Man Who Killed Girlfriend, Torched Body to Serve Life

A man who killed his girlfriend and torched her body in Temecula was sentenced today to serve 25 years to life in prison.

Melvin Louis Shaw, 45, was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing of Elisa Marie Lopez, 41, and setting her body on fire next to a dumpster behind in 2008.

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“If there were fairness, I’d be able to impose a harsher sentence than I’m allowed to impose,” said Judge Albert Wojcik during a sentencing hearing today at the Souhtwest Justice Center in French Valley.

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He was required to pay $7,500 in restitution, and he will be ineligible for parole, Wojcik decided. “I believe he would be a danger to society,” the judge said.

Regret

Shaw, dressed in an orange uniform with his hands chained to his waist and hair shaved short, wept when he addressed the court. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I don’t care what the DA said, told the jury. I didn’t premeditate this, plan this or anything,” he said. “I’ll go to my grave with this.”

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Prosecutor Brandon Smith agreed, he told the judge. “I agree, and as Mr. Shaw sits in prison, he needs to realize it did -- only because of him,” he said. “He deserves what he’s getting today, and he needs to realize that.”

Shaw destroyed his family in addition to Lopez’s, Shaw’s son wrote in a letter the prosecutor read to the judge. "Dad, I love you so much, but what you’ve done destroyed so many lives,” the attorney read.

Shaw suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since his service during Operation Desert Storm, and that was partially to blame for his actions, his sister, Diana Bozeman, told the judge.

“I was very sad and disappointed PTSD was not allowed into evidence,” she said, standing before the judge crying.

Because of this, the jurors heard only part of the whole truth, she said. “I’m not making excuses. He should not have mixed his medication with alcohol.”

His condition made no difference in the case, the judge said. “I felt it was not relevant… it had nothing to do with what happened,” Wojcik said.

The judge also refused to allow into evidence Shaw’s criminal history. He was once arrested for burglary, and again for assaulting somebody in the bathroom at Pechanga Hotel and Casino, attorneys said before the trial.

The reason for the crime wasn’t his disorder; it was him, he said. “Just look in the mirror,” Wojcik said to Shaw. “That’s what made it happen.”

Victim’s friends rejoice and mourn

After the sentencing, friends of Lopez gathered outside the courtroom and hugged the prosecutor.

There was no punishment bad enough for justice to be served, said Lelsie Kegley, a Temecula resident and a friend of the victim.

“I don’t like to use the word justice, because there is no justice, but I’m happy with what he got,” she said.

She and several of the victim’s friends and coworkers wore shirts reading “Wine Time,” which was the name of their club. Lopez was a part of it.

The victim was a wonderful person and a joy to work with, her friends said. “She was beautiful, inside and out,” said Mary Parent, of Temecula.

Some friends were still grieving after all these years. “We spent many, many hours together,” said Pamela Loslebery, a Moreno Valley resident who worked with Lopez. “There’s a big void in my friendship. There’s also a void in my work.”

The victim worked at Menifee Valley Medical Center as a radiologist. She loved to go wine tasting with friends, and was an exercise fanatic, her friends reminisced.

“She brought cheerfulness and joy to everybody she met,” Julie Carmean, Lopez’s friend, told the judge during the hearing through her sobs. “It’s just not fair.”

A bad match

Many of Lopez's friends who met Shaw disliked him, they said today.

Loslebery met Shaw only once during a get-together. “He was drunk and he never had any money on him,” she said.

The victim’s coworkers remembered a story about Shaw that had the office buzzing.

Shaw, Lopez and many of their coworkers went out for drinks and snacks one night. Shaw told the friends to order whatever they wanted, it was on him, said Gene Reiver, who worked with Lopez.

“He was saying, just order this, order that,” Reiver said.

After racking up a steep bill, he asked Lopez to pay it. “Lo-and-behold, he didn’t have any money,” Reiver said.

Lopez was with Shaw because she was desperate to have a baby, Parent said.