. Following his threats to OCS, he then shot Sara Lopez in the head with a pistol. He then called 911 to report that he shot his wife but later claimed she committed suicide. Sara Lopez was pronounced dead by medics on scene.

The jury returned its guilty verdicts on Friday afternoon after hearing closing arguments on Wednesday. The jury convicted David Lopez of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, terroristic threatening in the second degree (for the threats to OCS), and resisting or interfering with arrest.

Lopez will be sentenced on October 3, 2014. He faces a sentence of up to 99 years.

CONTACT: Deputy District Attorney Clint Campion @ (907) 269-6300 or clinton.campion@alaska.gov at the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.