Leticia Lopez

Leticia Lopez is a Colombian nun. In November 1999 she murdered 30-year-old Sister Luz Amparo Granada.

Background
Lopez and Granada had rooms next to each other in their cloister in Colombia's historic capital Bogota's Candelaria district. Granada worked closely with sex workers and drug users, and the children of sex workers.

Granada was conspicuous on the streets of Colombia for both her work with the socially disadvantaged and her striking red hair and blue eyes, both unusual for the region. Dozens of prostitutes had recently been killed, apparently by right-wing vigilantes performing "social cleansing", and Granada was championing the rights of these victims.

Lopez hated Granada for her work with these less fortunate souls. She may have been emboldened by the case of nuns Luz Adelia Barragan and Eva Maria Silva, who in August 1999 had been acquitted of murder after accidentally striking a thief while firing warning shots into the garden of their convent.

Murder
Little is known about the exact circumstances of the killing. Police and prosecutors suspect Lopez did not act alone, and may have teamed up with the far-right vigilantes preying on Bogota's prostitutes. Granada's corpse was found on the side of a road near the city. She had been shot multiple times in the head, her legs were missing, and her body had been burnt. She was not identified as the missing Granada for five months, and even then only after the FBI was asked to assist.

Investigation
Police arrested Lopez after becoming convinced Granada's killer was close to her. Microscopic blood drops and bone fragments were found in Granada's room. Detectives were hampered by detergent used to cleanse the scene and fresh paint added to the room. A witness reported Lopez washing blood, supposedly menstrual, from Granada's bedding. However, it wasn't enough and the case collapsed with Lopez freed after 17 months in custody.

The FBI was called in again. FBI investigators used their technology to examine the room, and were able to show blood spatter patterns on the walls and a trail where the body had been dragged out of her room to a rear exit. They also found cardboard in Lopez's room which matched that on the body.

In January of 2002 Lopez was finally brought to justice and received a 14-year sentence for the murder.