Left inset: Jose Lopez Xique (Hennepin County). Right inset: Kayli Arseth (Gearty‑Delmore Funeral Chapels, Inc). Background: The 7700 block of Penn Avenue South in Richfield, Minn., where Jose Lopez Xique killed Kayli Arseth (Google Maps).
A Minnesota man was convicted of murdering a 22‑year‑old woman who turned down his romantic advances, firing a bullet through her right eye “at close range” just one day after she rejected him on Snapchat.
“How could you do this to me?” Jose Luis Lopez Xique, 27, shouted as he gunned down Kayli Arseth in June 2025 at her Richfield home, according to the criminal complaint.
A Hennepin County jury found Lopez Xique guilty of first‑degree premeditated murder, second‑degree intentional murder, and harassment with a dangerous weapon.
The first‑degree murder conviction “triggers a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole,” the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office explained.
“This was a horrifying instance of a ‘rejection killing’ where Mr. Lopez Xique refused to accept that Kayli did not want a relationship,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a press release announcing the conviction.
“Kayli loved music, art, and her family and friends,” Moriarty added. “She was restoring her motorcycle while working as a behavioral technician for children with special needs. She should still be with her family and her loved ones.”
Lopez Xique killed Arseth,a “very bright, sassy, funny, and caring” woman who “loved working with children,” according to her obituary,after meeting her online. He began buying her things during “shopping trips” and grew closer, but the relationship “was not romantic or sexual,” the complaint notes.
Police discovered that Arseth and Lopez Xique held “best friend” badges and a “streak” on Snapchat that had just ended before her death.
“A review of messages in the days leading up to Victim’s death revealed that Defendant [Lopez Xique] was asking Victim for a romantic relationship with ‘actual dates,’” the complaint states. “Victim responded to Defendant that she was only interested in a friendship and did not feel a romantic attraction to Defendant.”
Lopez Xique told Arseth he wanted “more effort from her in their relationship.” When Arseth asked if he was free on June 16 to help with her motorcycle, Lopez Xique offered to pick her up after work, and she said she would let him know about his “suggested plan,” the complaint records.
At 2:55 p.m. on June 16, Arseth messaged Lopez Xique on Snapchat, saying, “I did enjoy hanging out with you, but I don’t have enough mental capacity for any type of relationship right now. I’m trying to figure out myself as well as manage my relationship with my parents and I’m overwhelmed and stressed already,” the complaint reports.
Lopez Xique replied that he was “confused,” saying, “I just want to be there for you. And you say you don’t want any other relationship, but I feel like you’re just looking for something different.”
Arseth told him she “just wasn’t ready for a relationship,” the complaint notes.
Lopez Xique answered, “Sorry if I’ve been pushy to hangout but I can tone it back we can just text and keep being that person we can talk to like we were.”
Location analysis of Lopez Xique’s phone showed he arrived at Arseth’s apartment building at 3:38 p.m. on June 16. He sent his last message from that location, and his phone remained there until 4:49 p.m., the complaint details.
When authorities could not reach Arseth, they obtained a key from apartment management and entered her home.
“They immediately encountered a gruesome scene,” the complaint says. “Victim was face down on her living‑room floor in a pool of blood with an apparent gunshot wound to her head.”
A neighbor told police she heard an argument at the apartment, recalling a male who screamed, “How could you do this to me,” before leaving around 4:47 p.m. after the dispute ended. Prosecutors noted that Lopez Xique’s phone data placed him at the residence and later at a hardware store.
Lopez Xique is slated for sentencing on Oct. 15.
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