Slain SPC Student Remembered as Fun, Caring

 Ray Buffington, editor-in-chief

Family and friends of Michele Lovato remember her as an outgoing, free spirit with much potential in her future. Unfortunately, the chance to reach that potential was stolen from her as she was stolen from her friends and family.

South Plains College experienced a tragic loss two weeks ago, Nov. 12, due to an act of extreme domestic violence. Michele, 27, an SPC second-semester nursing student from Lubbock, was kidnapped, beaten, and murdered by estranged husband Steven Lovato, 29.

The event occurred around 3 a.m., when Steven appeared at Michele’s home and began to pound on her door, demanding entrance. Michele refused and called the police. However, Steven was able to break into her house and force her to leave with him, threatening her with a knife from her own kitchen, before law enforcement members arrived.

A few hours later, Steven phoned a family member and confessed to killing Michele. The family member immediately called the police and gave them the directions to Steven’s whereabouts.

Once the police found Steven, he led them to the location, near the intersection of 106^th Street and Chicago Avenue, where he had left the van he had kidnapped Michele in. Inside the van, police found Michele’s body, badly beaten and stabbed repeatedly in the chest.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, a Lubbock grand jury indicted Lovato with a capital murder charge. Since the killing is only his first offense, Michele’s friends and family members were fearful that Lovato wouldn’t receive the maximum charge. But since he had also been accused of kidnapping Michele, the jury decided to declare the highest crime possible.

Now that the jury has concluded that there was enough evidence for the case to go to trial, Lovato will face life in prison or the death penalty if found guilty.

Michele is fondly remembered by her friends and nursing schoolmates as a fun, outgoing, and caring person who enjoyed dancing and going out.

Amanda Sanchez, a sophomore nursing student at SPC and friend of Michele, spoke of how Michele used to always be the first one out on the dance floor at a club, or even made her own dance floor in the classroom.

“She loved just to have fun,” Sanchez said in a recent interview. “She was always on the phone texting, or talking… She was really outgoing.”

Annalaine Mitchell, a second-semester nursing student at SPC and also a friend of Michele, says while Michele did have a wild side, she had a nurturing one too.

“She was so determined to be a nurse, she was so generous and helpful…,” Mitchell said during an interview. “She just liked to help people. She would have been a great nurse.

“She loved having fun…dancing and anything crazy… but she also loved her kids,” Mitchell added. “That’s what I loved about her. She was trying to go to school to better herself, then trying to be a mom, and then trying to take care of the divorce…”

Both Sanchez and Mitchell recall how Lovato had harassed Michele constantly before the fateful night of her death.

“She was always scared and didn’t show it,” Sanchez said. “One time, he got her phone bill and called all the numbers on it to figure out what guys she was talking too. She started getting really scared after that.”

“He would call her a lot of times,” Mitchell said. “I would tell her just to not talk to him, but it was hard for her because they still had to see each other because of the kids, because he still had visiting rights. He was obsessed… he didn’t want anyone else to have her. She always told me she was afraid of him because of what he might do… and the worse thing that could happen did happen.”

The funeral service commenced at the Living Word Of Faith on Nov. 16 and the burial was held at Peaceful Gardens Cemetery.

Michele is survived by a brother, a sister, and three children ranging from the ages of 3 to 9.

In order to help out future schooling for Michele’s children, her friends and family have set up a fund at American State Bank.

“We just wanted to set up something to help the kids when they start getting older since, now, they don’t have a mom or dad,” Mitchell said. “It is such a sad thing. The littlest one doesn’t even really know what happened.”

Donations can be made by person or by phone to the Michele Lovato Fund at any ASB location.