A family and community are coming together to mourn a terrible loss. As mom Carmen Lopez exited the elevator into the hallway of her Harlem apartment, she was fatally stabbed, and it’s possible that she knew the man who has been arrested in her murder. Police have yet to put together a motive for the killing but believe it was likely related to domestic violence. After her death, neighbors gathered with candles, recalling how much they liked her and how good of a mom she was.
Around 4:30 a.m. November 10, 2025, officers from the New York Police Department responded to a call about an assault, NBC New York reported. Upon arrival, they found the body of 47-year-old Lopez. She had been stabbed multiple times. Lopez was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
“There was a lot of blood, trails of blood, a big puddle,” a person named Ronald, who lives on the fourth floor of Lopez’s building, told the outlet. “Like all over the place, like she was running, then stopped in the middle. She probably collapsed.”
Another neighbor called Lopez “friendly,” according to CBS News. “She’ll say, ‘Good morning.’ I could help her with her bags and she would accept my help, things like that. She was was just nice, a nice person,” the neighbor added.
According to authorities, Lopez was stabbed in the chest 18 times at least, PIX 11 reported. A maintainance worker was reportedly the one to find her and call 911.
It is believed that Carmen Lopez’s killer may have been her ex-boyfriend. Police were able to get surveillance footage from the building, which showed a masked man lying in wait for nearly two hours before Lopez came home, PIX 11 reported.
Later in the day on November 10, a man showed up at the hospital with cut hands. He was allegedly wearing clothing from the apartment. Soon after, he was in police custody.
On November 11 around 4 p.m., police arrested 41-year-old Luis Marquez. He was charged with murdering Carmen Lopez, NBC New York reported.
“She was yelling, ‘Stop, Luis, stop, Luis, stop, Luis,’” the building’s porter, Lyron Middleton told PIX 11. “The person came out, he went past me with a mask on… this person, I let him go past, and I’m upset about that.”
With Marquez now in police custody, the family can focus on getting through the holiday season while dealing with this massive loss. “She was a great mother and a great human being. She loved our family, and she loved life,” sister Lucy Lopez told the New York Daily News.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter (domesticshelters.org).
