Kimberly Lopez's grandmother sentenced to 180 days in jail for covering up girl's death

The grandmother of Oxnard girl Kimberly Lopez was sentenced Tuesday to 180 days in jail and three years of probation for conspiring to conceal the 3-year-old’s death from authorities. 

Maria De Jesus Lopez, 45, of Oxnard, took a plea agreement with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office on March 13 in which she agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense and an unrelated misdemeanor in exchange for no more than 180 days in jail. The court had discretion to honor the agreement and possibly sentence Lopez to less jail time. 

“... It’s not going to be any less than 180 days,” said Bruce Young, the Ventura County Superior Court judge who ordered the grandmother’s sentence. 

Previous coverage of the Kimberly Lopez case: 

• Father of missing Oxnard girl changes plea, agrees to testify against child’s mother
• Jury finds mother of missing Oxnard girl guilty of murdering daughter
• Foster dad of missing Oxnard girl Kimberly Lopez hopes her story can bring change
• Missing Oxnard girl’s father testifies about destroying daughter’s remains

According to the complaint, Kimberly’s parents, Mayra Chavez, 27, and Omar Lopez, 34, came to the grandmother’s Oxnard house in June 2015 after Kimberly had died. The grandmother told the parents to go to Mexico to get rid of the body and hide, according to authorities. She lent them money and a car, continued to support them as they hid in Tijuana and lied to law enforcement about Kimberly’s whereabouts, according to authorities. 

Authorities said they learned in August 2017 that Kimberly had died after hurting her head while Chavez tried to change the girl’s pants. Kimberly suffered two seizures after she was injured and her parents sought no medical treatment. She died that night and they drove to Mexico to bury her body. The parents later went back to dig up her body and destroy her remains, which have not been found. 

By the time law enforcement officers learned how Kimberly died, the parents had been held in jail on contempt since Oct. 7, 2016, for failing to tell authorities where Kimberly was or what happened to her. They were later charged with perjury for the statements they made in dependency court.

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Ventura County Children and Family Services staff reported Kimberly missing in September 2016 after getting information that something might be wrong. Social workers had been in and out of the girl’s life since she was born and tested positive for drugs. They would again intervene in her life when authorities found injuries all over her body. 

Kimberly was living with her parents at the time of her death. 

Until the grandmother was arrested in July 2018, Kimberly’s parents were the only ones charged in connection with her death. 

Like Kimberly’s grandmother, Omar Lopez took a deal with Ventura County prosecutors. His deal included lesser charges for pleading guilty to child endangerment and perjury in exchange for his testimony about the years of abuse Kimberly suffered at the hands of her mother. He was also charged with second-degree murder, but that offense is expected to be dismissed by prosecutors as part of the deal. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 20. 

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A jury found Chavez guilty in December of second-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and torture stemming from 2013 physical abuse allegations. She pleaded guilty April 11 to multiple counts of perjury. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 30. 

“There’s not one good decision made by anybody in this whole mess,” said Ron Bamieh, the grandmother’s defense attorney. 

But his client was not involved in the “unspeakable crime” underlying the grandmother’s case, he said. 

The judge said he was familiar with the circumstances of the case. He was the judge who heard Omar Lopez’s change of plea in April 2018. 

At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Young said the dependency court relied on Kimberly’s grandmother to supervise visits between the mother and child. He said he was disturbed by the “callousness” of Maria Lopez’s actions. 

Among her probation terms is to stay away from Omar Lopez and Mayra Chavez. But she was also ordered not to associate with children under 18 unless a responsible adult is around to supervise. 

MORE:Formerly tortured children speak out: 'I still have nightmares'

“Her entire conduct was grotesque,” Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick said.

Most people think of someone who is kind and warm when they hear the term “grandmother,” Barrick said. He called Maria Lopez the exact opposite of that. 

Bamieh, her attorney, said she was just trying to protect her daughter. Barrick said that in the end, she was trying to protect herself.  

The grandmother was not taken into custody at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. She is supposed to return to Courtroom 12 on May 29 to be remanded to jail. 

Megan Diskin is a courts and breaking news reporter with The Star. Reach her at megan.diskin@vcstar.com or 805-437-0258.