Victim ID'd, Man Charged In SWR Murder Case

MURRIETA, CA — A man accused of killing a woman outside a Murrieta home this week has been charged with first-degree murder. Jacob Aaron Lepe, 21, was also charged Thursday with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.

Lepe is accused of killing a woman on Tuesday morning at a home in the 23000 block of Abury Avenue, which is near Grizzly Ridge Drive and Jefferson Avenue. A family member called police to report a disturbance, and when police got to the location, they found the woman had been killed, according to Murrieta Police Lt. Mark Reid.

"The reporting party walked away from the residence and called to the Murrieta Police Department to report that a male inside the residence was being aggressive towards members of his family," Reid said in a news release.

Police responded shortly thereafter, and found Lepe "...covered in what appeared to be blood standing over a female on the side of the residence." She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A criminal complaint filed Thursday identified the victim as Vilma Lopez. It wasn't immediately clear how Lepe was related to the woman, if at all.

The deadly weapon Lepe used in the killing was a log, according to the complaint.

Lepe was slated to be arraigned Thursday afternoon. He's currently being held on $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning

Court records indicate Lepe is on probation for a DUI with drugs charge that he pleaded guilty to in 2018.

This is the first homicide to happen in Murrieta this year, according to police. There were two in 2018 and one in 2017.