ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. – The man accused of killing a 19-year-old woman claims that she hired him to kill her on Craigslist, according to an arrest affidavit obtained on Monday.
Joseph Michael Lopez, 22, was arrested in connection with the death of Natalie Bollinger on Thursday.
Lopez told investigators that sometime after Christmas, he came upon an ad on Craigslist titled “I want to put a hit on myself” while looking at the “Woman seeking Men” category, according to the affidavit. Lopez claims the ad was posted by Bollinger.
Inside the document, Lopez claims that he met with Bollinger and they discussed how she wanted to die. He claims that she “wanted to be on her knees and executed from behind.”
An autopsy conducted by the Adams County coroner said Bollinger died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The report also said she had a history of heroin and methamphetamine use. The report said that at the time of her death, she had a “potentially lethal level of heroin in the blood.”
Lopez claims in the affidavit that he tried to talk Bollinger out of it, but that she wanted to end her life because of issues with her boyfriend.
After initially denying pulling the trigger, Lopez admitted to killing Bollinger after detectives showed him GPS data from his phone placing him at the scene, the affidavit said.
He said Bollinger “knelt down on the ground and that he knelt down along her left side and slightly in front of her.” He says that they said a prayer together before he shot her, according to the affidavit.
He then left the scene with Bollinger’s purse and the gun.
Bollinger’s body was found along a dirt road by a passerby on Dec. 29 in Adams County.
Bollinger was reported missing from Broomfield. The body was discovered in a wooded area along Riverdale Road near McIntosh Dairy.
Investigators have said her death was being investigated as a homicide.
Bollinger left her home after speaking to a family member and had not been seen since, the Broomfield Police Department said.
Lopez is scheduled in court on Wednesday.
