Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Teen Breakup Ends in Murder

Episode Date: July 3, 2023

Lily Silva-Lopez tries to break up with her boyfriend of six months, but Jovanni Sirio-Cardona is not ready to give up the relationship. He responds by threatening the girl. He puts a gun barrel in her mouth and tells the teen that they are not breaking up. Lily Silva-Lopez confides in a cousin about the threats and the cousin tells Silva-Lopez's mother.   Greely police respond to a domestic violence complaint when Lily Silva-Lopez tells police that Sirio-Cardona had punched her in the face and hurt her arm. Weeks later, Silva-Lopez is shot multiple times in the hallway of her home, then dragged back into her room. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Wendy Patrick - California Prosecutor, Author of "Why Bad Looks Good," and "Red Flags;" Hot of "Today with Dr. Wendy" on KCBQ in San Diego; Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD Dr. Shari Schwartz - Forensic Psychologist (specializing in capital mitigation and victim advocacy);  Author of "Criminal Behavior" and "Where Law and Psychology Intersect: Issues in Legal Psychology;" Twitter: @TrialDoc Robert Crispin - Private Investigator, Former Federal Task Force Officer for United States Department of Justice, DEA and Miami Field Division; Former Homicide and Crimes Against Children Investigator; Facebook: Crispin Special Investigations, Inc. Shannon Henry - President & Founder of SASS Go, (Surviving Assault Standing Strong: a nonprofit on a mission to eradicate abuse, trafficking and violence against women and girls globally); Department of Education Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina;  FB, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @sassgoglobal Dr. Tim Gallagher - Medical Examiner State of Florida, Lecturer: University of Florida Medical School Forensic Medicine, and Founder/Host: International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference  Jen Smith - Chief Reporter for DailyMail.com; Twitter: @jen_e_smith  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Why is the little teen girl murdered in her own home. The investigation into her homicide leads us into uncharted territory. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to our friends at CBS. Flowers, stuffed animals, candles, and a birthday balloon surrounded the window of 15-year-old Lily Silva Lopez, who was murdered in her home June 16. I mean, it's peaceful, but we've had crime and stuff, but nothing like this. Neighbors in the area, like Cardenas, are still in shock. So I saw the neighbor of the tow truck,

and I stopped. I said, what's going on?'s going on goes over the police are looking for you to Get camera you're from your footage. I said why he goes someone got killed someone got killed That's one way of putting it a beautiful little girl Lily a Teen in her own home her family home Is murdered at the time her little brother was home as well. Who would murder a little girl terrifying her little brother? Take a listen to more. Cardenas tells CBS Colorado her camera caught the defendant running down the bank path into the home. That's where he forced himself into the young girl's home through her window, according to the affidavit obtained by CBS Colorado. It just scares me to death. Just

knowing 3.30 in the afternoon, he ran right by and not knowing that he was going with that intention. That's what scares me. With me in all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now regarding the murder of teen girl Lily. Joining me right now, California prosecutor, author of Why Bad Looks Good and of Red Flags. The host of today with Dr. Wendy in KCBQ. Wendy Patrick. Wendy, thank you for being with us. Statistically, this is very unusual for a crime of this violent nature to occur at 3.30 in broad daylight in a residential community with a very low crime rate, very unusual statistically. You know, that's what makes it terrifying when you hear a report of a crime taking place in the middle of the day in someone's home. I mean, it's one of those things that everybody is talking right away because it strikes fear into a neighborhood to have something happen like that when you would never expect it to take place. Also, I find it very unusual, Wendy, Patrick, that the perp was seen

winding through the neighborhood on a bicycle, then goes up to this home where Lily is inside in the afternoon, on a summer afternoon, she's out of school, and picks her to murder. That's very unusual. That suggests that the perp knows her. Yeah, that's one of the first things you look at when you have something like this is we start inward with someone that's closest to the victim and then you work outwards. But when you look at somebody that's brazen and bold enough

to approach the home in broad daylight, that adds to the community fear. It's not something somebody that took advantage of the cover of night or darkness. Someone that's bold or brazen enough to do it right in the middle of the day is very dangerous. So you've got an entire community immediately that would hear about a report like this and be in fear for their own safety as well. And as you hear a neighbor thinking, I had no idea that this guy that I see going by on a bicycle was here to commit a murder and he just went by my house.

