Maria Fernanda Guerra Sandoval was a 15-year-old student at Mifflin High School in Columbus, Ohio, originally from Santa Ana, El Salvador. Family remembered her as a fun, loving girl and called her a beautiful princess. She lived with her mother, Ana María Guerra Sandoval, and a large extended family.

On the evening of April 3, 2023, police were called to the 4700 block of Sullivant Avenue on the city’s far west side. Officers found Maria suffering from a gunshot wound to the head; she was pronounced dead at the scene. The only other person present was her 18-year-old boyfriend, Kevin Jesus-Lopez. He first told investigators a masked man had tried to rob them and shot Maria, then later admitted he had been handling a handgun in a car behind a business and that it discharged, killing her.

Jesus-Lopez was arrested and initially charged with murder; a grand jury later indicted him on involuntary manslaughter with a firearm specification and tampering with evidence, and he pleaded guilty. Have any readers in the Columbus area known Maria or seen anything relevant about what happened that evening?