SBPD Investigates and Arrests Suspect for Murder of a Three-Year-Old Child
On February 4, 2023, at 1:33 pm, the Santa Barbara Police Department Combined Communications Center received a 9-1-1 call reporting a medical emergency. The initial report was a three-year-old girl had fallen out of bed injuring herself. Santa Barbara City Fire and American Medical Response personnel were attending to the child, performing CPR when the police arrived. The child was transported to Santa Barbara County Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
Santa Barbara Police Detectives with the assistance of Santa Barbara County Coroner’s office investigated the death. Based on the evidence gathered, the case was categorized as a homicide.
Based upon the investigation into this heinous crime, the suspect was identified as Elvis Alberto Lopez (03/04/1998), the boyfriend of the victim’s mother. On February 11, 2023, an arrest warrant was authored and signed by a judge for the arrest of Lopez for Penal Code 187, Murder. Elvis Lopez was later contacted at his family’s residence by Santa Barbara Police Department Detectives and taken into custody without incident. He was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on $3,000,000 bail.
The Santa Barbara Police Department requests that anyone with information on this case contact the Detective Bureau at (805) 897-2347.