You know, I'm taking a look at Lily right now. It's a photograph of her. She's got on a cute little jean jacket. She's standing out. It looks like a park or some type of nature preserve and she's just precious looking back at the camera over her shoulder and i think about this little girl her whole life before her and there she is at home in her parents home with her little brother minding her own business when When an assailant approaches, winding through the neighborhood on a bicycle, who knew this guy was carrying a gun? With me, a name you know well by now, Jen Smith, investigative chief reporter for DailyMail.com. Jen, thank you for being with us. What can you tell me about this area? I know it's really Colorado. And when I'm looking at this photo of

her, it looks like she's standing by some aspen trees, which is famously connected to Colorado. Go ahead, dear. That's right, Nancy. Yeah, I mean, this is a kind of quiet residential neighborhood like you described already. Not the kind of place that you would expect this brutal crime to take place, and certainly not in the middle of the afternoon in summer. So Greeley, Colorado, very kind of family oriented. We know that Lily's home was a quaint home. She knew her neighbors. It was not the type of place that she or her little brother might anticipate that there could be any danger whatsoever. Like you described this beautiful photograph of her. She's posing next to some trees. This is, you know, Colorado

living, happy families, that type of neighborhood. This is what we're talking about you know when there have been times that I've had to leave the twins when I had to rush out for some reason or the other and we lock all the doors and we turn on the alarm but in the back of my head I think they'll be fine you know they're the same age as Lily the The exact same age. She had just turned 15. And I cannot even imagine what these parents must be going through. Thinking, oh, it's summertime. She'll be fine.

She's at home with the little brother. How were they to anticipate some freak driving through the neighborhood on a bike picked their home and their daughter to shoot dead. Joining me right now is Robert Crispin, now private investigator, former federal task force officer with the U.S. Department of Justice, DEA in the Miami Field Division, former homicide agent. And you can find him at crispininvestigations.com. Why is 3.30 in the afternoon in the summertime? Everybody's out for school, out from school. Why is that statistically such an unusual time for a crime to go down, especially a violent crime of this nature.

Well, a number of reasons. The biggest one is you're in broad daylight and there's so much that can happen where people are going to see you. Cameras will catch you. People will be eyewitnesses. Just so much going on, you're not under the cover of darkness. You know, statistically, when murders go down, if they're stranger on stranger, as this appears to be, it is not in broad daylight. It's in the cover of darkness. It's the breaking and entering. It goes on and on statistically that this won't happen. But it did.

And wouldn't you agree, Robert Crispin, it doesn't matter if you live down the street from the country club or you live in inner city. Crime will find a way to get into your neighborhood. Oh, it will find you, especially if someone wants to find you or someone wants to do something specific. They're coming for you. It doesn't matter. You know, people think that they're insulated because they live like in this was a quiet residential area in Colorado. And I'm looking again at this photo of Lily. For all I know, that's not too far from her home. It's beautiful. It's rural. Let's go to Jen Smith from Daily Mail on this. This occurred in Greeley, Colorado. What can you tell me about Greeley, Colorado? It's kind tell me about Greeley, Colorado?

It's kind of one of these American towns that you could have it in any state, Nancy. This is family living. This is a pretty small area where Lily was living in peace. She was a popular girl. We know from her obituary that she liked to spend her time doing things like shopping, playing with makeup. And she had a really happy upbringing in Greeley, Colorado. You know, the population there for the entire area is 100,000. I mean, that's pretty small because it's a very big county. And I'm wondering how rural it was where she was killed. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about the death of a beautiful 15-year-old little girl.

