Jovanni Sirio-Cardona has been charged as an adult after police say he killed his ex-girlfriend who no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him.
A 16-year-old boy in Colorado has been charged as an adult after police say he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend when she tried to break up with him, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office says.
Jovanni Sirio-Cardona was allegedly spotted on camera running down the path toward 15-year-old Lily Silva-Lopez’s trailer park home on June 16 around 3:45 p.m., just five days before her birthday. Police allege Sirio-Cardona then climbed through Lopez’s bedroom window, compelling the 15-year-old girl to yell to her younger brother — who was watching TV in a separate room at the time — to run for his life.
An arrest report obtained by The Denver Post, citing the victim’s 13-year-old brother, alleges that Sirio-Cardona fired multiple gunshots at the victim in the hallway of their Greely, Colo., home. Silva-Lopez’s brother told officials that he saw his sister laying on the floor, with Sirio-Cardona allegedly standing over her.
Sirio-Cardona allegedly took the teen’s phone away from him as he pleaded for his life to ensure he would not call 911, the brother told police, according to the affidavit. Sirio-Cardona then allegedly asked that Silva-Lopez’s brother help him move the body before he dragged the girl back into the bedroom by himself, according to the affidavit.
Once Sirio-Cardona left the premises, the young boy ran to a neighbor’s house to call the police. According to police records, Silva-Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Silva-Lopez’s mother, the 15-year-old’s six-month relationship with Sirio-Cardona included violence, the affidavit states. As told to investigators, the suspect allegedly put a barrel of a gun into Silva-Lopez’s mouth approximately four weeks prior to her death when she stated that she wanted to break up, according to the affidavit.
Just six days before the shooting, police were sent to Silva-Lopez’s home after she alleged that her boyfriend punched her in the face and hurt her arms, the affidavit states.
![Lily Silva-Lopez, Obituary Photo](https://people.com/thmb/lySPTKZlXunhspr0dEVS53AJI7M=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(575x0:577x2):format(webp)/lily-silva-lopez-070323-ec5a1abc0a9c471e8b150a23b6621c00.jpg)
Sirio-Cardona has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, aggravated robbery and possession of a handgun by a juvenile, according to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
His bond has been set at $2,000,000, and he is set for a status conference on August 3, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. in Division 17 of the Weld County Courthouse.
It’s not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.