f death has not been released by authorities.

The specific evidence that originally connected Romo Diaz, Yepez Cigarroa, and Funes Villafranca to the vehicle and the burning of the body is unknown.

Timeline:

September 7, 2025: The estimated date of Lopez's murder, according to the felony complaint.

September 9, 2025: LAPD Missing Persons Unit detectives locate Lopez's body inside a burned Honda Civic at a South Los Angeles tow yard.

Late September 2025: Co-defendant Funes Villafranca leaves the country under a standing deportation order.

April 7, 2026: The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Offic e files an amended complaint officially identifying Lopez and leveling premeditated murder charges against all three suspects.

What they're saying:

Attorneys for the two women currently in custody maintain that their clients are completely innocent.

 They have the wrong person for this terrible allegation, as it turns out, and as the facts get fleshed out, we're confident that she's going to be completely exonerated,  said Justin Rodriguez, the defense attorney representing Yepes Cigarroa.

Romo Diaz's attorney also pushed back against the prosecution's narrative, stating,  I think that the evidence is going to show her involvement is not what it's drawn up to be. 

Reflecting on the alleged financial motive, the victim's former civil attorney Rahmani said,  I certainly hope no one would be killed over a car accident settlement. 

What's next:

Romo Diaz is scheduled for an upcoming evidentiary hearing to determine if the prosecution has sufficient evidence to move forward to a full criminal trial.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles prosecutors and law enforcement are actively working with international authorities to extradite Oswaldo Funes Villafranca back to the United States to face trial.