What happened? Take a listen to our friends at Fox 31. Record show Silva Lopez was shot in a hallway and then dragged back into her room. The suspect then ran away while the victim's 13-year-old brother pleaded for his life and then ran to Ange Toinette Martinez for help. She called 911. Joining us right now, famed medical examiner out of the state of Florida, Dr. Tim Gallagher, also lecturer at University of Florida Medical School, Forensic Medicine, and the founder and host of the International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference.

Dr. Gallagher, eight gunshots that we know of for one victim? That's a lot. What does that tell you? Well, it is quite a lot, Nancy. You know, generally we don't see that many gunshot wounds in somebody unless they are a targeted victim or unless this is a person sending a message to another individual or another organization. For instance, gang on gang shooting. We see this in drug related shootings. You know, so this is somebody who is very angry and very focused on making sure that their target, their person who they are assaulting is does not survive, that they are deceased at the end of the altercation and that they are very focused on letting this happen. Now, I want to go to Jen Smith joining us, Chief Investigative Reporter with DailyMail.com.

You know, Dr. Gallagher mentioned that he's seen shootings like this in drug cases, but this little girl has no history, no juvenile history, no history of unruly, what you call a child under the law when they don't come in on time and they argue with their parents. This little girl, by all accounts, was nothing like that at all. There is no way this little girl was involved in any way with nefarious behavior, including drug activity. No, no, absolutely not. You're absolutely right, Nancy. with nefarious behavior, including drug activity. No. No, absolutely not. You're absolutely right, Nancy. She had nothing to do with anything like that.

She was by no stretch of the imagination was really a juvenile delinquent or anything of the sort. She was not in trouble with the law. She was not in trouble with her school. She was never even in trouble with her parents, as far as we know of. This is a good kid who was going about her school. She was never even in trouble with her parents as far as we know of. This is a good kid who was going about her life. She was going about her day in her home looking after her little brother. Nothing to predict this sort of violence was coming for her. This little girl minding her own business. To you, Jen Smith, again, joining us from Daily Mail,

where was she in the home when she was murdered? Well, we know that she was initially in the hallway. She actually, we now know, tried to and did potentially save her brother's life. She cried out telling him to run when she saw the assailant coming for her. She was shot initially in the hallway and then her body was dragged by her murderer through the house into her bedroom. Guys, take a listen to our phrase at KMGH.

Neighbors in this quiet, greely neighborhood could not believe what they were hearing. Just huge popping noise. You know, you kind of hear the fireworks and they kind of echo. These didn't. They just popped. They were loud. And, you know, there were so many at once. You couldn't even, like,

I don't know if you would just, like, stop to count, but there was just so many. Dolores Windmeyer grabbed her own daughter and ran to the back of her home. A few doors down, 15-year-old Lily Silva Lopez was shot and killed. Being so young, taking her home. A few doors down, 15-year-old Lily Silva Lopez was shot and killed. Being so young, taking her life so young, you know, it's scary to know that that's happening. When you don't know where to start an investigation, you start with your victim. Who

is Lily? Take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. Lily Silva Lopez, born and raised in Greeley, Colorado. At 15, she's just finished her sophomore year at Northridge High School. She's about to turn 16 and is excited about learning to drive. She loves working her after school job

at Wing Shack, and like most teen girls, Lily Silva Lopez enjoys shopping, clothes, makeup, dancing, and she loves to eat. Her favorite food, enchiladas. Her family and friends say she loves animals and is loving and caring to all. That sounds like a typical teen girl in the U.S. She loves shopping, clothes, makeup, dancing.

