Young woman met horrific end 'after telling man who had crush on her that she just wanted to be friends'
Prosecutors have said Jose Luis Lopez Xique, 27, shot Kayli Grace Arseth, 22, in a bloody attack at her Minnesota home on June 16 after they met online.
Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed one count of second-degree intentional murder against Lopez Xique on Monday.
The office said messages between the suspect and victim showed that Lopez Xique was 'asking for a romantic relationship' despite 'Arseth making clear that she was only interested in friendship.'
During the investigation, police uncovered a grisly bag of discarded items at the crime scene in Arseth's home located in Richfield, southern Minneapolis.
It included ammunition, an empty box of gauze, disposable gloves, a pair of shoes, a hat, wipes, masking tape, and rubber gloves.
An attorney for Lopez Xique said he is enlisted in the US Army Reserve, and is a US citizen who has lived in Shakopee, on the outskirts of Minnesota, most of his life.
Court documents detail Arseth's final movements.
She finished work at Fraser School, a pre-school where she worked as a behavioral technician for autistic children, just after 4.20pm.
When she returned to her apartment nearby on Penn Avenue, she was horrified to find Lopez Xique lying in wait. He had broken in, according to court documents.
A neighbor told police he heard Arseth scream 'how could you do this to me?' as the two argued.
The next day, police discovered Arseth's body in the apartment amid a 'gruesome scene'. She had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
Richfield Police said Arseth met the alleged killer online, and that he would purchase goods for her on shopping trips, but they did not have a romantic or sexual relationship.
The department said Snapchat messages showed Arseth messaged Lopez Xique while she was at work asking him for help with her motorcycle on the day she died.
But later that afternoon, she added: 'I don't have enough mental capacity for any type of relationship right now'. Lopez Xique replied telling her to 'have fun' that evening.
Arseth was a graduate of Wayzata High School, where she was on the swim team and track and field team.
Her family said she was hoping to study developmental psychology at the University of Minnesota.
'Kayli made a positive difference in many people's lives and will be deeply missed,' her obituary reads.
'She always told people, 'well, you're stuck with me.' The irony is that she is now stuck in our hearts forever.'
'This was a terrible instance of extreme, targeted violence that took Kayli from her loved ones,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
'My 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.'
Her loved ones set up a GoFundMe in the wake of her death.
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