by Brown County Crime Reporter, Nov 21, 2015
Brown County court officials confirmed Friday, Nov 20 the grand jury is deliberating over evidence against suspected hitman Tommy Lopez in the 2013 murder of Brittany Stykes.
Court documents released in September revealed Lopez was implicated in the case by an ex-girlfriend, who said she was with him when he shot Brittany Stykes.
According to the ex-girlfriend, Lopez accepted two payments of $10,000 for the murder, which was meant as retaliation over a debt Stykes’ husband Shane allegedly owed.
The ex-girlfriend waited nearly two years to come forward out of fear, but eventually decided to speak to investigators after Lopez was jailed in Kentucky on drug charges.
She was quoted as saying she knew Lopez had killed at least three other people, disposing the body of one in a woodchipper and burying another in a cemetery.
Shortly before the Stykes murder, she said, Lopez murdered 18-year-old Michaela Briede in her Fort Mitchell, Ky home. The motive may have been robbery.
One man, the ex-girlfriend alleged, was killed by Lopez because he had sold drugs to a previous girlfriend that died of an overdose.
At some point after Lopez was contracted to murder Brittany Stykes, he allegedly traveled with his ex-girlfriend to Brown County on Aug 28, 2013, and ambushed Stykes by using flashing blue lights to impersonate a police officer conducting a traffic stop on her.
She was traveling home in her Jeep along US-68 for her father’s birthday when Stykes would first meet Lopez, according to the ex-girlfriend.
The ex-girlfriend said Lopez exited his vehicle and shot Stykes several times after she pulled over.
Aubree Stykes, her then 1-year-old daughter, was seriously injured from a bullet that exited through Brittany’s chest and hit her head just above the eyebrows. Aubree had to undergo four brain surgeries, local media station WCPO reported.
Shane Stykes, the husband of Brittany Stykes and alleged catalyst in leading up to her death, told WCPO in 2014 that he has ‘known since day one’ who killed his wife, but could not provide the evidence to prove it.
If the Brown County grand jury finds there is enough evidence to proceed with a case, Lopez could be charged with the murder of Brittany Stykes, the murder of her unborn child, and the attempted murder of her daughter Aubree.
The Brown County Court of Common Pleas is expected to announce the results of the deliberations between Dec 3 and Dec 17.
Lopez’ ex-girlfriend that helped shed light on the case will not be charged due to being a witness, court officials said.
Information on the individual who may have contracted the Brittany Stykes murder has not been made available.
–Brown County Crime Reporter Nov 21, 2015 2:55 AM EST
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Brown County Crime Reporter 
The girlfriend should face charges too but at least she eventually helped give up Tommy Lopez.
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Why didn’t the husband not move the family before this happened or at least let her know what might happen because of his deal. He knew that something like this could happen to him instead of her. To me that implicates him in all this. Sad day for all involved that an innocent mother and future baby died at the hands of a cold blooded murderer if this story holds up and the life that has been forever altered in the daughter. I feel sorry for the daughter left behind because when she gets older she is going to want to know what happened to her mother and how will it feel to know that her dad was part of the reason.
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Im from this area and this was something I shared on Facebook last year… that Justice was prevailing…. that her mUrder was being caught..now I don’t see any new evidence where anybody was caught convicted or anything whoever murdered this woman and unborn child should beBrought toJustice. her life does matter. so what is the latest on this case are they going to solve it has it been solVed
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