
(WDHN/YouTube)
A 26-year-old Alabama woman, Joselina Elizabeth Lopez, is facing charges after allegedly fatally shooting her lover, Benito Morales Guzman, and then dismembering his body using a chainsaw. Authorities say Lopez disposed of Guzman’s remains in 10 to 15 trash bags before attempting to flee the country with her child.
According to investigators, Lopez loaded the trash bags containing Guzman’s remains into her Toyota Corolla, along with electric chainsaws, cleaning supplies, a diaper bag, and baby formula—some of which still had blood on them. The gruesome discovery was made after Guzman’s boss reported him missing on August 27, prompting a welfare check at his home in the Fayette area. Deputies arriving on the scene detected a strong odor of decomposition coming from Lopez’s vehicle.
Inside the car, authorities found the trash bags and a .22-caliber revolver with five fired cartridges. An autopsy later confirmed that Guzman had been shot twice before Lopez allegedly used the chainsaw to dismember him. Police also found evidence that Lopez had purchased multiple chainsaws from Lowe’s, with one of the chainsaws still containing human tissue on its blades.
Investigators believe Lopez planned to flee to Mexico or Guatemala, where she has family. At the time of her arrest, she was carrying her passport, her child’s birth certificate, and other travel essentials, indicating her intention to leave the country. Guzman was last seen alive on August 24, and police suspect Lopez’s child was present during the killing, reported Law and Crime.
Lopez has since been arrested for murder and remains in the Geneva County Jail without bond. In a recorded phone conversation from jail, she allegedly commented, “I should have left earlier.”
In court, Lopez claimed she killed Guzman in self-defense and requested to be released on bond, a request that was denied. Guzman’s ex-wife, Jennifer Wilkerson, who remained friends with him, expressed her shock and disgust over the crime, saying, “He didn’t deserve any of that.”
Lopez’s case remains under investigation, with authorities continuing to piece together the chilling details of what led to the brutal killing and dismemberment.