She put an ad out on Craigslist, he says
19-year-old Natalie Bollinger's body was found in a wooded area in Colorado on December 29, 2017, a day after she was reported missing by her family and boyfriend.
The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to Bollinger's head, and the man in custody for her murder says she wanted to die — so badly that she actually put out a Craigslist ad titled "I want to put a hit on myself." 22-year-old Dominos Pizza employee Joseph Lopez, says killing Bollinger was just following her instructions.
Natalie Bollinger posted this picture of herself on Facebook in 2015.
In a newly released affidavit, Lopez says he and Bollinger discussed the details of her death. He says she wanted to die "on her knees… executed from behind.” Lopez also claims Bollinger wanted to end her life because of "issues she had with her boyfriend."
Police found around a hundred text messages exchanged between Bollinger and Lopez, which he claims were all discussions about her Women Seeking Men Craigslist ad. Lopez says he was using a "fake hitman persona" the entire time leading up to her actual murder.
According to Lopez, he and Bollinger drove out into the woods until they found a suitable spot for the killing. He says they knelt down beside each other, said a prayer together, then he stood up, closed his eyes and shot her once in the head.
Bollinger had a history of hard drug abuse, and was found with a "potentially lethal dose of heroin" in her system when she died, according to her autopsy report. Lopez has been charged with first-degree murder, and remains in police custody.