Murrieta Man Convicted Of Murdering His Girlfriend, Burning Her Body
MURRIETA (AP) — A Murrieta man has been found guilty of killing his girlfriend and dumping and burning her body in a shopping center trash bin.
A Riverside County jury deliberated for a few hours Monday before convicting 45-year-old Melvin Shaw of murder.
Prosecutors said Shaw killed 41-year-old Elisa Marie Lopez in July 2007 after the two argued about him coming home drunk. A security guard at a Temecula mall found her burning body in the trash.
The defense said Shaw blacked out the night the couple argued and doesn't remember harming Lopez.
When questioned by police, Shaw said he found Lopez dead when he woke up. He said he doused her body with gasoline and set it on fire because she once told him that she had wanted to be cremated.
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