BIG SPRING, Texas (AP) - A relative of a 6-year-old girl has been charged with murder after allegedly
raping and strangling the girl and then setting a fire in the room she was in, authorities said Tuesday.
Miguel Lopez Jr., 18, of Clovis, N.M., was arrested near the home about 30 minutes after the fire was
reported early Sunday morning.
Lopez, who had been staying with family for a few days, remained jailed Tuesday on $1 million bond.
The girl, Maria Conchita Nieto, and Lopez are cousins, Big Spring Police Chief Lonnie Smith said
Tuesday. The girl lives in Big Spring but did not reside in the home where she was killed, he said. She
too was visiting relatives, Smith said.
Lopez's arrest came after family members named him as a suspect, Big Spring police Lt. Terry
Chamness said.
Several people were in the house at the time of the fire, and family members put it out by the time
firefighters arrived, Big Spring police Sgt. Roger Sweatt said. The fire caused only minor damage and
was confined to one room, officials said.
Howard County Justice of the Peace Bennie Green released preliminary autopsy results Tuesday that
showed the girl was raped and strangled. A final report from the medical examiner's office in Lubbock
probably will take about a month, Green said.
