An Auburn man is scheduled to be sentenced in March after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder with an intimate partner for the 2021 killing of his girlfriend at a Kent hotel.
Phillip Jonathan Lopez faces a sentencing hearing in King County Superior Court at 9 a.m. March 21 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. A jury found him guilty Dec. 31, 2024. Lopez remains in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle.
Lopez beat to death Amber M. Keith, 33, on June 14, 2021 at the Ramada Inn, 22318 84th Ave. S., according to charging documents. Lopez was 36 at the time of the killing.
A hotel security employee called 911 at about 10:56 a.m. to report a “very violent” situation and “we have someone getting murdered in 214,” according to charging papers.
It took Kent Police 52 minutes to respond. Officers were diverted to another call about a report of someone with a knife.
The security member called 911 again at about 11:26 a.m. regarding the time delay and expressing imminent concern for the woman’s safety. He said the man “was really beating her really bad.”
At 11:43 a.m., Lopez called 911 to report his girlfriend, Keith, had overdosed on opiates and was not conscious and not breathing. He said she had been unconscious for about 5 minutes prior to his call.
At around 11:48 a.m., while Lopez was still on the phone with 911, the 911 call receiver instructed him to open the hotel door for King County medics to enter and he complied.
Two Kent Police officers arrived moments later, according to court documents, 52 minutes after the initial 911 call.
An internal investigation by Kent-based Valley Communications (Valley Comm) into the slow response showed “dispatchers handled two 911 calls “appropriately per policies.”
After the killing, with a concern over “missing” information in an incident that may have changed the Kent Police Department’s response, Kent Police contacted Valley Comm, according to an inquiry synopsis obtained by the Kent Reporter through a public disclosure request.
The Valley Comm internal investigation, including interviews with the dispatcher by a supervisor, determined the inquiry to be “unfounded” that more information should have been shared.
Medics found Keith lying supine on the floor with blood coming from her nose and mouth and she did not have a pulse. Lopez was the only other person in the room. Medics attempted lifesaving measures, but pronounced Keith dead at 12:07 p.m.
Police arrested Lopez at the hotel. Officers observed fresh cuts on his left hand and blood on his face and that he was sweating profusely. Those observations and the initial report of a fight in the room led officers to detain Lopez.
Lopez told detectives during an interview at the Kent Police Station that he had been dating Keith for about seven years. He said she had overdosed on opiates and he tried to perform CPR. He claimed he did not hit Keith and that they had not been fighting. After about 20 minutes, detectives noted Lopez became frustrated with the amount of questions and requested an attorney, which stopped the interview.
A hotel housekeeper initially reported to security about a disturbance in room 214. The security officer went to the room and heard sounds of a violent struggle. He listened for about 2 minutes before calling 911 the first time.
The hotel security officer and a front desk staff member knocked on the room door, but nobody opened it. They tried using an electronic master key, but they were unable to bypass the interior security swing latch.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the hotel room and found nearly $30,000 in cash as well as drugs with an estimated street value of $6,000, according to court documents. There were large amounts of suspected methamphetamine, heroin, Xanax and over 1,000 fentanyl pills. Detectives also found a loaded 9mm pistol concealed under a mattress.
Lopez had numerous felony convictions, including theft of a motor vehicle in 2019, third-degree assault in 2016 and first-degree theft in 2016. He also has numerous misdemeanor convictions from resisting arrest in 2018 and vehicle prowling in 2019.
An autopsy of Keith by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office showed bruising on her face, a cut above her eye and a bruise in the center of her neck near her throat. Hemorrhaging was found in the inner neck. The injuries were consistent with direct pressure to the neck and throat.
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