After killing his ex-girlfriend, he shot himself, deputies said.

RUSKIN – Deputies have accused a man of shooting his former girlfriend to death, then turning the gun on himself.

Santos Simiona Gonzalez-Lopez, 32, of Ruskin, was dead when deputies found the two in her Ruskin home.

Leopoldo Galarza-Espinosa, 45, was charged with first degree murder. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said he is in stable condition at Tampa General Hospital. He and Ms. Gonzalez-Lopez had been boyfriend and girlfriend until ending their relationship about three weeks ago.

Galarza-Espinosa arrived at Ms. Gonzalez-Lopez’s home about 9:20 p.m. Tuesday (April 11)  the victim’s residence and began banging on the front door, demanding he be let inside. Ms. Gonzalez-Lopez at first refused, but ultimately opened the door for him. When Galarza-Espinosa came inside, the two began arguing.

During the argument, deputies said, Galarza-Espinosa pulled a small semi-automatic handgun from his pocket, chambered a round and indicated to Ms. Gonzalez-Lopez that two people were going to die. Galarza-Espinosa shot Ms. Gonzalez-Lopez three times. She fell onto the bed where Hillsborough Fire Rescue later pronounced her dead. Galarza-Espinosa then shot himself in the head.

Deputies said they found both on the bed. Ms. Gonzalez-Lopez had no pulse. Galarza-Espinosa was breathing, but not responding to deputies’ commands. Deputies said he spontaneously said, “It’s because I found her with someone else.” Galarza-Espinosa repeated the statement and then asked if “she was okay.” Galarza-Espinosa identified himself and was taken to Tampa General.

For information about the Hillsborough sheriff, go to hcso.tampa.fl.us.

Hillsborough Sheriff | Murder | Crime | Arrests | Tampa Bay News | TB Reporter

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