Overview

• Javier Lopez pleaded guilty on Aug. 12 to first-degree premeditated murder, according to the Pinal County Attorney's Office.
• County Attorney Brad Miller announced on Sept. 15 that Lopez received natural life in prison without the possibility of release.
• Prosecutors say 43-year-old Christina Lopez was stabbed 43 times on April 11, 2024, at a Florence home near Felix Road and Judd Road.
• One of the couple’s children waited outside in a vehicle and asked his father if he had hurt his mother after hearing screaming and crying, prosecutors said.
• Officials used the case to urge vigilance about patterns of control and escalating abuse and to direct victims to domestic-violence support services.