Police arrested the person they said shot and killed James Faith, an American Airlines IT Executive, who was out walking his dog with his wife.
The arrest brings an unexpected end to the investigation. Police originally thought they were dealing with a robbery gone awry. Now they believe the killer is the wife’s ex-boyfriend.
Police said in October, Lopez shot James as he and his wife were in North Oak Cliff walking their dog.
She told police a masked man shot her husband dead, then attacked her and tried to steal her jewelry.
The case was part of a public manhunt as investigators asked for help to find the killer.
“Oh my God! If you know what happened I need that for closure. I need to make some sense out of this,” Jennifer Faith said during an interview at that time.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Lopez is Jennifer Faith’s ex-boyfriend from high school and college, and the two had been rekindling their relationship in the month leading up to the murder.
Police said Jennifer texted Lopez about problems in her marriage and described her relationship with Lopez as a full-blown emotional affair.
Lopez said he had a plan to get them back together.
Investigators said Lopez’ truck matches the one used in the murder and evidence shows he drove from his home in Tennessee to carry out the killing.
They placed his cellphone in Dallas at the time. It was turned off just before then powered back on to make the return trip to Tennessee.
Investigators also found surveillance video of Lopez in the area hours before the murder, confirming his clothing and truck matched the suspect’s description.
Police have not said if Jennifer Faith played any role in the murder.
Lopez is currently in a Tennessee jail and will be extradited to Texas for trial.
