Murder of Fatima Lopez

On November 18, 2002, the body of 15-year-old Fatima Lopez was found at 813 Green Grove Road in  Tinton Falls, New Jersey. A construction worker clearing a wooded lot at that location found her buried under several feet of dirt and her body was partially decomposed. It's unknown how long she was dead for.

She had died from multiple trauma, but it was unknown if it was from a weapon or someone's bare hands. Though it was likely from someone's hands. It's unknown if she was sexually assaulted or if her clothes were taken off from the killer or wildlife. There was a small amount of alcohol in her system. It was hard to say if she was killed by a stranger or not.

Fatima had moved from Nicaragua with her brother to Belmar in August. It's wasn't really known who Fatima associated with in her short time in the U.S. She was a bit of a wild child and was staying out all hours of the night and not coming home when she was supposed to. She was hard to handle for her brother and was about to be sent back to Nicaragua to their mother's, but instead had her live with an Aunt in Asbury Park. Fatima would soon go missing after this though. It was unknown how long she was missing for

SOURCES:

The Office of Monmouth County Prosecutor

APP