(KRON) — The Santa Rosa Police Department is asking for assistance in locating a homicide suspect who allegedly decapitated a woman. Santa Rosa PD officers responded to a residence in the 2500 block of Pomo Trail on Thursday at 3:40 p.m. regarding a possible homicide.
Arriving at the scene, officers located a dead woman who had been decapitated. The woman’s head was not found at the residence.
The investigation was taken over by detectives from the SRPD Violent Crimes Investigation team. Detectives began interviewing anyone with potential information, police said.
The investigation revealed Luis Gustavo Aroyo-Lopez, a 24-year-old Santa Rosa resident who was related to the victim, killed her before leaving the scene, according to SRPD. Police believe Aroyo-Lopez took the woman’s head with him when he left the scene and may still be in possession of it.
Aroyo-Lopez is described as a Hispanic man, approximately 5-foot, 6-inches tall, weighing 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeve black hooded sweatshirt or jacket, black pants, and white shoes.
He was a large tattoo of “420” and a marijuana leaf on the left side of his head, police said. Aroyo-Lopez is believed to have left the residence and walked south on Iroquois Street.
Police had no indication where Aroyo-Lopez is headed or how he might be traveling. He has relatives in the San Joaquin Valley area, but it’s unknown if that’s his destination.
According to police, Aroyo-Lopez was recently released from state prison and placed on Postrelease Community Supervision. He was formerly incarcerated for assault with a deadly weapon and weapons possession charges unrelated to the victim in this incident, police said.
There is an active homicide warrant for Aroyo-Lopez’s arrest. He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.