She loves enchiladas. She has great grades. She loves theiladas. She has great grades. She loves the little brother. But we learn about a cloud on the horizon in Lily's life. Lily Silva Lopez is trying to break up with her boyfriend of six months. But Giovanni Serio Cardona is not ready to give up the relationship. When Silva Lopez breaks up with him, he responds by threatening her with a gun. He puts the gun barrel in her

mouth and tells her that they are not breaking up and she needs to tell him, I love you. Not wanting to scare her mother, Lily Silva Lopez confides in a cousin about the threats. The cousin tells Silvia Lopez mother what's going on. Greeley police respond to a domestic violence complaint when Lily Silva Lopez tells police Serio Cardona has punched her in the face and hurt her arm. Joining me right now, Shannon Henry, president and founder of SASS,

Surviving Assault Standing Strong. It is a global nonprofit with a mission to eradicate violence on women. Shannon is also with the Department of Education as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina. Shannon, thank you for being with us. Domestic violence with a 15-year-old little girl? Yeah, it's unfortunately something that we're seeing at a higher rate these days. As a matter of fact, for this age, it's such a high rate of interpersonal violence, and it's three times the national average in this age bracket. Three times the national average with teen girls? Absolutely, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. And it's just something that we're seeing increase with intensity and frequency

and something that obviously needs to be stopped. Back to Chief Investigative Reporter with DailyMail.com, Jen Smith. Jen, could you describe these prior incidents where Lily's teen boyfriend beat her and on another occasion when she tried to break up, put a gun in her mouth? Yeah, so around a month before she died, she tried to break up with this boyfriend, Giovanni. And like you said, rather than accept what she was saying, he not only threatened her, which would have been terrifying enough, but he, to really drive the point home, put the barrel of his gun in her mouth. We don't know specifically what happened after that, Nancy, but clearly she was living in

fear of this guy and she couldn't get away from him. And then there's the incident where he punches her in the face and she's calling 911. And her mother was, you know, involved in this one as well. She was clearly trying to do the right thing and alert law enforcement, but sadly, not enough was done to protect her from him guys it's not the first time as we are hearing from shannon henry with s-a-s-s that teen romance puppy love as so many people call it ends in murder it's very hard to get your head wrapped around teen domestic violence. As young as 14 and 15 years old, take a listen to our Cut 13, our friends at ABC. Three days before his 16th birthday, Martise Fuller may be in custody for the rest of his life. Circumstances in this case

would literally chill anyone who makes any real attempt to keep their their family safe. The prosecutor says Fuller snuck into the bedroom of his ex-girlfriend, 16-year-old Kylie Juga Thursday, shooting her four times in the chest and once in the head, killing her. He's then accused of shooting her mom Stephanie twice in the chest. Surveillance video shows first responders with one of the victims. The prosecutor says the shooting followed, quote, a conflict on social media, and Fuller was recently kicked out of school for stalking Kylie at school and work. That's not the half of it. Take a look at more in our cut 14.

Parents have described on multiple occasions the defendant driving by their home at all hours. They've expressed this concern to a number of people that they were concerned about the safety of their daughters. The court commissioner set bail at $1 million. Fuller hung his head most of the hearing and for a time appeared to be crying. Asked if he understood the proceedings, Fuller spoke quietly. Do you understand all of the conditions of bond, including the cash bond amount that I said in your case? Yes.

Is that yes? Yes. All right, thank you. Fuller will remain in juvenile detention for now, assuming he doesn't post the million dollars. To Robert Crispin joining us, former federal task force for USDOJ, Department of Justice. Robert, when you hear about a teen murdering the little girlfriend, we think of it as puppy love, but it's anything but. You know, when I had my first, in our district attorney's office, you had a rotation. First, you went to grand jury to learn how to identify crimes and draw up indictments and present to grand juries.

