Vanessa Lopez, a 25-year-old Latina, was found dead near Espada Dam on the city's Southside in October 2012. Initially, her death was ruled undetermined, but the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office later classified it as a homicide. Vanessa's mother, Velinda Guerrero, expressed her anguish and desire for closure, as Vanessa left behind three children: two daughters and a son.
The San Antonio Police Department's homicide detectives are actively working on the case, but no one has been charged for Vanessa's death so far.
In another case, Vanessa Renee Lopez, a 28-year-old Latina, was shot and killed on July 19, 2015, in Pomona, California. Pomona police received a call about shots fired in a residential neighborhood and found Vanessa and her boyfriend, Manuel Flores Jr., in the back seat of a car with gunshot wounds. Vanessa was pronounced dead at the scene, while Manuel was taken to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center in critical condition. Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting, and witnesses reported seeing a male suspect fleeing the scene on foot.
In a separate incident, Vanessa Sanchez Lopez, a 19-year-old woman from St. Paul, Minnesota, was convicted of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of her 17-year-old boyfriend, Manuel Ernesto Bernal Jurado, in February 2023. Vanessa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. According to court records, Vanessa and Manuel had been arguing throughout the night, and the shooting occurred while they were in a car with friends. Vanessa claimed she did not know the gun was loaded when she shot Manuel in the head. Witnesses reported hearing a male voice saying, "you shot him in the face" shortly after the shooting.
