Police: Renton Man Arrested, Suspected In Girlfriend's Killing

RENTON, WA — Clallam County detectives arrested a 23-year-old Renton man Wednesday night, less than a week after his girlfriend's body was found in the Olympic National Forest.

According to the Clallam County Sheriff's Office, Dioneth Lopez, 21, was found in the Buckhorn Wilderness off a Forest Service road, near Blyn, on Valentine's Day. Detectives said evidence at the crime scene led them to believe she was killed by "homicidal violence."

Investigators learned Lopez was from San Pablo, Calif. and were able to confirm her identity using fingerprints on file with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, officials said.

The sheriff's office named Lopez's boyfriend as the suspect in the killing Thursday. Investigators said he was interviewed by the sheriff's office and the FBI Wednesday, after several days of surveillance. According to detectives, the suspect admitted in an interview that he hit the victim in the head with a tequila bottle after a fight.

The suspect was booked into the Clallam County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, and bail was set at $1 million. He has not been formally charged.