Porterville Man Convicted of Suffocating His Wife to Death

A Tulare County jury convicted Victor Lopez, 37, of first-degree murder on Wednesday in the 2018 suffocation of his wife in Porterville.

Victor Lopez was convicted of first-degree murder. (Tulare County DA’s Office)

According to court documents, Samantha Quintanar-Lopez’s co-workers asked deputies to conduct a welfare check when she failed to show up to work on Nov. 27, 2018.

When deputies arrived at the couple’s residence, Lopez told them his wife had left the previous night following an argument.

However, when deputies checked again later in the day, Lopez barricaded himself and the family’s three children inside the residence. Lopez then fled through a window only to be quickly captured.

A search of the residence led deputies to a pile of blankets covering Quintanar-Lopez’s body. A green plastic covered her head.

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Lopez Faces Life in Prison at Sentencing

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 19, and Lopez faces life in prison.

Senior deputy DA Kirk Davis prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.