In the summer of 2022, a planned meeting between two former classmates would end in a tragic and brutal death for 14-year-old Josiaz “JoJo” Aragon. On August 8, just two days before what would have been his fifteenth birthday, the young male was found deceased near a baseball field at the Southwest Recreation Center in Denver, Colorado. An autopsy would later reveal the horrifying extent of his injuries: multiple sharp and blunt force trauma, including a gunshot wound.
The cause of death was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation into JoJo's death uncovered a story of a firearm sale gone horribly wrong. It was determined that he and his 17-year-old former classmate, Diego E. Lopez, had arranged to meet at the recreation center for the exchange of a gun. During what was supposed to be a transaction, Lopez violently assaulted and robbed Aragon, ultimately taking his life. The brutality of the act was shocking, with the autopsy revealing thirty separate wounds, a significant number of which were knife injuries. He had been shot in the back, stabbed in the neck, and his skull was fractured from being stomped on.
In the weeks that followed, Denver police investigators worked to piece together the events of that day. Their efforts led to the arrest of Diego Lopez, who had turned seventeen the day after the murder. The case against him was strengthened by disturbing evidence recovered by law enforcement. It was discovered that Lopez had recorded several videos documenting the murder, including footage of JoJo as he lay dying and of his own blood-stained shoes. Despite his attempts to delete the incriminating files, investigators were able to retrieve them.
Diego Lopez was subsequently charged as an adult with a number of serious crimes, including first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. In a later development, at the age of 18, Lopez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. This plea brought a form of closure to a case that had shaken the community, leaving a family to mourn the senseless loss of a young life cut short by a violent encounter.
