Out in America is reporting that the grisly murder of gay teen Jorge Steven Lopez will be processed as a federal hate crime.

“The U.S. Attorney for the district Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez, just announced to the press that they are monitoring the local case against Juan Martínez Matos, the confessed killer of gay teen Jorge Steven López to make sure that it is processed as a hate crime. According to Rodríguez, if the local courts do not process this as a hate crime, then her office will file federal hate crime charges. ‘We are vigilant of the investigation conducted by the Puerto Rican Justice Department, but the Matthew Shepard, law, which is the federal hate crimes law, puts us in a subsidiary role because if there is a local investigation, we have to wait and be vigilant that the proper procedures are followed,’ said Rodríguez, who added that if at the local level the killer is not accused of hate crime, or is found guilty or not guilty, federal authorities could still intervene. ‘We’re very alert to that,’ said Rodríguez, who expressed that she thinks that the case is being worked adequately.”

Martinez Matos has reportedly confessed to stabbing Lopez, dismembering his body and then setting him on fire. If he is tried on federal hate crimes charges, he will be the first to face such charges since President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act into law in October.