The following is a press release issued by the Santa Rosa Police Department. This has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
On Thursday, November 2, 2023, at approximately 3:40 pm, Santa Rosa Police officers responded to the 2500-block of Pomo Trail, Santa Rosa, regarding a possible homicide. When officers arrived on scene, they located a deceased female inside of the residence. The adult female victim had been decapitated. The victim’s head was not located at the residence.
The initial investigation conducted by detectives from SRPD Violent Crimes Investigations (VCI) team revealed Luis Gustavo Aroyo-Lopez, a 23-year-old resident of Santa Rosa and blood relative of the victim, killed the victim in a targeted attack before leaving the scene with the female victim’s head. Multiple weapons were recovered from the residence; however, the items will need to undergo further examination before we can definitively identify the murder weapon(s).
As part of their investigation, detectives worked in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Service to disseminate information about Aroyo-Lopez to other law enforcement agencies in California.
On Saturday, November 4, 2023, an alert San Francisco Police Department patrol officer conducting foot patrol at the Transbay Transit Center, 425 Mission Street, San Francisco, spotted Aroyo-Lopez at the complex. The officer recognized Aroyo-Lopez from the wanted person bulletins and immediately detained Aroyo-Lopez without incident. Aroyo-Lopez was detained in San Francisco until SRPD VCI detectives were able to respond and take custody of him prior to transporting him to the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.
Aroyo-Lopez was booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility for the following charges:
187 PC – Murder
3455 PC – Violation of PRCS
Aroyo-Lopez was not granted bail and remains in-custody.
SRPD VCI detectives continued their investigation, to include searching for the victim’s decapitated head. At approximately 7:30 pm, November 4th, the head was located on the south bank of the Santa Rosa Creek, adjacent to the Prince Memorial Greenway, just east of A Street, in Santa Rosa. The head was brought to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office for further examination.
The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office has identified the homicide victim as 64-year-old Santa Rosa resident, Elvia Lopez-Arroyo. She was the suspect’s grandmother.
It should be noted the original press release indicated Aroyo-Lopez’ age as 24-years-old. Based on additional documentation provided by the family, we believe his true age to be 23-years-old, having a date of birth of March 22, 2000.
Santa Rosa Police Department case number 23-13955
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