SALT LAKE CITY – Nearly two weeks after a woman was fatally shot in a vehicle on State Street, the victim’s husband is facing a criminal homicide charge.
According to court documents filed Thursday, Komasquin Lopez has been charged in connection with the death of Shannon Lopez, who was his wife.
A probable cause statement obtained by FOX 13 News states that the pair was traveling in a pickup truck on State Street when Shannon Lopez was shot on the left side of her head above her ear canal. Investigators determined the wound was caused after a shot was fired with the barrel pressed against the victim’s head.
Komasquin Lopez was the only other occupant of the vehicle at the time, according to the document, and the defendant told investigators he never saw a gun and never heard it go off. He told investigators he had only heard glass breaking, but investigating officers did not find broken glass in the vehicle.
A handgun was found in the vehicle near the driver’s seat, as well as a shell casing. The suspect said in an interview with police that he owns the gun and always carries it in the vehicle. The suspect told police his wife committed suicide.
According to the document, the victim was right-handed and the location of the wound “and other physical evidence were inconsistent with the defendant’s statements.”
The document alleges that the defendant had told a friend that as he was driving he hit a bump, and his wife accidentally discharged the firearm while trying to reach for it.
