A Minnesota Teen Believed Her Boyfriend Cheated. So She Fatally Shot Him in the Neck During an Argument.

A 17-year-old high school student in Minnesota was fatally shot by his girlfriend in 2023. Now, a judge has sentenced the girlfriend for her involvement in the shooting.

Manuel Bernal Jurado recently was pronounced dead after his friends rushed him to an area hospital following the deadly incident in Chanhassen on Feb. 2, 2023, according to the Carver County Sheriff's Office.

A criminal complaint filed in the case says Vanessa Sanchez-Lopez and three others, including Jurado, drove from St. Paul to a residence in Chanhassen that night.

Witnesses in the car said the couple had been arguing all evening, with the defendant accusing Jurado of cheating.

Witnesses told police that at one point, Sanchez-Lopez grabbed a handgun, pointed it directly at Jurado's head and fired.

Sanchez-Lopez then panicked, asking others in the vehicle, "What the (expletive) do we do, I don't want to bring him, cuz I don't want to go the (expletive) to prison."

Despite Sanchez-Lopez's concerns, officials said the victim was rushed to Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina.

Police, however, were following the speeding vehicle to the hospital and found Jurado's body in the back seat.

Sanchez-Lopez at first denied shooting Jurado and said it was an accident. She eventually admitted to pointing the gun at his neck and intentionally pulling the trigger, but claimed she did not know the gun was loaded.

She also denied arguing with Jurado during the evening.

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On March 29, a judge sentenced Sanchez-Lopez to 20 years in prison after she was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting, KARE reported.

In a statement following the sentencing, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said, "This entirely avoidable tragedy resulted in the tragic loss of a 17-year-old child who had his whole life in front of him: a tremendous loss to his family and friends."