A crazed dad allegedly drove hours across Texas to gun down the couple who adopted his 7-year-old daughter, according to cops.
Norman Lee Johnson, 42, has been charged with capital murder for the Jan. 12 shooting deaths of Christopher and Trinette Lopez, 52-year-old high school sweethearts who had been married for 28 years.
Christopher Lopez was shot in the face, while his wife — the accused killer’s cousin — was found with two gunshot wounds to her head as well as another to her left hand.
“The motive likely stemmed from custodial issues,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said, noting that the “suspect is the biological father of the victims’ adoptive juvenile daughter.”
Johnson allegedly drove at least two-and-a-half hours from Harris County to the Lopezes’ home in Katy. One of the bodies was found in the living room and the other in the kitchen.
Investigators eyed Johnson because of previous threats he had made connected to his daughter, who he lost after a years-long custody battle, according to KTRK. It was not immediately clear exactly when they adopted her.
He had been blocked from seeing the girl without going through child protection services, and was charged with harassment in 2024 for an earlier threat to kill Christopher over the custody dispute, according to court records seen by the outlet.
Johnson was charged with harassment in October 2024, according to court records seen by KTRK-TV.
“I hope he is judged to the fullest extent of the law,” the Lopezes’ adult daughter, Kristina Rayston, told the outlet.
“My family took his daughter in when he lost custody. We raised her, loved her, and kept her safe. We were repaid by him taking their lives, and taking away the family his daughter loved and trusted.”
Johnson was arrested on Tuesday before being booked into a Williamson County jail.
“My family took his daughter in when he lost custody. We raised her, loved her, and kept her safe. We were repaid by him taking their lives, and taking away the family his daughter loved and trusted,” Rayson added.
