A 41-year-old father from Indianapolis, Zachary Arnold, has been arrested after he admitted to killing his 5-year-old daughter, Zara Arnold. The incident happened on May 19, and the details from police and court records are deeply disturbing.
At first, Arnold told police that Zara had fallen down the stairs and wasn’t breathing. But later, when questioned by detectives, he confessed that he strangled his daughter after getting into an argument with his girlfriend.
The girlfriend, Andrea Lopez-Figueroa, confirmed that the two had been arguing. She also told police that she saw Arnold choking Zara during a video call. According to court records, Arnold had sent her photos of Zara foaming at the mouth and even called her while he was hurting the child.
Though Lopez-Figueroa told him to stop, she admitted she didn’t call the police. She later said she was scared of Arnold. Investigators also found videos on her phone showing Arnold abusing Zara—some of which dated back to April. One video even showed him swinging Zara around with a noose.
When emergency responders arrived at Arnold’s home on May 19, they found Zara cold, bruised, and unresponsive. Arnold later admitted to strangling her the night before because he was upset that his girlfriend didn’t want to stay and help take care of the child.
Police said that the abuse went on for hours and that Lopez-Figueroa watched it happen on FaceTime but never called for help. She even took screenshots and recorded some of the violence. She told officers she thought they were “just playing” but also admitted she saw Zara motionless and bleeding by the end of the night.
The next morning, Arnold called her again while trying to do CPR on Zara. At 11:07 a.m., he texted Lopez-Figueroa to say that Zara had died. She was brought in for questioning shortly afterward.
A search of her phone showed multiple messages, calls, and videos from May 18 and 19. Some videos showed Arnold choking his daughter even before that day. In one clip, he picked her up by a noose, threw her over his shoulder, and held her behind his back. Police said she was still alive in those videos.
Now, Lopez-Figueroa is also facing charges. A warrant has been issued for her arrest for helping Arnold and failing to report the abuse.
Arnold had his first court appearance on May 22 and was denied bond. Prosecutors plan to seek life in prison without parole. This wasn’t his first brush with the law—Arnold had a rape charge dismissed in 2020 and had broken restraining orders multiple times, including one from Zara’s mother.
Just one week before Zara’s death, Arnold had pleaded guilty to a privacy-related crime and was sentenced to 360 days in jail. But that sentence was suspended, and he was allowed to return home.
On May 21, the coroner confirmed Zara’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and ruled it a homicide.
Arnold is currently in jail and may face more charges. He told police that his girlfriend’s actions pushed him to this point and that she made him “look like a monster.”