Then we would go to juvenile where you prosecute juvie crimes because there's not a jury. There's basically no rules of evidence. But what I learned then, we call them baby felons, is that sometimes they're more frightening than adult felons because they are not fully formed they're like let me think like a baby t-rex it has no idea what it's doing so these junior baby felons they don't get the consequences of their acts, but they commit heinous adult crimes, murder, rape, sodomy, arson, ag assault, armed robbery, you name it. And they do. And in this particular case with the amount of gunshots and the rapid succession of firing at the victim, it's just a lashing out behavior from the defendant into the victim to make sure she's dead and to continue by

following up to shoot the mother. They just, they don't understand the consequences. And the sadly, one part of all this is, and we talked about the statistics rising in juveniles, is a lot of these victims are so young that they really don't report this to their parents. They really don't report it to the police. A lot of them do keep it down. Now, this one was reported, and clearly there's a breakdown, but that's for another day, another conversation, in protecting this girl. But statistically, and I think your other guests will be able to back this up, juveniles at that age, they kind of keep all this stuff to themselves,

or they keep it between their friends and they just don't bring it to the parents. That's a problem. Well, they may not understand that they should. They may not understand that they are actually domestic assault victims. Joining me, Dr. Sherry Schwartz, forensic psychologist. You can find her at panthermitigation.com. She specializes in capital mitigation and victim advocacy. Dr. Sherry, thank you for being with us. Why do we call it Puppy Love? Well, because we think of kids at this stage of their life as so innocent and that this is their first experience with love and what can go wrong. And the reality is we know from various outlets, credible outlets like the Centers for Disease Control, that teen dating violence is shockingly common.

And that we're not having conversations with kids about it because as adults, we think of it as this innocent first love and that it's a learning experience that's relatively benign. But in this case, we know it's anything but. You know, I also wonder why we as a society don't take these relationships as seriously as we do adult relationships, because according to DOJ, one in 12 little girls, teen girls report having been abused. And these are victims that don't even know about calling a domestic assault line or calling the battered women's line or any type of violence hotline. And yet we're still getting a huge number of reports of domestic assault. I don't think they understand that they are victims of domestic assault. Nancy, this is Wendy. I have thought long and hard about that over the years, also having worked in the juvenile division. You know, we know domestic violence is

the invisible epidemic, but the word domestic implies some kind of a marriage or cohabitation, sharing children together, i.e. adult relationships. And, you know, sometimes it's the case that teenagers really don't see themselves as fitting within that paradigm. They may hear the reports on the news, but don't think that they themselves are experiencing something that's criminal. And perhaps it's even more severely underreported than with adults. That's at least a theory over the years that may account for the lack of reporting or the very delayed reporting, or as in this case, reporting to somebody other than the police what's going on. I'm just thinking through what has happened with Lily. There are so many other cases that we have covered where teen boys go berserk after a breakup

or during the relationship and murder the little girl. For instance, there's Emma. Take a listen to our cut 15, our friends at ABC. This morning, 18-year-old Riley Gall sits in a Tennessee jail, charged with killing 16-year-old Emma Jane Walker just weeks after their breakup. According to police, in the early morning hours Monday, a shot fired by Gall into Walker's bedroom from outside her Tennessee home killed her in her sleep. Police arresting Gall Tuesday night on charges of first degree murder, holding him on $750,000 bond after having him under surveillance saying he was preparing to destroy evidence related to the homicide. Guys, another 16-year-old girl dead as a result of domestic violence.

You know, another issue, Dr. Sherry Schwartz, I'm not sure that parents take the so-called infatuation or puppy love experience seriously, but do they often ever find out their daughters are being threatened? Why don't the girls tell their families? Well, that's a great question. And following up on what Wendy said earlier too, it really has to do with even with adult victims of intimate partner violence, there's a level of shame and also a level of guilt that somehow maybe they're responsible for the violence that's happening to them. This is magnified for teens. Teens who are guided very, very heavily by impression management, right? They don't want their friends to know. They certainly don't want their families to know. Teenagers tend to talk more to other teenagers than they will

to their own parents, right? Because they think their parents won't understand. In this case, there is an extreme level of shame at the victimization and somehow feeling like, well, if I was better, then this wouldn't be happening to me. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Wendy Patrick joining us, California prosecutor and author of Why Bad Looks Good and Red Flags. You can find her at WendyPatrickPhD.com. Weigh in, Wendy. You know, I agree with all that. And I think that the shame is something that's magnified in being an adolescent victim

