Jury Convicts Murrieta Man in 2007 Murder of Girlfriend

After less than four hours of deliberations, a jury at Southwest Justice Center convicted a Murrieta man of first-degree murder for the 2007 killing of his girlfriend.

Melvin Louis Shaw, 45, faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for the murder of 41- year-old Elisa Marie Lopez, Riverside County District Attorney's Office Spokesperson John Hall said in a news release Monday.

Shortly after midnight on July 21, 2007, a security guard found a body on fire inside a dumpster enclosure in a shopping center at Winchester and Nicholas roads in Temecula, according to Hall.

Later that morning, Shaw called 911 to file a missing person report on his girlfriend, Lopez. Shaw told Murrieta police that he had last seen Lopez the evening before when they had a dispute about his being drunk, Hall said.

While at the residence, the Murrieta police officer found a mop and bucket in the garage which appeared to have been recently used and the mop had long hair on it consistent with that of the “missing” woman, Hall said. In the clothes dryer, the officer also stated he found several towels with what appeared to be blood stains.

During an interview with detectives two days later, Shaw said he woke up at the residence and found Lopez dead. Hall said he then put her in her car and, remembering that she had told him she wanted to be cremated, he drove her to the location in Temecula where he poured gasoline on her and set her on fire.

The actual cause of death could not be determined by an autopsy, but it was likely strangulation or another kind of suffocation, prosecutor Brandon Smith argued during the trial.

He acted in the heat of passion, said defense attorney Erin Kirkpatrick. She asked the jury to find him guilty of only voluntary manslaughter.

Shaw had a violent criminal history, Smith said. He was arrested for robbery and for assaulting somebody in a bathroom at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.

Shaw is scheduled to return May 27 to Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, where he will be sentenced before Judge Albert Wojcik.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Brandon Smith of the Homicide Unit before a jury of 12 women and three men.

Peter Surowski contributed to this report.