By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-19 14:33:11 | Updated at 2024-11-23 14:21:53
4 days ago
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of an Arizona woman who was found dead in a burning car.
The body of Mercedes Vega, 22, was discovered in the back of a vehicle in the Tonopah area in April last year.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office announced they have arrested Sencere Hayes, 22, in Tennessee in connection with her death.
Vega was found at the side of 1-10 a day on April 17, 2023 after she went missing from the Tempe area.
Her cause of death was listed as smoke inhalation and burns, but she had also suffered a gunshot wound, blunt force trauma and had bleach in her throat according to the medical examiner.
She was last seen walking to her car in the garage of her Tempe apartment, but her body was found in a different vehicle.
Vega' mom Erika and stepfather Tom Pillsbury said Hayes' arrest has brought them some relief.
'I lost it. I had to leave; I was at work. I went outside and screamed for her and said, ‘Mercedes, they got him for you. You’re going to be vindicated,’” he told AZ Family.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Arizona woman Mercedes Vega who was found dead in a burning car
'I think she is dancing,' Erica added when asked what they think Vega would make of the development in the case.
'She mattered so much to me and she mattered to other people.'
The couple said they were told by the police that Hayes was not known to Vega.
They speculated whether their daughter's murder could be linked to an armed robbery which she was a victim of the October before her death.
Vega had identified Cudjoe Young as the man responsible after picking him out of a photo lineup.
The Sheriff's Office said Young was out of custody at the time of Vega's death, but that his ankle monitor did not place him at the scene of the crime.
Vega vanished after telling friends she was going out to meet another set of friends.
Her disappearance sparked a frantic manhunt, but she was found dead a day after she disappeared.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office announced they have arrested Sencere Hayes, 22, in Tennessee in connection with her death
Vega was last seen walking to her car in the garage of her Tempe apartment, but her body was found in a different vehicle
Her cause of death was listed as smoke inhalation and burns, but she had also suffered a gunshot wound and had bleach in her throat according to the medical examiner
Police discovered blood around her parking spot in her garage, leading family to believe she was attacked there.
Vega was found inside a Chevy Malibu on Interstate 10, roughly 53 miles west of Phoenix.
The Sheriff's Office is now working with officials in Tennessee to get Hayes extradited across state lines.
The murder investigation is ongoing, according to the police who said more arrests are expected.
