Jesse Lopez, 36, of Bakersfield, California, was found dead on May 2, 2019. His body was discovered about 5:30 a.m. on Wilson Road, and Bakersfield police opened an investigation after the circumstances of his death were initially unclear.

Lopez had a documented history of legal trouble that complicated the inquiry. In a separate incident on February 4, 2020, he was accused of fatally stabbing 53-year-old Tracy Scott Elliott outside the Sunshine Smoke Shop in Oildale. Lopez said Elliott had been harassing him and his girlfriend and that he acted in self-defense, but surveillance reportedly showed Elliott was unarmed and that Lopez charged forward to stab him. Lopez was originally charged with first-degree murder; after a hung jury he pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of felony probation.

Investigators continued to follow leads and interview potential witnesses in the effort to determine how Lopez died and whether his past conflicts were connected to his death. Does anyone have information about Lopez, his movements on May 2, 2019, or anyone who might have known of threats against him?