On the evening of Christmas Eve in 2014, Evelyn Yamalith Arroyo, a 27-year-old female, was arriving for her shift as a waitress at the El Sabor Latino Restaurant on 14th Street NW in Washington, D.C. when her life was tragically cut short. As she approached the restaurant, she was confronted by her ex-boyfriend, Marvin Lopez. Witnesses reported seeing the two in a struggle before Lopez pushed Arroyo against a wall, pulled out a gun, and shot her.
He then walked away from the scene.
Two Metropolitan Police Department lieutenants who were driving nearby heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene. Citizens pointed them in the direction that Lopez had fled, and one of the officers gave chase but lost him in a wooded area. The other officer found Arroyo on the sidewalk, suffering from a gunshot wound to her chest and a graze wound to her head. She was transported to a local hospital where, despite all life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead.
The investigation quickly zeroed in on Lopez. Witnesses who knew the couple told police they had seen him with Arroyo just before the shooting. One witness even showed investigators Facebook messages from Lopez to Arroyo in the days leading up to the murder, in which he threatened to kill her. The day after the shooting, detectives searching Lopez's apartment found photos of Arroyo torn to pieces. Despite an arrest warrant being issued on Christmas Day, Lopez managed to flee to his native El Salvador before he could be apprehended.
For years, Lopez remained a fugitive. However, in March 2023, he was extradited back to the United States to face charges for Arroyo's murder. His trial took place in November 2023, and after eight days of testimony, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder while armed and a related gun offense. In October 2024, Marvin Lopez was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of Evelyn Yamileth Arroyo Guerra. During the sentencing, it was revealed that Arroyo had a three-year-old daughter at the time of her death and had been trying to distance herself from Lopez. A victim impact statement from the daughter's guardian highlighted the profound and lasting suffering the young girl has endured due to the loss of her mother.
