Javier Lopez: Arizona man charged with murder for brutally stabbing wife after she began dating someone

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA: A man from Arizona is accused of killing his estranged wife by stabbing her 38 times after she began dating someone else. On Thursday, April 11, Pinal County police were called to a rural area to check on the welfare of a resident at a home.

Police reported hearing two dogs barking from inside the house when they arrived. They found 43-year-old Christina Lopez dead in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor when they went inside.

Her 49-year-old husband Javier was linked to the murder by the blood and additional evidence. There was Javier's shirt and cell phone, as well as the murder weapon.

Christina and Javier Lopez were fighting over custody of children

The married couple separated in November, but they continued to fight over shared custody of their kids, according to detectives assigned to the case.

Javier Lopez continued to occasionally assist Christina at her home with other chores and landscaping work. Christina and Javier had been fighting over child custody the day before Christina was killed, according to Daily Mail.

The following day, Javier brought one of his kids to visit Christina at her home, but he asked the boy to wait in the car while he went to talk to her.

Investigators claim that Javier questioned Christina about whether she had started dating someone else. He was offended when she replied that she was.

Then, according to reports, he suddenly became violent, taking out a pocket knife and stabbing Christina almost forty times, until she was bleeding to death on the kitchen floor of the house.

Strangely, Lopez is said to have been so enraged at his wife for dating another man that he threw a bag of dog food on her stabbed corpse.

The boy, hearing the screaming and crying, reportedly asked his father in a panic if he had hurt his mother as they drove back home, according to the investigators.

Lopez was held by police for questioning and was eventually taken into custody in Phoenix the day following the alleged murder.

Javier allegedly confessed to killing his divorced wife while being questioned by the police while in detention. He then allegedly washed his hands and went home with his son.

Javier Lopez has been arrested and given a $1 million bond

Javier Lopez was placed under arrest and given a $1 million bond after being charged with first-degree murder at the Pinal County Jail. Christina's sister released a statement in which she described the victim, 'Tina,' as an "amazing little sister" who was senselessly killed.

"She was the bright light in any room, fun, loud and made everyone feel welcomed and loved," Shannon Mayfield told AZ Family. "[Christina] had 3 sons that were her world that she supported her whole life, even at times working 3 jobs to make ends meet."

"She was at every sports practice and games running back and forth to make sure she made it to watch them," Mayfield added.

She expressed her desire for her sister's memory of the murder to be altered, "I want the way she lived, to be remembered. She didn't deserve this. This horrific incident has shattered my parents and her family. I promise I will fight for the rest of my life to make sure that man never gets out of prison."

Christina's parents, Priscilla and Keith Miller, expounded on Javier's feelings of jealousy. "He couldn't take it because he knew he would never get her back," the Millers told FOX10.

They continued by saying that although the couple had known one another since their teenage years, their relationship had recently gotten toxic.

"The children have witnessed it, and she couldn't take it anymore. She said she told me she woke up going to bed crying and waking up crying," they said.

The children of the couple, who have reportedly grown fearful of their father, will now be raised by the Millers. "The way I know she would have raised her kids, her sons, that's how we're going to try. It won't be mommy, but we'll do our best," they said.

A GoFundMe is trying to raise $100,000 to help Christina's three children in the future as well as cover the cost of the funeral service. Javier Lopez is currently awaiting the April 19 preliminary hearing.