Sgt. Steven D. Lopez was thought to be suicidal before murder-suicide ended two lives

Inquiry reveals soldier was thought suicidal

By Ruffin Prevost - The Billings Gazette
Posted : Wednesday Aug 20, 2008 18:51:28 EDT

CODY, Wyo. — Lovell police and an Army sergeant worked unsuccessfully last year to persuade a suicidal soldier to return to his base in North Carolina, fearing that he might harm himself or others. One week later, the soldier killed his estranged wife and himself.

Recordings of telephone conversations between police and Army personnel, along with a separate report by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, offer some insight into the circumstances leading up to the fatal encounter.

They also show that drugs and alcohol may have played a role Nov. 5, when Sgt. Steven D. Lopez, 23, shot Brenda Lee Davila, 22, three times before turning the gun on himself outside Davila’s residence in Lovell.

The records show that Sgt. 1st Class Clinton Ham, Lopez’s supervisor at Fort Bragg, and Lovell Police Officer Robert Bifano struggled to convince Lopez and his family that they were more concerned for Lopez’s safety than his status as absent without official leave from the Army.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command at Fort Carson, Colo., conducted an investigation after the shootings, and issued a final report Feb. 28. The Army released a redacted copy of the report to The Gazette last month after a request filed in April under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The report by the Criminal Investigation Division states that Lopez, an active-duty sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., left there Oct. 16 for noncommissioned-officer training in Missouri, but was listed as AWOL when he had not arrived by Oct. 18.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_soldier_suicide_082008/