This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A man accused of fatally shooting his wife last month while they were riding in a pickup truck in Midvale made his initial appearance in court on Tuesday.
Komasquin Lopez, 43, is charged in 3rd District Court with one count of first-degree felony murder in the death of 32-year-old Shannon Lopez. On Tuesday, he appeared in court and asked for a bond hearing to address the $1 million bail that has been set for him. A hearing was set for Jan. 27.
Initially, police believed Shannon Lopez committed suicide on Dec. 27, when she died from a gunshot while riding in a Dodge pickup driven by her husband. The truck was near the intersection of State Street and 7800 South in Midvale when it crashed.
However, as police investigated the death, they began to suspect Komasquin Lopez pulled the trigger.
An arrest report reveals that as investigators looked into the killing they discovered a series of inconsistencies. During initial interviews, the report states, Lopez told police he never saw the gun and never heard it go off. Instead, he reportedly said, he only heard glass breaking. The report adds that police never found any broken glass, though they did discover a Glock handgun on the truck's floor — which Lopez said he always kept in the car.
The report goes on to say that the shot hit Shannon Lopez directly above her left ear canal. The gun also appeared to have been fired while pressed against the woman's skin. But the report notes that Shannon Lopez was right-handed, making her husband's story of a suicide unlikely.
Komasquin Lopez is being held at the Salt Lake County jail.
Twitter: @jm_miller