Man Shoots and Kills Friend After She Tells Him She’s Not Ready for a Relationship: DA

Jose Luis Lopez Xique, 27, was charged Monday with second-degree murder for the June 16 shooting of Kayli Grace Arseth, 22, resulting in her death, per a press release from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. His bail has been set at $2.5 million, per ABC affiliate KSTP.

“This was a terrible instance of extreme, targeted violence that took Kayli from her loved ones,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in a statement. “Thoughts are with her family during this extraordinarily difficult period. Our office will prosecute Mr. Lopez Xique to protect our community and hold him accountable for his actions.”

The probable cause affidavit released Monday details what investigators discovered after police first became involved on the case on June 17, when Arseth’s family reached out for a wellness check after she failed to report to work.

Family and friends had attempted to reach the victim, per the documentation, but the last anyone had heard from her was the afternoon of June 16.

Richfield Police officers arrived to find her car in the parking lot and her apartment door locked. A locator app on her phone showed that it was inside the apartment, so when she failed to respond to knocks, officers obtained a key from the apartment manage and gained access.

Inside, they found what they described in their documentation as a “gruesome scene.” Alseth was found “face down on her living room floor in a pool of blood with an apparent gunshot wound to her head.”

Investigators determined that the bullet had entered her right eye and exited the back of her skull, with police determining she had been shot at close range. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were able to narrow down the likely time of death due to Arseth’s after-work plans on June 16. She left work at 4:26 p.m., per the affidavit, and made her way home. Just before 5 p.m., a friend arrived to pick her up.

After 20 minutes unable to reach the victim via text, the friend told police she went to the door and knocked — which was corroborated by a neighbor who opened their own door. The friend left around 5:30 p.m., but contacted the victim’s father via text to alert him of their inability to make contact with her.

The neighbor told police they heard yelling coming from the apartment just after 4:30 p.m. At one point, they said they clearly heard the victim say, “How could you do this to me?” They reported hearing a male arguing with her, and then heard someone leave, but did not see that individual.

Friends of the victim told police that Arseth had recently met a man online who went by the name “Lui.” Police were able to identify “Lui” as Lopez Xique.

They determined that the pair had spent time together in person, as well, and that “Lui” bought Arseth things on shopping trips, but the relationship “was not romantic or sexual,” per the affidavit.

Investigators found Arseth’s computer logged into Snapchat, where she shared a “Best Friend Badge” and had a “‘streak’ that had just ended” with “Lui.” After her death, “Lui” sent no further Snaps to the victim, police determined.

They then began exploring messages with “Lui” leading up to hear death, where they uncovered a seeming frustration growing between them, with “Lui” asking for a romantic relationship and “actual dates,” and Arseth responding that she only wanted a friendship and “did not feel a romantic attraction” to him. “Lui” wrote “that he wanted to see more effort from her in their relationship,” per the documents.

Arseth asked “Lui” if he was available on June 16 to help with her motorcycle, per the affidavit. “Defendant offered to pick her up that night after work and Victim stated that she would let Defendant know about his suggested plan,” police noted.

At 2:55 p.m. on June 16, Arseth wrote, “I did enjoy hanging out with you, but I don’t have enough mental capacity for any type of relationship right now. I’m trying to figure out myself as well as manage my relationship with my parents and I’m overwhelmed and stressed already.”

“Lui” replied that he was confused, per the affidavit, adding, “I just want to be there for you. And you say you don’t want any other relationship, but I feel like you’re just looking for something different.”

When she said again that she “just wasn’t ready for a relationship,” he replied, “Sorry if I’ve been pushy to hangout but I can tone it back we can just text and keep being that person we can talk to like we were.”

He then asked if they could talk about it later when they could both focus more, acknowledging that he knew of her plans with a friend later that evening. He said he’d bought her a gift and “it was in the mail,” per the affidavit.

Their final exchange came at 4:06 p.m. when “Lui” messaged her, “Well have fun,” and she responded she would try.

At the same time, police tracked Lopez Xique’s phone location, which placed him at her apartment building starting at 3:38 p.m., so he sent that last message from there.

Police determined that his phone stayed at her apartment until 4:49 p.m. It then left, presumably on his person, and went to a hardware store, timing it to the same time the neighbor heard someone leave the apartment.

At the hardware store, a man matching Lopez Xique’s description “purchased beverages and steel shoe covers.” His phone next pinged in West Bloomington at 5:19 p.m. and stayed there for several minutes — so police went there.

At that location, they detailed recovering “two bags of discarded items to include 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition, a blue utility shirt, sunglasses, empty box of gauze, blue disposable gloves, a pair of shoes, and a hat. In nearby trash bins, officers recovered a plastic bag with wipes, masking tape, rubber gloves, and packaging for the sunglasses, gauze, and gloves.”

Surveillance footage from a nearby megastore captured the defendant at around noon, per the affidavit, picking up many of these items and wearing the same clothing he was captured at the hardware store wearing.

After obtaining a search warrant, police detailed arriving at Lopez Xique’s home on Thursday as he was getting into a blue BMW sedan. He first started to drive away from his home before turning around and approaching one of the unmarked police vehicles, per the affidavit. “As he neared officers, he held up his phone as if he was recording the undercover officers,” the probable cause affidavit reads.

The document states he was ultimately “boxed in” by police and taken into custody. They note he “did not inquire about why he was arrested, told officers to hurry it up, and seemed unsurprised.” Police reported finding scratches on his chest and puncture wounds on his forearm.

Inside Lopez Xique’s home, police found a Glock 9mm firearm and a red dot sight adapter plate, as well as a “Tactical Media Acquisition Kit,” which included camera accessories, hard drives, and flash drives.

When processed and Mirandized, the defendant reportedly “told investigators that he wasn’t going to answer any questions but that they could keep talking and maybe ‘something will slip,’” per the affidavit. He then asked for an attorney.

An obituary for Arseth describes her as a “vibrant spirit, with a very bright, sassy, funny, and caring personality.”

“Kayli made a positive difference in many people’s lives and will be deeply missed. She always told people, ‘well, you’re stuck with me.’ The irony is that she is now stuck in our hearts forever,” the obituary reads. “We will never stop until we find justice for you.”