Jonathan Diaz Found Guilty of Murder

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Story Published: Feb 15, 2008 at 7:23 PM PDT

By Maria Medina

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YAKIMA -- Jurors took one day to come back with a guilty verdict in the trial of a man accused of murdering a woman because of a stolen car.

Jonathan Diaz was found guilty of second degree murder Friday.

Investigators found Aracely Lopez's burned body in a remote area of the Yakama Indian Reservation several years ago.

Diaz and his ex-girlfriend, Luisa Sanchez, accused Lopez of stealing a friend's car.

A confrontation turned physical when Lopez threatened to hurt Sanchez's children, Sanchez said when she took the stand in Diaz's trial. The pair had bound and gagged Lopez, but when she tried to escape out of a window Diaz strangled her with a tank top.

Sanchez has already plead guilty to the murder and is awaiting sentencing.

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