Amber Marie Burton was a 42-year-old White/Caucasian woman from Des Moines, Iowa, whose death on September 12, 2021, grew out of a seemingly ordinary disagreement that escalated into fatal violence. At approximately 8:35 that Sunday evening, Des Moines police were sent to a residence in the 900 block of Randolph Street after authorities received a report of a dispute. A nearby resident had heard screaming and sounds consistent with a struggle coming from the home, followed by an abrupt silence.
When officers entered the residence, they found Burton dead on a couch with significant trauma to her upper torso.
Investigators initially believed Burton might have suffered a stab wound, but further examination established that she had been shot. Court records later described the fatal injury as a shotgun wound to the chest. Detectives quickly concluded that the killing did not appear random, and early in the investigation police said there was little indication that it was a domestic-violence incident. Attention instead turned toward an ongoing dispute between Burton and a neighbor, Nery Arnoldo Lopez Morales.
The dispute centered on a lawn tractor or lawnmower. According to court documents, Burton and her boyfriend had sold the mower to Lopez Morales, but Burton subsequently repossessed it because he allegedly still owed her money. On the night of the killing, investigators said Lopez Morales drove to Burton's residence and confronted her. Surveillance footage captured a red GMC pickup truck associated with Lopez Morales arriving at the property, and witnesses identified him as the person they had seen at the scene. During the confrontation, Lopez Morales shot Burton once with a shotgun.
Police moved rapidly after gathering the surveillance evidence and witness accounts. On September 13, the day after the killing, Des Moines police announced that Lopez Morales had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He was 50 at the time. Investigators specifically cited the continuing disagreement over ownership of the lawn tractor, along with the video evidence and statements from witnesses, as evidence connecting him to Burton's death.
Burton had spent much of her working life caring for others. She began working as a certified nursing assistant while still in high school and later attended Des Moines Area Community College while working to obtain her nursing credentials as a licensed practical nurse. Her career was largely devoted to caring for elderly patients. Outside work, her family remembered someone devoted to her children and relatives, with family vacations and camping trips forming an important part of their lives together. In the days following the killing, relatives and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil at Southridge Mall, a place connected with Burton and many of her longtime friends. Those who spoke about her described a humble and caring person who readily helped others.
The first-degree murder prosecution eventually ended without a trial. In February 2023, the Polk County Attorney's Office reached a plea agreement with Lopez Morales. Under the agreement, the original murder charge was replaced by lesser charges, and he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, first-degree burglary, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and assault while participating in a felony. District Court Judge Heather Lauber accepted the pleas after determining that they were entered knowingly and voluntarily and that a factual basis supported them.
On April 20, 2023, Lopez Morales was sentenced on the convictions. The prison terms were ordered to run consecutively, producing a total sentence of up to 50 years. He must serve a mandatory minimum of 20 years before becoming eligible for parole. The court also ordered him to pay $150,000 in restitution. Lopez Morales declined to make a statement at sentencing. Burton's mother, Valerie Burton, addressed the circumstances surrounding her daughter's killing and expressed disbelief that a disagreement involving a lawnmower could have ended with a shooting and the destruction of a family. What had begun as a dispute over money and ownership ultimately resulted in Burton's death, a homicide arrest the following day, guilty pleas more than a year later, and a sentence that could keep Lopez Morales imprisoned for decades.
