INMATE 043833 LOPEZ SAMUEL, V
Date of Birth June 30,1962
Executed June 27, 2012
Defendant: Mexican American
Last Meal Request
- Red chile burrito con carne
- Green chile burrito con carne
- Spanish rice
- A jalepeño
- An avacado
- Cottage cheese
- French fries
- 20-ounce Coke
- Vanilla ice cream
- Chopped pineapple
On October 29, 1986, Lopez broke into the apartment of 59-year-old Estafana Holmes.
Lopez raped, beat, and stabbed Ms. Holmes. Her body was found nude from the waist
down, with her pajama bottoms tied around her eyes. A lace scarf was crammed tightly
into her mouth. She had been stabbed 23 times in the left breast and upper chest,
three times in her lower abdomen, and her throat was cut. Lopez' body fluids matched
seminal fluids found in Ms. Holmes' body.
PROCEEDINGS
Presiding Judge: Hon. Peter T. D'Angelo
Prosecutor:Paul Ahler
Defense Counsel: Joel Brown
Start of Trial: April 16, 1987
Verdict: April 27, 1987
Sentencing:
June 25, 1987
Resentencing: August 3, 1990
Aggravating Circumstances
Especially heinous, cruel or depraved
PUBLISHED OPINIONS
State v. Lopez (Samuel V.), 163 Ariz. 108, 786 P.2d 959 (1990).
State v. Lopez (Samuel V.), 175 Ariz. 407, 857 P.2d 1261 (1993).