A recent homicide investigation has unfolded in Santa Rosa, California, where a woman was found decapitated in a local home.
Luis Gustavo Aroyo-Lopez, a 24-year-old man recently released from prison and on community supervision, was named as the suspect.
On Thursday, November 2, 2023 at around 3:40 p.m., Santa Rosa police responded to a distressing scene at the 2500 block of Pomo Trail where they discovered a decapitated woman identified as Elvia Lopez-Arroyo, 64. The investigation led them to identify Aroyo-Lopez, the grandson of the victim, as the prime suspect. A witness account placed him at the scene earlier that day, interacting briefly with the victim before the witness, hours later, heard panicked exclamations about the discovery of the headless body.
The accused killer, who has a criminal background including assault with a deadly weapon, was arrested in San Francisco the following day. He is suspected of removing the victim’s head from the scene. The full details of the crime remain under investigation by Santa Rosa officials.
In San Francisco, authorities detained Aroyo-Lopez without incident. He was taken into custody and has since been transported to the Sonoma County jail, where he faces charges of murder and a felony count related to the decapitation.
The victim’s head was recovered by police near the Santa Rosa Creek on Saturday, November 4, 2023,
The Santa Rosa Police Department and San Francisco Police Department are urging anyone with information related to this case to contact the Santa Rosa Police Department’s tip line.