The crime scene at the Collanade Apartment Complex in Sunrise, Florida, didn't look like a domestic dispute. It looked like a war zone. When police walked into the unit shared by Fidel Lopez and Maria Nemeth on September 20, 2015, they weren't just looking at a murder. They were looking at a literal explosion of rage.
Blood was everywhere. It wasn't just on the floor; it was on the walls, the ceiling, and inside a closet that had been ripped off its hinges. Holes were punched through the drywall. A sliding glass door was shattered into thousands of pieces. In the middle of it all was Lopez, then 24, crying next to the body of his 31-year-old girlfriend.
Honestly, the details are hard to stomach. But to understand the case of Fidel Lopez and Maria Nemeth, you have to look past the sensational headlines. This wasn't "rough sex" gone wrong, though that’s how Lopez initially tried to spin it to the 911 dispatcher. It was a calculated, alcohol-fueled descent into what Lopez himself later called being a "monster."
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The "Monster" and the Motive
What makes this case stick in the public consciousness—and why people are still searching for the truth years later—is the motive. It’s almost too absurd to be real. During their interrogation, Lopez eventually cracked. He told detectives that while they were having sex in a closet, Maria called him by her ex-husband’s name. Not once, but twice.
That was it. That was the trigger.
Lopez didn't just get into an argument. He went on a rampage. He destroyed the apartment first, smashing the glass and the walls, but then he returned to the closet where Maria was lying unconscious from intoxication. What followed was a level of brutality that seasoned investigators found difficult to describe. He used his hands and various objects to disembowel her, physically ripping her organs from her body while she was unable to defend herself.
It's a chilling reminder of how quickly domestic situations can spiral when extreme jealousy meets a complete lack of impulse control. Maria was a leasing agent, described by neighbors as "sweet" and "an angel." She had only lived in that apartment with Lopez for about a week before she was killed.
The 911 Call and the First Lies
When the police first arrived at 3:30 a.m., Lopez was in "panic mode." He claimed they had been drinking tequila and that Maria had simply stopped breathing after getting sick in the bathroom. He even tried to wash the blood off his hands before calling for help.
- The Initial Story: They were having "rough sex," she went to vomit, and she never woke up.
- The Reality: The apartment was physically torn apart, and Maria’s injuries were surgically impossible to ignore.
- The Confession: After hours of grilling, Lopez admitted he "snapped" because of the name mix-up.
Neighbors later told police they heard loud banging and shouting for at least two hours. They heard the sound of a man's voice yelling. Nobody called the police during the struggle. It’s one of those "what if" scenarios that haunts the local community to this day.
Legal Battle and the Plea Deal
For a while, the State of Florida was gunning for the death penalty. They had every reason to. The sheer depravity of the crime—specifically the disembowelment—met the "heinous, atrocious, or cruel" criteria often required for capital punishment.
However, in July 2017, the legal trajectory shifted. Lopez struck a deal. To avoid the needle, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and sexual battery. By doing this, he gave up his right to appeal.
Judge Ilona Holmes sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, Lopez spoke through a translator, saying he knew he had to "pay with his life for the life he took." Maria’s family, including her uncle and father, spoke about the void she left behind. They didn't ask for his death; they said only God could judge him now.
Where is Fidel Lopez Now?
As of 2026, Fidel Lopez remains behind bars in the Florida Department of Corrections. Because of the "no parole" clause in his plea deal, he will never walk free. He is essentially a ghost in the system, serving out a life sentence for a crime committed in a single night of tequila-soaked fury.
People often ask if there was a history of violence. While friends were shocked, the level of rage displayed suggests deep-seated issues with possession and jealousy. Maria had recently divorced her husband of eight years. She was starting over. She thought she had found a new chapter with Lopez, but instead, she found a man who couldn't handle being a second thought for even a fleeting second.
Key Takeaways from the Case
If there is anything to learn from this tragedy, it's the reality of "red flags" in high-intensity relationships.
- Alcohol is a Catalyst: In almost every report, the tequila is mentioned as the fuel that turned a "bad mood" into a lethal rage.
- The Myth of "Rough Sex": This defense is frequently used by perpetrators to mask domestic homicide. Investigators in this case were quick to debunk it because the physical evidence didn't match the narrative.
- The Impact of Isolation: Moving in together can sometimes be the most dangerous time in a volatile relationship, as it removes the "buffer" of separate spaces.
The story of Fidel Lopez and Maria Nemeth isn't just a "true crime" footnote. It's a stark look at how fragile safety can be when someone views their partner as an object of possession rather than a person. Maria’s family continues to keep her memory alive, focusing on her "perseverance and love of humanity" rather than the horrific way her life ended.
If you or someone you know is dealing with a partner who shows extreme jealousy or destructive anger, don't wait for the "shattering glass" moment. Reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233) or local Florida-based resources. These situations rarely de-escalate on their own, and as the Sunrise case proves, the transition from "happy couple" to "crime scene" can happen in the blink of an eye.
Check your local court records or the Florida Department of Corrections website for the most current updates on inmate status, but for Lopez, the story is effectively over: he is serving life, and Maria is gone.