Authorities introduced the arrest on Monday brutal murder of an exotic dancer whose physique was found in a burning automotive on an Arizona freeway greater than a 12 months in the past.
Sencere Hayes, 22, was taken into custody Nov. 11 in Tennessee in reference to the April 17, 2023, murder of Mercedes Vega, 22, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office mentioned in an announcement.
The sheriff’s workplace and native prosecutors are working to extradite Hayes to Arizona, the assertion mentioned, including that the case stays open and beneath investigation and that no additional data will likely be launched.
It is unclear what Hayes has been charged with, the place he’s being held or whether or not he has an legal professional to talk on his behalf.
Vega’s mom, Erika Pillsbury, mentioned that for 19 months she felt like her daughter would by no means see justice.
“Now I do know that the one who did this to her goes to pay for it,” Pillsbury mentioned by cellphone Monday.
Mercedes Vega.
Vega’s physique was found within the backseat of a Chevy Malibu early April 17, on the shoulder of Interstate 10 close to Tonopah, about 52 miles west of Phoenix, in line with the sheriff’s crash report. Vega, who carried out at a Phoenix strip membership and deliberate to change into a private coach, had been crushed, shot and burned, in line with her post-mortem.
His face appeared to have been doused in bleach, in line with a forensic pathologist who reviewed his post-mortem for NBC News.
Mercedes Vega security video.
Hours earlier, a safety digital camera at Vega’s residence advanced confirmed her coming into the storage the place she had parked her Dodge Charger, in line with video obtained by NBC News. There is not any additional information of her. On April 18, the Charger was discovered in the midst of a street a few mile from Vega’s residence, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. It’s unclear how the automobile acquired there. Authorities declined to remark.
Vega’s household mentioned they discovered blood on the storage ground close to the place she parked, prompting them to imagine she might have been attacked and kidnapped. The sheriff’s workplace declined to remark.
According to the crash report, the Malibu through which Vega’s physique was discovered had a salvage title and had beforehand been registered to an individual who couldn’t be reached for remark.
A spokesperson for the automotive’s most up-to-date proprietor, State Farm Insurance, declined to remark, citing its buyer privateness coverage and “the sensitivity surrounding this tragedy.”
The 911 caller who reported the automotive fireplace noticed somebody strolling across the Malibu, in line with the report, which supplied no additional particulars concerning the particular person.
This article was initially revealed on NBCNews.com
