Arheel's Uncle
Senior Reporter
Gwinnett Police say murder victim was choked with TV cable then stabbed, release identity of suspect
The killing occurred early Wednesday at a location on Ivy Birch Way outside Buford.
www.11alive.com
Gwinnett Police say murder victim was choked with TV cable then stabbed, release identity of suspect
The killing occurred early Wednesday at a location on Ivy Birch Way outside Buford.
Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department
Author: Jonathan Raymond (11Alive)
Published: 9:14 AM EDT April 4, 2024
Updated: 9:14 AM EDT April 4, 2024
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A murder suspect allegedly used a TV cable to choke a victim unconscious and then stab him to death, Gwinnett Police said Thursday morning.
The killing occurred early Wednesday at a location on Ivy Birch Way outside Buford. On Thursday the Gwinnett County Police Department released the suspect's identity as 19-year-old Erik Ruiz Lopez.
RELATED: Man found dead inside Gwinnett County home, police detain suspect
Ruiz Lopez is charged with aggravated assault, felony murder and malice murder in the killing. The victim has not been identified as next of kin has not yet been notified, the police department said.
Police initially said Wednesday morning that officers had responded to a call from a woman saying she heard loud noises and "someone grunting for help." Officers arrived on scene and located an "adult male deceased" and detained the suspect, noting he "looked as though he had been in a physical altercation" as officers arrived.
On Thursday police said Ruiz Lopez and the victim shared a bedroom at the home and that this is where the altercation occurred.
It "resulted in Ruiz Lopez choking the victim unconscious with a television cable," GCPD said, and the suspect then "left the room, then returned with a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times."