UPDATED: A Dallas County Jury took just a little over an hour to find 49 year old Darrin Lopez guilty of killing an American Airlines executive in a murder for hire case.
Lopez drove from Tennessee to Dallas to kill the husband of his high school girlfriend in October 2020.
He was sentenced to 62 years in prison, and received a $10,000 fine.
The victim’s wife, Jennifer Faith, pleaded guilty and is serving a life prison sentence.
(WBAP/KLIF) — The man accused of killing an American Airlines executive in a murder-for-hire scheme took the stand in his own trial, Thursday.
49-year-old Darrin Lopez is accused of shooting James Faith in 2020 while he was walking his dog with his wife in Oak Cliff.
Lopez described the state of mind he claims he was in before allegedly carrying out the killing of Faith, telling jurors that he was distraught because of all those in his life who had died over the years and he couldn’t do anything about it.
He says he was manipulated by the victim’s wife, Jennifer Faith, into killing her husband to get out of an abusive relationship. Lopez testified that Jennifer used photos to manipulate him into believing she was a victim of domestic violence, by showing him photos of her with bruises, which turned out later to be from a traffic accident, not physical abuse. Lopez, who is a disabled army veteran, is also claiming a brain injury sustained as a soldier in Iraq contributed to his decision to kill the man.
Lopez is accused of fatally shooting James Faith after driving from Tennessee to Oak Cliff to carry out the crime. Jennifer Faith is currently serving life in prison for planning the murder.
Listen to WBAP/KLIF report:
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