Photo: Victor Lopez
A man was recently charged with suffocating his wife. Suspicious circumstances prompted a phone call to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office to request a welfare check at a house on the 1100 block of East Date in Porterville.
As deputies were arriving, a man fled from the home. When deputies gained entry into the home, they found 31-year old Samantha Lopez’s lifeless body. Detectives of TCSO Violent Crimes Unit were called to scene to take over the investigation.
The man who fled from the house is 33-year old Victor Lopez, Samantha’s husband. He was found a short distance from the house and held for questioning.
An autopsy concluded Samantha was suffocated and her death was ruled a homicide. Lopez was ultimately charged for the murder of his wife. He is currently in confined at the Visalia Adult-Pre-Trial Facility.
Photo from TCSO
