Confession considered

Defense doesn’t want jurors in grisly slaying case to hear alleged statement to police

The man who told police he disemboweled his girlfriend after she called out another man’s name during sex was back in court Wednesday, trying to convince a Broward judge to keep his statement from reaching the ears of jurors.

Fidel Lopez, 25, of Sunrise called police to the Colonnade Residences before 4 a.m. on Sept. 20, 2015, telling them that Maria Lizette Nemeth was having trouble breathing. As police questioned him in the hours to come, Lopez admitted to killing Nemeth in a jealous rage.

Defense lawyers are arguing that Lopez did not understand his legal rights when he gave the statement. The officer who brought Lopez to the Sunrise police department is seen reading Lopez his rights on the video played before Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes Wednesday afternoon, but the interrogation begins with the officer saying Lopez was at the police station “voluntarily.”

The defense is arguing that there was nothing voluntary about Lopez’s presence at the station — he was not free to leave and was under arrest in everything but name.

If Holmes grants the defense motion, prosecutors will not be able to use the recording at trial or refer to statements Lopez made. It was during that interview that Lopez described himself as a “monster" and explained how and why he killed his girlfriend.

Sunrise Police Sergeant Stephen Allen testified Wednesday that he saw the murder scene minutes after Lopez placed his call to 911. Allen said he did not know immediately whether Lopez killed Nemeth or she killed herself during a botched abortion.

“I didn’t know what was happening, honestly. There was so much blood,” Allen said. “All I knew was Lopez was, at least, a material witness.”

He confirmed that Lopez was not free to go, but did not describe Lopez as a suspect at that initial point of the investigation.

Prosecutor Tom Coleman on Tuesday filed a motion seeking to restore the state’s ability to seek the death penalty in the gruesome case. Last week, Holmes granted defense lawyers a speedy trial and scheduled jury selection to begin Feb. 13. But Florida’s death penalty process was deemed unconstitutional last year, and the state legislature will not meet to consider a fix until next month.

With no constitutionally acceptable procedure to ensure that jurors will follow the law when imposing the death penalty, Holmes ruled that the state would not be permitted to seek capital punishment.

Prosecutors say that was a mistake. The Florida Supreme Court only determined that the state’s process for imposing the death penalty is flawed. Capital punishment remains legal in the state, Coleman wrote in the motion, and judges do not have the authority to interfere with the state’s decision to seek death.

Defense lawyer Melisa McNeill said she’s seeking a speedy trial because Lopez is ready to face a jury.