Photo: Black and Missing Foundation
A Maryland man has been charged with the murder of 19-year-old DaCara Thompson, a Black teen who went missing over two weeks ago.
According to NBC Washington, 35-year-old Hugo Hernandez-Mendez is facing charges of first and second-degree murder after police found evidence linking him to Thompson’s death. He is currently being held without bond.
“We believe the body found in Anne Arundel County is that of Dacara Thompson,” Prince George’s County Police Chief George Nader said at a press conference on Wednesday (September 3).
Thompson's cause of death is pending confirmation from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, but it is expected to be ruled a homicide.
Thompson’s family last saw her the night of August 22, when she told her father she was going out to get gas. Her car was found the next day, parked near a fire station, with her phone and key fob missing.
“She said she’d be right back,” the victim's father said. “I’m scared but still hopeful.”
Surveillance video shows Thompson entering a black SUV early on August 23. The SUV was later traced to a home on Kembridge Drive in Bowie, where Hernandez-Mendez lived. Detectives executed a search warrant there and discovered evidence that Thompson was killed in his bedroom.
Authorities are still investigating how he and Thompson may have known each other.
Police said Hernandez-Mendez is in the country illegally and was arrested in April by U.S. Park Police for DUI, but was released pending trial. On Thursday (September 4), ICE issued an immigration detainer.
“This is still an active and evolving investigation,” Nader said. “We are committed to getting justice for Dacara and her family.”
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