Roman Lopez's stepmother sentenced to life with possibility of parole

El Dorado County resident Lindsay Piper appeared in an El Dorado County courtroom last week where she was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in 15 years for the killing of her 11-year-old stepson, Roman Lopez, in Placerville two years ago. Lindsay Piper changed her plea to no contest to second-degree murder in May, according to the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office. Roman's father, Jordan Piper, and Lindsay Piper were arrested in February 2021 on charges that initially included child abuse, poisoning and torture. Murder charges were filed against the pair the following October. At the time of Roman's death, the child was living in a home with the Pipers and seven other children whose ages ranged from 1 to 17 years old. The family had recently moved to Placerville and had only been in the house for a little over two months before Roman's death. Roman was reported missing in January 2020. He was found dead hours later in a storage bin in the family's home basement and police said at the time that his death was suspicious and authorities were investigating. Both Jordan Piper and Lindsay Piper pleaded not guilty. Although an autopsy conducted revealed no obvious trauma, authorities said that Roman was found to be "severely malnourished and dehydrated at the time of his death." Last month, authorities announced that Jordan Piper was also under investigation for child pornography. While federal agents were investigating the death of Roman Lopez, more than 400 nude photos of an underage girl were discovered on Jordan Piper's phone, documents show. It also appears that he sent inappropriate text messages to the girl.