because it's hard enough to be an adolescent as it is. Add to that, now you're suffering through a supposedly adult level of violence. At least that might be what adolescents view it as. And you're probably even more reluctant. And let me add to that the reality that more adolescents may be armed. And if you have the, let's just call it the double threat of somebody being armed and angry, angry over a breakup where emotions are high, well, then that may be a circumstance that's absolutely particularly dangerous and if you have a young woman a lovely

young woman that is not involved in drugs or you know gang activity or any kind of juvenile delinquency you would that would only add to the reluctance to admit that you're being abused by a boyfriend maybe your very first boyfriend you know also within the teen dynamic amongst their friends what does that mean are they afraid to Shannon Henry joining us president of SASS surviving assault standing strong are they afraid to tell their friends do they think somehow is that embarrassing to them I think you know sure it can be embarrassing there's shame there there's guilt but I think what we have to remember too is that all relationships start off the same the abuser builds trust within

this child um they we have to invite them into our world so they build this trust they're charming which p.s charming is a learned behavior in order to get what you want. It's not something we're born with. So the family, the victim, they're all fooled into thinking that this is an incredible human being dating their daughter. And then there's the evolution of the relationship as it changes over time. It starts off with words that are unkind. This is why I knew I shouldn't date you. This is why I knew you weren't going to be a good girlfriend, to then throwing the phone, to then pinching and pushing and eventually to punching. And so we always see these behaviors and this power and control increase with intensity and frequency over time. And so sure, there's shame. And in this case, the little 13-year-old brother was also so close to losing his life.

Take a listen to our Cut 11, our friends at CBS. Silva Lopez's 13-year-old brother had told her that Cedio Cardona had broken into the home. He then shot her several times before fleeing the scene. Police found Silva Lopez in the bedroom with several gunshot wounds where she died. I still get goosebumps. I still get goosebumps. Court documents show the 15-year-old had been in a relationship with the 16-year-old just for six months and she tried ending the relationship just four weeks before the shooting. Isn't it true that statistically, Shannon Henry, the moment that a victim is most at risk is when she tries to leave the relationship. Absolutely. Those are the markers that we see once somebody has projected that they want to

leave or they've reported that timing. Absolutely, we see an escalation because they can't elicit control anymore. They understand that the victim is gaining control and so they have to, you know, impress more control upon them and they find new ways. Dr. Sherry Schwartz, why do you believe that is? That when the female, and it typically is a female, of course it can be reversed, but that's very rare, that when the female is trying to leave the abusive relationship, that is when they're killed. Well, what the research shows is that typically the male partner who doesn't want them to leave is going to lose control because this type of relationship, a cornerstone of this

and a key feature is power manipulation and control and so if she successfully leaves and separates herself from him he no longer has access to her he no longer has control over her and this heightens the level of violence and the intensity of the violence guys as i mentioned earlier joining us is renowned medical examiner dr tim. Tim Gallagher. Dr. Gallagher, you have conducted literally thousands and thousands of autopsies, postmortems, been on thousands of crime homicide scenes. Would you be surprised to know, if you don't already, that homicide is the third leading cause of death amongst teens? Well, it certainly is, Nancy, and we're seeing that more

and more. It is a sad reflection on the society the way it is now. It is not unusual for me to come to work and have to work on two, three sub-adults or adolescents or young people in their 20s, you know, that suffered from gun violence. You know, this is something that was not very common even 15 years ago, but certainly now, you know, it is. And we're seeing it on a daily basis. And we're seeing it increase in frequency. It's a very sad reflection on the way society is going. Well, I get what you're saying about gun violence. But the number three cause of death amongst teens is homicide? It certainly does appear that way, Nancy.

And, you know, typically accidents were the number one cause, but we're seeing that a lot of these accidents now are intermingled, you know, with gun violence as well. People who have road rage, you know, cut somebody off, start shooting at them, that person gets confused and crashes their car and dies from that. So there's a lot of accidents that are intermingled with gun violence. There is... Homicide. Homicide. The number three cause of death amongst teens.

