GENEVA COUNTY, Ala. (TCN) — A 41-year-old woman is behind bars for allegedly fatally shooting her partner and dismembering him with a chain saw while their young child was present in the home.
According to WDHN-TV, Benito Morales Guzman was reported missing to the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 27. Deputies went to the home where Guzman lived with his partner, Joselina Lopez, and discovered his dismembered body in a car on their property. Deputies arrested Lopez on Aug. 29 and charged her with intentional murder.
WDHN reports an Alabama State Bureau of Investigation detective testified at Lopez’s bond hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and said there was a “strong odor” emanating from the vehicle. When they looked in the car, they allegedly located a chain saw and Guzman’s dismembered body, which had been placed in trash bags in the back seat.
Detectives reportedly looked through Guzman and Lopez’s home and found a gun, hatchet, knives, chain saws, and receipts for the tools. Officials believe Guzman was shot several times before being dismembered.
Investigators believe Guzman and Lopez’s 4-year-old child might have been present at the home when he was killed.
Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms told AL.com that Guzman had been fatally shot and then dismembered.
According to WDHN, Lopez argued she killed Guzman in self-defense, but prosecutors said Lopez did not have proof of that.
AL.com described Guzman as Lopez’s husband, but WDHN called him her partner and said they had a romantic relationship.
Officials reportedly described Guzman as being “completely” dismembered, and AL.comreports Guzman was believed to have been killed between Aug. 24 and Aug. 27.