NEED TO KNOW
- Kayli Arseth was found dead after suffering gunshot wounds in her Minnesota home
- Arseth’s family reported her missing after she failed to respond to multiple calls and messages
- Jose Luis Lopez Xique, 27, is charged with second-degree intentional murder
A Minnesota woman told a man she just wanted to be friends after rejecting his romantic advances — and now he’s charged with murdering her.
Jose Luis Lopez Xique, 27, is charged with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death of 22-year-old Kayli Arseth, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
According to a probable cause statement obtained by PEOPLE, Arseth was found dead suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in her home in Richfield, Minn., on June 17.
Arseth’s family had called for a welfare check after she failed to show up for plans and was not responding to calls or messages, the statement said.
Police subsequently spoke to a neighbor, who said the day before she had heard yelling in Arseth’s home during an argument with a man.
At one point the neighbor heard Arseth say, “How could you do this to me?”
The neighbor heard someone leave 10 minutes later.
Investigators said they subsequently learned Arseth had met Lopez Xique online and that the pair had been exchanging messages on Snapchat, though their streak ended the day her body was discovered.
The messages allegedly revealed that Lopez Xique had asked Arseth for a romantic relationship but that she pushed back, saying she only wanted to be friends and didn’t feel a romantic attraction to him.
On June 16, Arseth had asked Lopez Xique for help with her motorcycle. That day, his phone data allegedly showed that he had been at Arseth’s apartment building.
Authorities allege they later found two bags of discarded items including ammunition, an empty box of gauze, disposable gloves, a pair of shoes and a hat at a location where Lopez Xique’s phone had stopped for a few minutes on the evening of June 16. In a nearby trash can, wipes, masking tape and rubber gloves were found.
Records showed that Lopez Xique had been seen purchasing those items at a store earlier that day, according to the probable cause statement.
Lopez Xique was later arrested. When he was taken into custody, police said he did not ask about why he was being arrested and told police to hurry it up, according to the statement.
Inside his home, a handgun was found, police said.
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A GoFundMe was started to raise money for Arseth’s family and has raised more than $44,000.
“She was always smiling and had a contagious laugh that could brighten anyone’s day,” the organizer wrote. “She was easy to be around because she could talk about anything and everything.”
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