 | DEPARTMENT OF POLICE MEDIA SERVICES DIVISION
2350 RESEARCH BOULEVARD ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850-3294 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2011 | FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Media Services Division, 240-773-5030 |
Update Update Update Update
Curtis Lopez Indicted on Five Charges
Allegations Relate to Homicides of Mother and Son
John J. McCarthy, State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, and Tom Manger, Chief of Police for Montgomery County Department of Police are announcing today that a Montgomery County Grand Jury has indicted Curtis Lopez, 45 years old, on five charges related to the deaths of 51-year-old Jane McQuain and her 11-year-old son, William McQuain, both of Germantown. Lopez is now charged with two counts each of murder and kidnapping and one count of robbery. The robbery count relates to the stealing of Jane McQuain’s vehicle and other personal property. The kidnapping counts relate to the taking of William McQuain from a friend’s home and then to numerous places in Montgomery County before killing him in a wooded area in Clarksburg.
The case began in early October after Jane McQuain failed to come to work after her supervisor had received a terse text message from Jane McQuain’s phone. It is now believed that Curtis Lopez sent that message. On October 12, 2011, officers from the 5th District responded to Ms. McQuain’s apartment on Briar Cliff Terrace in Germantown when a friend reported her missing. Assisted by Fire/Rescue personnel, officers climbed into a window of the second floor apartment and found Ms. McQuain deceased in her bed. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore revealed that Ms. McQuain had suffered blunt force trauma to her head in addition to two stab wounds to her back. Further investigation revealed that Jane McQuain’s 2011 Honda CRV was missing along with a flat screen TV and an inherited lamp. An investigation regarding the whereabouts of William McQuain was also begun.
Curtis Lopez, Jane McQuain’s estranged husband, was arrested the next day in Charlotte, North Carolina where he was in possession of Jane McQuain’s vehicle. The investigation into the whereabouts of William McQuain included a massive search for the 11-year-old. On October 18, a cadaver dog located the remains of William McQuain in a wooded area in Clarksburg. His skull had been crushed. A baseball bat, thought to be the murder weapon, was found nearby. Surveillance footage from a nearby gas station dated October 1, 2011 showed Curtis Lopez and William McQuain together. This is the date it is alleged that Curtis Lopez murdered William McQuain.
Arraignment for Curtis Lopez is tentatively set for January 6, 2012. Inquiries can be directed to Deputy State’s Attorney John Maloney at 240-777-7392.