Homicide. Right. So we're seeing homicides increase. We're seeing that the reason why homicides increasing is because of the gun violence is because of the shooting is because of the increase in drug activity increase in boldness. We're seeing this influenced by social media. You know, people, young people now who have arms, who have guns now show them off on social media. It's a it's a status symbol now. And of course, they're going to show them off and they also want to use them. And they use them against each other. And that is the reason why a lot of the gun violence increases. And we're seeing a lot of that in our younger

population. I remember, Dr. Gallagher, I was so shocked when I learned, and that was many years ago because I was still at HLN at CNN at the time, that the number one cause of death of pregnant women is homicide. And I was so, I disbelieved it so much. I brought on as a guest the PhD, the doctor that wrote the article. So she could explain this to me. I could not believe the number one cause of death amongst pregnant women is homicide. And today I'm learning an equally shocking statistic that the number three cause of death,

Jackie Sidney, where am I getting that stat? The number three cause of death amongst teens is homicide. Did you say the CDC? Yes. Wow. The number three cause of death. Did you hear that, Ellie? Amongst teens is homicide?

The third leading cause of death. And in this case, 15-year-old girl Lily, straight A's, great, cute, so sweet, scrubbed in sunshine at home, at her parents' home. When she is gunned down dead and the little 13-year-old brother nearly died in the whole incident. Guys, take a listen to our cut eight. Our friends at KUSA 9. A 16-year-old from Greeley is accused of shooting and killing his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors in Weld County are charging Giovanna Ciro Cardona as an adult in the death of Lily Silva Lopez. June 16th, police say the victim's brother told a neighbor that Ciro Cardona broke into their home, shot the victim, took the brother's phone phone and ran off. The neighbor called 911. Police had been to the victim's home earlier in the month and report that Ciro Cardona had punched the victim in the face. This is a sad case of domestic violence among teenagers. This

16 year old suspect just one year older than his girlfriend and detectives saying that once before when she had tried to break up with him he had struck her in the mouth. This is the home where a 15 year old girl was killed after trying to break up with her boyfriend. Detectives say the suspect shot out a window, broke in the home and shot Lily Silva Lopez several times. It's so hard for me to take in there at the end you're hearing our friend Vincente Arenas at Fox 31 that this little girl is gone after a puppy love breakup. Jen Smith joining us chief investigative reporter with DailyMail.com. Jen, the parents, I'm sure, believed they had done everything they could.

I mean, the little girl, Lily, told a cousin. The cousin would not agree to keep it secret and told the parents. The parents, of course, called police. The police come out. We find out that this teen boy, Giovanni Cardona, had hit her in the mouth before, put a gun in her mouth. And now this. They called police. They sought protection. Didn't they, Jen Smith? They sure did. They absolutely did.

And look, that's going to be something that the police department down the line, they're going to have to answer to this. What more could have possibly been done? Could this teenager have been issued with a restraining order? Could he have even been put in jail after he assaulted her so violently by hitting her in the mouth? I mean, those are all questions that have to be running through the minds of these poor parents, grief-stricken parents. They will be beside themselves.

But going from now, I think the next thing on their agenda, Nancy, has to be what's going to happen to science justice in this case with this teenager, this boyfriend, who they tried to protect their daughter from as best they could. What will come of him? And we know he's in jail. We know he's being held on a $2 million bond. Colorado is not a death penalty state, but this guy is going to be prosecuted as an adult. So he's facing the rest of his life in prison. This little girl tried to get out of an abusive relationship with a teen boy.

The parents called police. They tried everything they knew. On a summer day when this little girl should have been having fun at home, out of school, hanging out with her little brother, she's dead. Lily Silva Lopez, 15 years old. If you have information on this case, or you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please call 800-799-7233. I worked for nine years as a volunteer at the Better Women's Center. Very rarely does an abusive relationship get better.

In fact, it gets worse. Please speak to your teen girls. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.