(BIVN) – A 67 year-old California man, accused of stabbing his girlfriend at a Waikoloa resort in September 2022, has been sentenced to 20-year prison term. 

Prosecutors report Richard Lopez was visiting Hawai‘i Island with his 64 year-old girlfriend of seventeen years in September 2022, when he stabbed her multiple times with a steak knife at the Waikoloa Beach Marriot Resort. 

From the office of Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen:

On March 14, 2025, Lopez, who remained in custody for the duration of these criminal proceedings in lieu of $1,000,000.00 bail, appeared in Kona Circuit Court for sentencing. After reviewing the presentence investigation report and hearing arguments by the parties, Lopez was sentenced to a twenty-year prison term for the offense of Attempted Manslaughter. The Court further ordered that Lopez also serve a mandatory minimum of six years and eight months.

Attempted Manslaughter is a class A felony offense which carries a maximum penalty of a twenty-year prison term.

Previously, on December 27, 2024, Lopez appeared in Kona Circuit Court where he asserted the affirmative defense of Attempted Manslaughter after entering a “Guilty” plea to the charge of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. The court accepted his submission that he was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the incident.

The investigation was initiated by South Kohala Patrol, and the felony investigation was handled by Detectives Scott A. Dewey and Brandon Mansur, Area II Juvenile Aid Section, and members of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section, Hawai‘i Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Kaua Jackson and Kate Perazich.

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney remains dedicated to the pursuit of justice with integrity and commitment. Anyone having information to assist local law enforcement should call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.