CHASKA, Minn. — An 18-year-old St. Paul woman is charged with murder after prosecutors say she shot her boyfriend in the head following a night of arguing.
Carver County authorities say Vanessa Sanchez Lopez killed her 17-year-old boyfriend, later identified by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner as Manuel Ernesto Bernal Jurado, as the two sat in a vehicle parked in the driveway of a home in Chanhassen. Sanchez Lopez then drove to Fairview Southdale Hospital at a high rate of speed, triggering a police pursuit that ended at the hospital. There, officers discovered Jurado in the front passenger seat of the vehicle and a Kel-Tec semi-automatic handgun inside the car.
The criminal complaint says Sanchez Lopez, the victim, and three other people were inside the vehicle parked in the driveway of a home on Conestoga Trail in the early morning of Feb. 2. Witnesses in the car say the defendant and Jurado had been arguing all night, and that there was a firearm in the vehicle belonging to Jurado.
Multiple witnesses said Sanchez Lopez accused Jurado of cheating.
At some point, Sanchez Lopez allegedly grabbed the handgun, pointed it directly at the victim's head and fired. The witness told investigators the gun was very close to Jurado's face when the shot was fired. The defendant allegedly said "What the (expletive) do we do, I don't want to bring him, cuz I don't want to go the (expletive) to prison."
At that point, a 23-year-old man jumped in the driver's seat and headed for the hospital.
When questioned by police Sanchez Lopez originally claimed that she was "dancing around" inside the vehicle when the gun accidentally fired. Police say after continued questioning, she admitted to pointing the gun at Jurado's neck and intentionally pulling the trigger, but claimed she did not know the gun was loaded. She denied arguing with the victim at any point in their relationship.
The criminal complaint says a breath test given to the defendant at the time of her arrest registered .13.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: