404: Stalked at the Club & Bleach Poured Down Her Throat | The Case of Mercedes Vega

Summary

Serialously with Annie Elise — Episode 404: Stalked at the Club & Bleach Poured Down Her Throat | The Case of Mercedes Vega

Date: June 1, 2026

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Overview

In this gripping and emotionally-charged episode, Annie Elise takes a deep dive into the harrowing case of Mercedes Vega — a 22-year-old woman found murdered in excruciating circumstances near Tonopah, Arizona, in April 2023. Through a blend of Annie’s signature conversational storytelling, victim’s family interviews, and methodical breakdown of evidence, the episode explores the overlooked details of both Mercedes’ life and the investigation that followed her shocking death.

The episode runs the gamut: from recounting Mercedes’ promising young life and her experience as a survivor of an earlier violent crime, to examining systemic failures in witness protection and the role that social stigma played in the perceived lack of urgency around her case, culminating in the eventual arrests and indictments of multiple suspects linked to a broader drug trafficking operation and a suspected conspiracy to silence Mercedes before she could testify.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Crime Scene and Discovery

• Timeline of Events

  • [02:42] On April 17, 2023, a truck driver reports a car fire on I-10 near Tonopah, Arizona.
  • Investigators find a burning Chevy Malibu with the body of Mercedes Vega in the rear seat.
  • Details emerge: she suffered blunt force injuries, had been shot in the arm, bleach was poured down her throat, and her cause of death was smoke inhalation and burns — meaning she was alive during the fire.

• Immediate Questions for Investigators

  • The Malibu was a salvaged car registered to State Farm Insurance (not Mercedes).
  • A witness (the truck driver) reports seeing someone at the scene prior to first responders’ arrival, suggesting a potential suspect on site.

Notable Quote:
"It was obvious that Mercedes had suffered an incredibly violent death... bleach had been poured down Mercedes’ throat. And honestly, this next part is incredibly difficult to hear... she was alive when the fire started and just consumed her."
— Annie Elise [04:11]

Mercedes’ Life: "A Promising Young Woman"

• Personal Background
  • Mercedes was described by her mother Erica and stepfather Tom as generous, beautiful, and driven.
  • She was a straight-A student, violinist, and dreamed of being a personal trainer and moving to Hawaii.
  • Lived independently in Tempe, Arizona at 22, supporting herself by dancing at the Lay Girls club.

Notable Quote:
"She didn't deserve what happened to her. Just doesn't seem real that she's gone. She was mine. The person that did this had no right to take her away."
— Mercedes' Mother, Erica [09:49]

• Stigma and Media Bias
  • The family and Annie discussed how her job as a dancer overshadowed who she was and negatively impacted the seriousness and attention her case received.
  • Erica vehemently rejects the reduction of her daughter’s identity to her profession.

Notable Quote:
"Yes, you danced a couple nights a week. That's not who she was... it wasn't who she was to the core."
— Erica [12:08]

Prior Trauma and Her Instincts

• Past Victimization ([17:04])
  • Mercedes was robbed and threatened at gunpoint outside her apartment in 2020, after a shift at the club—a traumatic incident which left her hypervigilant and determined to communicate her whereabouts to loved ones.

Notable Moment:
Annie relates her own experience having a gun pointed at her to communicate the enduring impact of such trauma and why Mercedes' disappearance immediately raised alarms for friends and family.
[18:47]

The Night Mercedes Disappeared

• Last Known Movements ([21:00])

  • On April 16, 2023, she cancelled plans with friends to pick up an extra shift at the club.
  • She stopped responding to messages that evening — highly uncharacteristic for her.

• Unsettling Details

  • Mercedes had texted a friend expressing a sense of foreboding: "I just feel weird, like maybe I shouldn't go anywhere." [22:56]

• The Search

  • A friend checked her apartment: no answer, car missing, but blood found in her assigned parking spot.

• Surveillance Evidence

  • Cameras showed Mercedes entering the parking garage at 9:17pm, alone and seemingly unaware, her last captured moments before her disappearance ([25:29]).

The Investigation and Family’s Frustration

• Stalled Progress
  • Despite some early evidence (blood, potential fingerprints, surveillance video), leads went cold as months passed.
  • Erica and Tom felt sidelined by investigators and blamed the stigma of Mercedes’ dancing for the lack of urgency.

Notable Quotes:
"It feels like my daughter doesn't matter to them."
— Tom [35:00]

"At the six month mark, I said, I’m not going to be quiet anymore. My child is dead."
— Erica [35:21]

• Public Awareness Campaign
  • Mercedes’ family turned to TikTok and media outreach, pressing for public accountability.

Break in the Case & Arrests

• First Arrest ([38:41])

  • November 11, 2024: Sincere Hayes, 22, is arrested in Tennessee and charged with 1st degree murder.
  • Unclear connection to Mercedes at first; later revealed links to a drug trafficking operation.

• Emotional Family Response

  • Erica: "I just about hit my knees. Just seemed so unreal... we got him." [39:35]
  • Tom: "It is the first step to get the rest of them. And now that he’s arrested, these people better be scared and better be looking over their shoulder cuz they're coming." [40:20]

• Further Arrests & Connections ([41:00])

  • June 2025: Jared Gray and Cujo Young are also arrested.
  • Cujo was Mercedes' prior assailant in the 2020 robbery; Mercedes had identified him in a police lineup and was expected to testify against him.

• The Murder-for-Silence Theory

  • Investigation reveals the killing was organized to prevent Mercedes from testifying in the armed robbery case against Cujo.
  • DNA and cellphone evidence place multiple suspects with the victim on the night of the murder.

Notable Quote:
"This wasn’t some random attack by strangers... it all traced back to that original robbery case."
— Annie Elise [44:29]

Systemic Issues: Witness Protection and Delays

• Annie on Witness Safety ([51:22])
  • Annie questions what is done to protect high-stakes witnesses in violent criminal cases, emphasizing repeated system failures.

Notable Quote:
"When you have these high stakes witnesses, what is the system doing to protect them?... Clearly, the high stakes witness would be in danger as well."
— Annie Elise [51:22]

Evidence and Prosecution’s Case

• Key Forensic Links ([47:01])
  • DNA from Sincere and Jared found in the burned Malibu.
  • Cellphone data traced suspects’ routes with the Malibu.
  • Surveillance evidenced premeditation and coordination.
  • Paper trail: suspects flew in from Tennessee around time of the murder.
  • Prosecutors allege: Cujo orchestrated the murder from jail, Sincere and Jared carried it out.

Notable Quotes:
"Technology and science is what did it, and... it's gonna be very difficult to beat the DNA and the fingerprints..."
— Erica [46:01]

• Motive for Bleach
  • Prosecutors reportedly believe bleach was poured down Mercedes’ throat not to destroy evidence, but as “symbolic” punishment for agreeing to testify — a chilling message of intimidation.

The Death Penalty and Moving Forward

• Prosecution to Seek Death Penalty ([57:11])
  • Against Cujo and Sincere; possibly against Jared Gray.
  • Family supports the decision, seeing it as fitting given the brutality.
    • Erica: "Any life I have left in me... I will continue to advocate for Mercedes... They chose to make this decision, and I think that the consequences should be brought down upon them." [57:25]
    • Tom: "They ended up torturing our child. They don't have any care for life... it fits what they did." [58:11]

Community Support and Advocacy

• Lessons for Families of Victims

  • Erica urges families not to remain silent:
    "If we didn't do that, we wouldn't be here. ... I like to say they didn't just kill a child. They ignited a mom... Nobody should be quiet, nobody's death should be left in the dark." [59:48]

• Annie’s Call to Action & Final Thoughts ([61:30])

  • She highlights the importance of “listening to your gut,” the failings in the witness protection system, and encourages listeners to keep Mercedes’ story alive as the legal process unfolds.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "She was mine. The person that did this had no right to take her away." — Erica [09:49]
• "Yes, you danced a couple nights a week. That's not who she was." — Erica [12:08]
• "She was worried about her co-workers, her friends. She wanted people to stay alert and be careful because she knew now firsthand how quickly something terrifying like this could happen." — Annie Elise [18:55]
• "I just feel weird, like maybe I shouldn't go anywhere." — Mercedes, via text [22:56]
• "It feels like my daughter doesn't matter to them." — Tom [35:00]
• "They didn't just kill a child. They ignited a mom." — Erica [59:48]
• "I'm glad I wasn't quiet. Nobody should be quiet. Nobody's death should be left in the dark." — Erica [59:48]

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Critical Timestamps (for Deep Dives)

• [02:42] — 911 call and discovery of the burning vehicle
• [09:49] — Family’s emotional recollections of Mercedes
• [17:04] — Recounting Mercedes’ prior victimization and reason for vigilance
• [22:56] — Mercedes’ text about having a "weird feeling" before she left
• [25:29] — Review of surveillance footage from the night she disappeared
• [35:00] — Family expresses frustration with the investigation’s progress
• [38:41] — First arrest announced, major new development
• [41:00] — Further arrests and revelation about Mercedes' previous assailant
• [46:01] — The importance of forensic evidence and technology in breaking the case
• [51:22] — Critical system questions around witness protection
• [57:11] — Discussion and family’s view on the death penalty

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Conclusion & Open Questions

Through compassionate storytelling and a thorough breakdown, Annie Elise brings urgent attention to the case of Mercedes Vega, highlighting both the failures and successes of the investigative process, and underscoring the broader implications for witness safety, media responsibility, and support for victims’ families. As the trials proceed, Annie encourages her audience to keep Mercedes’ memory alive and to reflect on what more can be done—both by the justice system and society—to prevent tragedies like this in the future.

Transcript

[Annie Elise]

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[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

I just want to report a car. It's on fire.

[Annie Elise]

He's like down in the bushes, but

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

I saw a plane inside the vehicle. What happened to Mercedes is completely bizarre and vicious. She endured the most evil pain.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

I'm not going anywhere. Just like we've said for a long time, we're not going anywhere.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

The 22 year old's parents have been

[Annie Elise]

pushing for answers, fighting for their daughter and at times attention for her case.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Still can't believe what she went through.

[Annie Elise]

Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all new episode of Serial Asleep. Hello, hello, hello. And welcome back to an all new episode of Serial as Li with me your host, Annie Elise. And we have got another deep dive to go over together today. Did I say that right? To go over together today, whatever. It's such an interesting and honestly, just very disturbing case. And when I first heard about it I felt like, okay, maybe I'd heard about it a little bit. I knew some of the details, but then the deeper that I started looking and like going into the nitty gritty research church, which, you know, I hate that term, I hate nitty gritty. It's way more disturbing than I even knew. And so rather than give you any sort of like, you know, tee up or intro or anything like that, I want to just jump right in. During the very early morning hours of April 17, 2023, around 1:30am in the morning, the Maricopi County Sheriff's Department received a phone call about a car fire that was near Interstate 10, very close to Tonopah, Arizona. Now at first it was, it sounded fairly routine. I mean, honestly, probably the kind of call that first responders out there get all the time. A passing tractor trailer driver had spotted this car that was on fire in the bushes near the side of the highway. And so they called 91 1. Where's your emergency?

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

I just want to report a car, it's on fire. It's off the side, it's on the north side of the westbound lanes on I10 about the 85 and a half mile marker. I don't care. Eastbound it was like down in the bushes. But I saw a plane inside the vehicle. Okay, see, they're on the westbound by 10? Yes. Yeah, just, just north of the highway. I don't really know what it is that I can tell you.

[Annie Elise]

So, yes, scary. But like I said, these things do happen on major highways. And usually when you hear about a burning car on the side of the road, your mind goes toward, you know, some kind of accident must have taken place, maybe a crash, maybe a mechanical failure, maybe, you know, something along those lines. However, when the troopers arrived, there was nobody standing near the car claiming that this vehicle was theirs. There was also no sign of a crash, no second vehicle, nothing that immediately explained why this car was burning in the middle of the night. Now, as for the car itself, it was a Chevy Malibu. And from what they could tell, there was nobody in the driver's seat. Now, once the fire was finally extinguished, the investigators of course, started searching this vehicle for answers. What happened here? How did this catch fire? Who was driving this? Is somebody still. Here are their personal belongings, all the different questions. And that's when they found something horrifying because slumped over in the rear passenger seat was a body. Now, the condition of the body, I'm sure I don't need to tell you it was extremely bad, as you can imagine. But the investigators were luckily still able to recover fingerprints. And so that's when they realized that this body they were looking at, it belonged to 22 year old Mercedes Vega. Now, right away, there were two things about this scene that immediately stood out to the investigators. The first was the condition that Mercedes had been found in. Because this very quickly became much more than just a suspicious vehicle fire. It was obvious that Mercedes had suffered an incredibly violent death. At the time, the investigators only would tell the media that she, quote, had additional injuries other than burns from the fire. They didn't want to reveal too much and they also wanted to wait for the autopsy before confirming anything publicly. However, once those autopsy results came back, they were deeply unsettling. Mercedes had suffered from blunt force injuries and had been shot at least once in the arm. And there was another detail that the investigators wouldn't learn until later, one that they couldn't see that wasn't visible at the scene itself because bleach had been poured down Mercedes throat. And honestly, this next part is incredibly difficult to hear. But despite everything that had been done to Mercedes, the autopsy actually determined that Mercedes actual cause of death was smoke inhalation and burns. Meaning that she burned to death. Also meaning that she was still alive after she was shot, after the blunt force trauma after bleach being poured down her throat. And then she was alive when the fire started and just consumed her. So this obviously was not a situation where somebody killed her first, then decided to burn the car afterward to destroy the evidence, to pour bleach down her throat afterward to destroy and get rid of any DNA or evidence. This fire itself was part of the murder, which I can't even imagine the fear and the pain that she must have felt and experienced in those final moments. It's horrific. Now, the second thing that these investigators immediately noticed was the vehicle itself, because this 2018 Chevy Malibu that Mercedes had been found in, it wasn't actually her car. In fact, legally, it wasn't supposed to be on the road at all. Because investigators quickly learned that this vehicle had a salvage title. In fact, it was registered to State Farm Insurance, not an individual who owned it or was driving it or operating it. So the investigators did some digging to figure out, okay, well, who was the last owner? Let's try to walk it back. Let's figure out what's going on here. And ultimately, the last legal owner was cleared pretty quickly, leaving investigators with very little to go off of initially. And for anyone who might be unfamiliar with salvage titles, it basically means that the vehicle had previously been declared a total loss, usually because of severe damage. Maybe it was totaled, it was in an accident, or there was a natural disaster that took place, who knows? But essentially, the damage is considered so extensive that repairing it either isn't possible, or it would cost more than the value of the car and what it's worth itself. So now, without having a lead with who owned this vehicle, investigators were not only dealing with a homicide, but one that involved a burning vehicle that technically should not have even been in circulation and should not have been on the road. And there was another detail that mattered in all of this, too. The truck driver who originally called 911 told the investigators that he thought that he saw someone standing near the vehicle before the emergency crews arrived. Okay, anyone?

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

You said there's people outside the vehicle? I believe I saw at least one person outside, yes.

[Annie Elise]

Now, we obviously know that that person wasn't Mercedes. So naturally, the investigators started wondering, you know, had this truck driver unknowingly seen the person responsible for killing Mercedes? And they stuck around for a few minutes until, you know, the emergency crews arrived. Now, at that point, there were way more questions than answers. But the biggest question that the investigators needed to figure out was fairly simple. Who was 22 year old Mercedes Vega? How did this 22 year old woman end up shot and burned alive in the backseat of this salvaged car that had been abandoned on the side of the highway. Well, Mercedes had been living in tempe, Arizona, roughly 60 miles away from where her body had been found. And by every account, from people who knew her, she was someone who made an impression on people immediately. Her friends and family described her as beautiful, kind, outgoing, generous. The kind of person who would help anyone, whether it was somebody that she loved or a complete stranger, it didn't matter. She just wanted to help. And this really stood out to me, too, because everyone who has either gone on record and spoken out or who we have been able to get in contact with, everyone seemed to describe her the exact same way. Like there was no disconnect between who Mercedes appeared to be publicly and who she actually was behind closed doors. She was the same through and through. And all in all, she seemed like a genuinely really great person. Not just beautiful on the outside, but somebody who had a lot of warmth to her as well.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

She didn't deserve what happened to her. Just doesn't seem real that she's gone. I just. She was mine. The person that did this had no right to take her away.

[Annie Elise]

Growing up, Mercedes was a straight A student. She also played violin. She had a beautiful singing voice, and she even sang at school events and different sporting games. And before her death in 2023, she really had started building a life for herself, which that's. Honestly, it feels so strange to even say that because she was only 22 years old and she was still very much at the beginning of adulthood in so many ways, but she was building a life for herself. Mercedes lived on her own at the Aubrey Apartments in Tempe, Arizona, which, honestly, I think doing that independently at 22 is pretty impressive, especially now, because as we all know, rent is absolutely insane. So living on your own in your own apartment at 22 years old, I mean, that is a huge accomplishment in and of itself. And I will say this, she wasn't following the stereotypical path of immediately going to college right out of high school. Instead, she had plans and goals for herself that she was working toward in her own way. One of those being her biggest dream of becoming a personal trainer. And everyone around her knew about this too, because she talked about it all the time. Mercedes also loved journaling. And in many of her journal entries, she would write about how she eventually wanted to move to Hawaii and start a new chapter there. Which you might be thinking, okay, well, if she wasn't a trainer yet, and if she wasn't in school or getting any sort of stipend, from her parents or anything like that. How did she afford her independence? How did she afford to live on her own and have her own apartment? Well, at that time in her life, she was supporting herself by dancing at a place called Lay Girls. Now, Lay Girls was a gentleman's club and she would dance there a few nights a week. It was nothing that she was ashamed of or should have been ashamed of. People do that line of work all the time. And this is something that her family has also spoken about a lot since her death because they truly believe that the stigma surrounding this type of work, that it affected the way that people viewed Mercedes and even viewed her case.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Yes, you danced a couple nights a week. That's not who she was. That wasn't her personality, it wasn't who she was to the core.

[Annie Elise]

Almost like somehow her being an exotic dancer became more important than the fact that she was a daughter, a friend, a 22 year old young woman with goals and plans for her future. As though that trumped it or negated what she went through. Or worse, that because of her job, people somehow thought that she deserved what happened to her, which obviously I think we can all agree that she absolutely didn't. Yet somehow, somewhere along the way, something happened that led Mercedes to that burning car on the side of Interstate 10. And the really unsettling part is that just hours before her body was discovered, everything seemed normal. On the night of April 16, Mercedes had plans to go to Dave and Buster's with friends, which if you're not familiar with Dave and Buster's, basically like an adult arcade or an adult, you know, like, what's another, like boomers, they don't have the mini golf and all of that stuff, but it's like a ton of arcade games. You get tickets, you win prizes. Basically like an adult Chuck E. Cheese. Okay, and kids go there too, but they have like a full bar, there's like a restaurant area. A lot of people go to watch sporting events. It's like a pretty big deal. So she had plans to go with her friends, but last minute she canceled. She told her friends and family that instead of going, she decided that she was going to pick up a shift at the club instead. And honestly, that wasn't unusual for her at all. If she heard that the club was busy that night, sometimes she would decide to go to work even if she had the day off, because she knew that she was going to be able to make really good money that night. However, we now know that what happened after her canceling those plans, that was Unusual because after telling people that she was heading into work, Mercedes just suddenly stopped responding to text messages and phone calls altogether. Just left everyone on red, ghosted everyone. And that was the very last time that anybody heard from her. Today's episode is sponsored by Ethos. Okay, you guys know from the stories that I cover every week that life can literally change overnight. And honestly, becoming a parent especially had made me think differently about planning ahead, making sure that my family would be financially secure if, God forbid, something unexpected ever happened to any of us. And that's one of the reasons why I had looked into life insurance through Ethos. Ethos makes getting life insurance very fast and easy and 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same day coverage. There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions online and you can get up to $3 million in coverage. Some policies are even as low as $30 a month. So take 10 minutes to get covered today with life insurance through Ethos. Get your free [e-mail] ae that is e t h o s.com ae Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Today's episode is also sponsored by Lean. Now, it seems like everybody these days is talking about weight loss injections, right? Because the results are so dramatic. But I also know that a lot of people are hesitant about weekly injections, especially when you hear about some of the side effects that can come with them. Well, that's why doctors created a weight loss supplement called Lean. The studied ingredients in Lean have also been shown to lower blood sugar, burn fat by converting it into energy, and curb your appetite and cravings so that you're not constantly feeling hungry all day. It's also something that. Which I think is really helpful and I like. It's something simple that you can just add alongside your healthy diet and exercise routine without completely overhauling your life. So let's get you started with 20% off and free rush shipping so that you can add Lean to your healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit take lean.com and enter AE for your discount. That's promo code [e-mail]. Now, Mercedes was independent. Absolutely. But one thing that everybody in her life agreed on was that there was always communication, always updates. So for her to now suddenly just stop answering text messages, phone calls and just ghost everyone completely, that immediately felt wrong to the people closest to her. And part of the reason that it felt so alarming was because there was something terrifying that had happened to Mercedes just three years earlier. She had a very Scary run in with a man who had followed her home one night after leaving the club. She had been so scared by it, as a matter of fact, that she became much more cautious. She switched apartments. She moved to a more secure apartment complex. And she vowed to always update her friends and family with where she was.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

She was 19 years old. She was a baby.

[Annie Elise]

How did you find out about what had happened?

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

About 5 o' clock in the morning, and I got a call, and it was from an officer.

[Annie Elise]

And honestly, when you hear what happened, that all makes complete sense, because get this, around 5am one morning after finishing a shift at the club, Mercedes had been driving home exhausted, just ready to get inside, wash her face, go to bed, and like, you know, sleep. Just knock out. But she didn't realize that somebody had been following her the entire drive home. So she pulled into her parking lot just as she normally did. But then suddenly, a man rushed up to her, and he was wearing gloves and a mask. He also had a gun pointed directly at her. He started demanding that she turn over her purse, that she hand over her phone, which in her bag she had a lot of cash that she had earned that night. And he said, you know, if you don't hand everything to me right now, I'm going to kill you. So, of course, terrified, Mercedes complied. She passed over all of her belongings to him. She unlocked her phone, she handed it to him, gave him the money, too, hoping that by cooperating with this lunatic, it would keep her alive. And thankfully, he didn't shoot her. But before running off, he did throw her to the ground.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

She had gravel in her back, and I was trying to pick it out and puts hydrogen peroxide on it. I remember she was just scared. That was just the only way. She was trying to kind of start over in a different way, do different things than what she was doing. Because I felt like she tried to take it as a lesson learned.

[Annie Elise]

She was definitely like, yo, we need to make sure we're protective and we're very aware of our surroundings.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

And like, especially just fellow dancers.

[Annie Elise]

Now, this part really stood out to me because after going through something that traumatic, Mercedes wasn't just thinking about herself afterward. She was worried about the other women around her. If she was a target just because she worked at the club, who's to say that this wasn't not a scam, because that's obviously not the right word, but a tactic that multiple men or people would use. Follow a different dancer home every night, rob them, go to a different club. I mean, it seems almost like the perfect crime of opportunity, right? And she was worried about her co workers, her friends. She wanted people to stay alert and be careful because she knew now firsthand how quickly something terrifying like this could happen. Because, come on, let's be honest, having somebody point a gun at you and threaten your life, that changes you. And I will draw on my own experience a little bit here. It's certainly not to the degree of what Mercedes went through, but there was one time and one time only. Well, actually, there's been two times, but one time where I was, there was a gun pointed at me and my husband. I had mentioned this years ago on, I think, maybe just social media, never in an episode, but we were driving down to Palm Springs, and this guy, like, cut us off, and my husband honked at him, which we will never honk or flip off anybody on the road ever again. But as soon as he honked to him, the guy then got out of the lane, slowed down purposefully to be, like, in line with us, like, side by side, even though we saw that he was slowing down. So we started slowing down because we're like, what's this guy trying to do? And as soon as he pulled up next to us, he pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at us. And he was terrifying, too. He had, like. He had a face mask. It was not like a full, like, balaclava, but it was kind of like a bandana, big scarf that was all the way up over his nose. He had a hat on, so all you could see was his eyes. He was in, like, a Ford. I think it was a 250 pickup truck. And it was terrifying because he just pointed it directly at us. That changed me. That also changed my husband. And that's not even somebody holding you up at gunpoint, robbing you and taking all of your belongings, and more of that, like, actual physical encounter. At least we had the vehicle. Not even a vehicle between us, but, like, the glass of the windows between us. Right? So all I'm saying is she was terrified. It changed her, and she was worried for the people around her, especially when it happens in a place where you should feel safe, you know, leaving work outside of your own home, where you're going to sleep at night, where you lock the doors and you feel cozy and safe, and knowing that somebody can invade that protected space of yours is horrible to think about. So after that experience, the constant communication between Mercedes and the people closest to her, it became paramount. It became so incredibly important to her. Which is exactly why, three years later, when Nobody could get a hold of her. Red flags started waving constantly. The people who loved Mercedes knew that this was not normal, and they knew that she wasn't just busy at work. They knew that she wouldn't suddenly ignore everybody for no reason. And honestly, this is probably one of the small details that is a positive in this entire case. People immediately noticed that something was wrong. Nobody was making excuses, Nobody was trying to say, we're overreacting, we're overthinking things. Because usually in a lot of cases, we see where hours go by before, A, someone even realizes somebody is missing, or B, they think that they're overreacting, so they don't do anything about it, and they're trying to justify everything in their own mind. Meanwhile, Mercedes, she had people checking in on her almost immediately and identifying that something was wrong. And I know that this sounds incredibly simple, but seriously, share your location with people that you trust. I share my location with my siblings and my mom and my husband. They share theirs with me as well. Share your location with people that you trust, because that is going to be the fastest way to track somebody's movements, see where somebody's at. And I know sometimes the phone then gets disabled or thrown away, but share your location. Send update texts when you arrive somewhere, when you're leaving somewhere, let people know where you're going. I mean, I hate to say it, but, like, these days, you really can't be too careful. And there was also another detail from the night that Mercedes went missing that really became unsettling. In hindsight, before leaving that night, Mercedes had apparently expressed a very strange feeling that maybe she shouldn't go to work, like something felt off to her. In one text message to a friend, she wrote, I just feel weird, like maybe I shouldn't go anywhere. So it seemed like she was maybe having second thoughts, or at least at minimum, some anxiety about working that night, which, I mean, honestly, hearing that afterward is heartbreaking. And I've said this before, but I cannot say it enough, especially for my female listeners. Your gut, your intuition, it is there for a reason. It is your first line of defense. It's there to protect you. It's there to alert you. So we always say, you know, a mother's intuition, a woman's intuition. We know when somebody's lying, when we know when somebody's shady. We can suss out if somebody's not authentic or a good friend or whatever. Your gut is there for a reason. Listen to it and trust it because it is there. As, like I said, your first Line of defense. Now, I couldn't find out exactly who it was that first became seriously concerned about Mercedes when she stopped replying. I'm not sure whether it was a close friend or if it was one of her co workers, but I do know that it was not her mom, Erica, or her stepdad, Tom, because they were actually out of town at the time. They had been vacationing in the Caribbean and they weren't scheduled to fly home until April 17th. But whoever this person was who knew that something was wrong, I mean, they clearly knew Mercedes well enough to realize that something was off, that this was very unlike her. So, trying not to panic, but obviously fearing the worst, they decided to go check Mercedes apartment complex for themselves. See if they could find any clues or if they could find Mercedes anywhere. Maybe she had stayed home after all. Maybe she had fallen asleep and then accidentally ignored everybody's messages. But when they got there, things only became more concerning. They knocked on Mercedes apartment door, but there was no answer. There was also no sign that she was home, which, okay, technically that wasn't unusual because she did say that she was going to work, she was going to work the night shift. So that's when the friend decided to head down to the parking garage. Residents at this complex, they all had assigned parking spaces, and Mercedes kept her car in one of those, a Dodge Charger. Except when the friend got to Mercedes parking spot, her car was gone. Which maybe does bring some ease in the moment because, okay, she's not in her apartment, her car's not here. She obviously maybe did go to work or she met up with somebody. But then also you're kind of like, okay, well then why isn't she answering if she isn't asleep? Like, what's going on here? However, even if you're trying to justify everything in those moments, everything was thrown off kilter because this friend noticed that there was blood left behind. Blood right where the vehicle had been parked, and a significant amount of blood. So immediately this friend knew that something terrible had happened, especially because Mercedes, remember, had experienced being attacked once before. There was just no reasonable explanation for that amount of blood and for Mercedes ghosting everybody unless something had gone horribly wrong. So law enforcement got involved very quickly because at that point it was obvious that Mercedes hadn't just disappeared on her own or of her own free will. Something violent had happened to her inside that parking garage. And from what I can tell, there isn't a whole lot publicly available about the very early hours of this investigation, because almost immediately, investigators started uncovering major clues. It wasn't like there was this lull time from early on. And one of the biggest early breaks actually came from the surveillance footage at Mercedes apartment complex. The cameras captured Mercedes getting off the elevator and walking to the parking garage at 9:17pm that evening. She was alone, casually dressed, carrying a drink in her hand and carrying her bag. And from everything that the investigators could tell, she was simply heading to work at the club like she had told her friends and family. And the club was only about a mile away from her apartment. Unfortunately, though, there weren't cameras directly pointed at her actual parking space, so the investigators couldn't see exactly what happened there. But at the very least, you know, they now had a timeline. They knew when Mercedes was last seen alive, and they knew approximately when she was likely abducted. And honestly, watching the footage, which I'm gonna play for you right now, is incredibly difficult. If you're listening to the audio version of this episode, you may want to pop over to YouTube after you finish it to see this footage because it is very eerie to watch. Mercedes looks completely normal, calm, comfortable, like somebody just going about an ordinary night. And this was a woman who was usually hyper aware of her surroundings after what had happened to her years earlier. Yet this one time, she's looking down at her phone, probably assuming that she's safe, and just responding to a message or scrolling on social media. And why wouldn't she feel safe? She was in a luxury apartment complex, somewhere that she thought was secure, had cameras, it was well lit, other residents were nearby. It's not like she was isolated somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. And so up until at least that moment, it probably felt safe. Mercedes mom, Erica later wondered whether or not Mercedes may have been on FaceTime while getting off the elevator. Though from what I can tell, that was never confirmed. And honestly, though, if she had been on FaceTime, you would imagine that the investigators would have eventually learned whether that person saw or heard anything in those final moments before she reached her car. Because somewhere between that elevator and that footage and then her getting to her parking space, somebody was waiting for Mercedes. And investigators were about to realize that this case, it was not random at all. Over the last several months, I've realized that when my routine gets off track, everything kind of just feels off, especially during travel season when you're constantly on the go. So that's why I've been trying to really stick to smaller daily habits that help me feel my best no matter where I'm at. And Kachava is one of those habits, especially now. That they have their new travel packs which make life so much easier. I can just literally throw a couple packets in my bag as I'm headed out the door. And I know that I have something quick and nutritious that's just like ready to go wherever I'm at. I also love that it supports energy, digestion, metabolism, cognition, immune health. It's all just like in one simple shake. And it actually tastes delicious, which definitely matters. They have like, a great chai flavor that I love. A strawberry, which is so good, it tastes like a milkshake. It's the best. So take your daily ritual with you. Go to kachava.com and use code AE for 15% off your first order. That's Kachava. K A C-H A V A.com code AE. Today's episode is sponsored by Bull and Branch. Now, you know, sleep is important to me, but it's also important to my family. It's important to my in laws. Whenever they're at the house, I want to make sure that they feel taken care of, that they feel like it's like, you know, a hotel away from home for them. And one of the biggest things that I've done to improve not only their sleep, but my sleep as well is upgrading our bedding. Not some complicated sleep routine or some, like, expensive gadget, just better, softer, smoother, lighter bedding. We tried out bowl and branch and the difference was immediate. Their signature sheets are like, unbelievably soft, super breathable, and somehow they also keep getting softer over time, which tell me how that happens. We also added the waffle blanket and the comforter and. And now the whole bed. It just feels incredible. Literally, the moment you get into that bed, you notice the difference. It genuinely made our guest room and our bedroom feel more relaxing and just way more comfortable at the end of such a long day. So upgrade your sleep with bowl and branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free [e-mail] AE with code AE. That's bowl and branch. B O L L A N D branch.com AE use code AE to unlock 15 off. Exclusions apply. Now, right before that 911 call came in about the burning car that Mercedes was later found in, which was. Remember, around 1am Investigators found Mercedes Dodge Charger. I did come across some conflicting reports saying that her car wasn't actually located until April 18, which that would have been after her body was discovered. But then there are some reports saying that it had been found. So I just want to mention the you know, conflicting report for the sake of accuracy. But regardless of exactly when the car was found, what investigators discovered inside the car, it really helped piece together a much clearer picture of what likely happened to Mercedes. There was a lot of blood inside the vehicle, specifically on the passenger seat. And based on the amount and the location of the blood, investigators believed that Mercedes had been attacked inside that parking garage before then being forced inside her own car, which this, of course, also lines up with the blunt force injuries that were later found during her autopsy. Her purse was also still inside the vehicle, and there was blood on the handles of her purse. There was blood in the car. Investigators were even able to recover a fingerprint from the bag itself. And it was very clearly a crime scene. Unfortunately, the print that they recovered, it didn't match anything in the state database. So that lead really went nowhere. But her Dodge Charger, her car, it had only been abandoned a little over a mile south of her apartment complex, but notably farther away from the club that she supposedly had been heading to. And the car had been left illegally parked near a restaurant with the engine still running. And investigators believed that that might have been done intentionally. Like, whoever left it there likely knew that there was a good chance that it would either be towed or if the keys were still there, that it would be stolen, which then in turn would have complicated the investigation even more. But before the investigators even had much time to fully process Mercedes vehicle and everything inside of it, they then got the phone call about the burning Chevy Malibu, which then led them to Mercedes body. Now, in the months after Mercedes was found, there were very few public updates on the case, almost none. And at first, Mercedes mom Erica and her stepdad Tom, really tried to stay patient. They kept a low profile, and they said that they trusted the investigators to just do their jobs. They wanted to believe progress was happening behind the scenes and that eventually they would be made aware of everything that was going on and they would get justice for Mercedes. But as the months dragged on, the frustration started building. Things felt quiet, too quiet. And to them, it didn't feel like the silence was because these investigators were actively working on the case. It started to feel more and more like this case was just slowly being pushed aside, like people were waiting for it to eventually just fade into the background and become another cold case, another unsolved homicide. And honestly, Mercedes family believed that part of the problem in all of this and the reason for this and why it didn't seem like people were actively trying to solve it was because of that stigma surrounding Mercedes working At the club, they felt like once the media coverage heavily focused on the fact that Mercedes was a dancer and worked at a strip club, people just started viewing her case entirely different. Like her life somehow mattered less. Her stepdad, Tom, later said, we were 100% quiet. We didn't say a word. It feels like my daughter doesn't matter to them. That's what they've made me believe.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

At the six month mark, I said, I'm not going to be quiet anymore. My child is dead.

[Annie Elise]

Both Tom and Erica said that they were largely being kept out of the loop and that they were not being told much about the status of the investigation. Investigation yet. Meanwhile, investigators maintained the complete opposite, saying that if information wasn't being shared, it was strictly to protect the integrity of the case, not to stonewall anyone.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

My wife and me are, we're gonna fight to the end of our lives for her.

[Annie Elise]

Eventually, Mercedes family decided they were done staying quiet. They wanted people talking about Mercedes, they wanted attention on the case. So they started posting on TikTok. They also started speaking to news outlets and doing anything and everything possible to keep Mercedes name in the public eye. Now, they did all of this because in their minds, whoever killed Mercedes was still out there living freely. Now, in one TikTok that Erica posted, she talked a lot about the concerns surrounding potential sex trafficking or Mercedes possibly being taken across the border. And I honestly couldn't determine whether those were theories that the investigators were privately discussing with the family or if those were conclusions that Erica and Tom were personally starting to fear on their own. But at that point, there were still barely any answers publicly available. And what's especially sad is that Erica posted that TikTok about her daughter's case In March of 2024, almost an entire year after Mercedes had been murdered. And even then, even a year later, there was still so little information that was known publicly about the case. Mercedes parents also weren't the only people fighting to keep attention on her story. Her friends and extended family really rallied around her after her death and they worked hard to spread the awareness online and in the media.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

There's no reason why a year later we should have nothing. My child is dead. She was burned alive, she was beaten, she had bleach in her throat. Someone who can do something like that to a 22 year old, beautiful young woman is less than human. It's hard to put into words. It's hard to believe she's gone.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

I miss my daughter so much. I'm angry, I'm frustrated. I've always said to her. I got her back. It will not become yesterday's news.

[Annie Elise]

Now, earlier I mentioned the possibility that investigators believed that more than one person may have been involved in Mercedes murder. And honestly, it sounds like that theory existed pretty early on. And in cases involving multiple people, we know there's always this tiny bit of hope that eventually someone will crack, someone will flip, somebody will get drunk and they'll say, spill some sort of news or they'll confess or whatever happens, that the guilt will catch up to somebody enough for them to come forward or cooperate. But that never happened. Not after the reward money was offered, not after the public pleas, not after the social media posts. Nothing.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

We, your family and friends are robbed of watching your future. And that can't just be for nothing. I'll be damned if these vile, evil people get away with what they did to you.

[Annie Elise]

But then November of 2024, the case suddenly took a massive turn. On November 11, 2024, 22 year old Sincere Hayes was arrested and charged with first degree murder. First degree murder in connection with Mercedes death. Now right away people were confused because Sincere lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is obviously nowhere near Tempe, Arizona. And beyond that, there didn't appear to be any sort of connection between him and Mercedes. He wasn't an ex boyfriend, he wasn't somebody who was publicly tied to her or her social circle. I mean, nothing immediately made sense. So while people were, yeah, relieved that an arrest had finally been made, there was still a lot of uncertainty surrounding how exactly this guy fit into Mercedes life and ultimately her murder.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

I just about hit my knees. Just seemed so unreal. We've been waiting, it's been 19 months since she was so brutally taken from us. And to get that call from the detective that said we got him get

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

the call, which is what we thought we were never going to get. I didn't believe it.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

She fought so hard and they tried everything they could do to hurt her in any way they could and distinguish her. And her energy's still here. You can't kill her energy.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

But it is the first step to get the rest of them. And now that he's arrested, these people better be scared and better be looking over their shoulder cuz they're coming.

[Annie Elise]

So once Sincere was arrested, more information about him started coming out publicly. And none of that information was any good. Authorities alleged that Sincere was involved in a large scale drug trafficking operation that moved fentanyl and other drugs all throughout Arizona and across the United States. Investigators said that he and others involved in the operation would receive shipments of drugs and then distribute them nationwide. And on top of the murder charge, Sincere was also facing numerous additional charges, including money laundering, conspiracy, illegally conducting an enterprise, weapons misconduct. I mean, a lot of very serious charges. So obviously, people were looking at this guy thinking, you know, okay, clearly he's dangerous. Clearly he's involved in serious criminal activity. But the question still remained, what did any of this have to do with Mercedes? And I want to make this really clear, because there's already enough stigma surrounding Mercedes and her case. There has never been any indication that Mercedes herself was involved in this whole, like, drug ring. None whatsoever. So I just want to make that very clear. I don't want people jumping to conclusions or assuming that she somehow was tied into drug selling or exchanging or trafficking, because that is not what the investigators have said. But the truth was the public was not going to really start understanding this alleged connection between Mercedes and sincere until two more arrests happened in June of 2025. Because that's when Jared Gray and Cujo Young were also arrested in connection with Mercedes murder. Now, unlike Sincere and Jared Cujo's name, that one immediately stood out to Mercedes, friends and family. I feel like wellness can get really overwhelming, right, because there are constantly new trends and products everywhere. But I try to focus on things that just fit into my overall routine, help me feel better, and, like, are not super difficult to add in. And one thing that you've heard me talk about that I consistently have been using is ARMRA Colostrum, because what stood out to me is that it focuses on supporting immune health, gut health, skin health, metabolism, and recovery all at once. Personally, I also have noticed that I just feel, like, more balanced overall, especially with my digestion, because tmi, I do have a lot of digestion issues, and it's given me just, like, this, like, energy where it just, like, stays consistent. I also appreciate that it's clean, it's simple, it's easy to work into my day without adding another complicated step. You just scoop in, scoop into your mouth raw, like I do. It is so easy. And we have worked out a very special offer for my audience. Receive 30% off your first subscription order. Go to armor.com ae or enter ae to get 30% off your first subscription Order. That's armra.com ae. Remember earlier when we talked about the robbery that Mercedes had experienced and survived back in 2020, the masked man who followed her home from the club, held her at gunpoint, took her money, stole her phone, all of that? Well, that man was allegedly Cujo Young. And honestly, Once investigators made that connection public, this case started making a whole lot more sense. Because this wasn't some random attack by strangers who just happened to cross paths with Mercedes one night. According to prosecutors, it all traced back to that original robbery case. After Mercedes was robbed in 2020, another young woman who was working at that same club was also targeted and attacked by Cujo. Eventually, investigators identified him, and Mercedes herself also picked him out of a lineup. So he was arrested and he was charged with armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. But not long after his arrest, his, his $45,000 bail was posted. And even though the robbery happened way back in 2020, the trial kept getting delayed over and over again. Which this meant that by the time that Mercedes was murdered in 2023, she still had not even received justice from that earlier case. But more importantly, Mercedes wasn't just waiting for the trial to happen so that she could have some peace and closure. She was waiting because she was expected to testify against Cujo. And that detail, it matters a lot. Mercedes was of course, one of the key witnesses tying him directly to the robbery because she also had identified him during that lineup. Which this meant that prosecutors viewed her as a very credible witness against him. And if she wasn't there to testify, it sure would make Cujo's case a lot easier for the defense to try and score a win. So after Mercedes was murdered, investigators immediately started looking closely at whether her death could somehow be connected to that upcoming trial. At one point, after Cujo was taken into custody, investigators recommended he face conspiracy to commit first degree murder charges, depending on pending DNA results that still hadn't come back yet. At that stage, they still weren't completely certain whether they had enough evidence to formally tie him to Mercedes murder itself.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Sadly, all my cases these days, the technology kills me. So in this case, you have flight records, you have the credit card statements, you have cell phone Data, you have OnStar data, you'll have the cell phone dumps, you're also going to have the license plate raiders, you're going to have the flat cameras, you're going to have A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K. Fingerprints, the DNA, the fingerprints that are in the car, a car, the one car, and then you have the DNA of the other guy. So science and technology is really going to be the most strong real evidence. And then you have corroborating evidence. So it sure seems to me they really did a fantastic job because when this first happened, they did not know what. They were all surprised. It took a year for this to be investigated, which is how long it takes because you got to execute all these search warrants and subpoenas, et cetera, et cetera. But they were able to connect the dots. And so technology and science is what did it, and you can't. It's gonna be very difficult to beat the DNA and the fingerprints on the cop.

[Annie Elise]

I have to say, I think it's

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

very interesting that the man who allegedly picked two of these co defendants up hasn't been identified. I gotta imagine key witness have to imagine granted some sort of immunity to testify against them, right?

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Yep. But remember, also, there's some ties to Chattanooga. And you know that these people have a history of, I don't wanna say, growing up together.

[Annie Elise]

But eventually the charges did come. And once they did, investigators theory of what allegedly happened, it finally started becoming much clearer. According to prosecutors, Sincere, Hayes, Cujo Young and Jared Gray all knew each other from Tennessee. And that drug trafficking operation that I mentioned earlier, investigators alleged that Cujo was actually the one running it. Sincere and Cujo both already had extensive criminal backgrounds, and investigators believed the Jared was right there alongside them. And this is where the case really went from a brutal homicide into what prosecutors are describing as a planned murder for silence plot. You don't hear that term too much. Right. You usually hear murder for hire, not murder for silence. Because according to the investigators, this wasn't spontaneous. Mercedes wasn't just randomly targeted. They believe that she was killed to prevent her from testifying against Cujo. In fact, when Sincere was first arrested, investigators were reportedly already building cases against the other two men as well. They just needed enough evidence to make the arrests stick. So here's some of the evidence that the prosecutors say ultimately tied all three of them together. First, investigators were able to recover DNA evidence from inside the Chevy Malibu where Mercedes body had been found, even though it had been burned. They were able to recover DNA evidence despite that fire damage. They said that the DNA matched both Sincere and Jared. Then they also had cell phone data which investigators say showed that Sincere and Jared's phones were traveling along the same route as the Chevy Malibu on the day that Mercedes was murdered. So prosecutors now believe that Cujoe is the one who orchestrated this entire thing, directed them to go and murder Mercedes. Even though he wasn't physically present during the murder itself, and even though he wasn't the first person arrested, they believe that he was the mastermind behind all of it. Now, when Sincere was arrested, court documents alleged that, quote, the defendant committed the offense to prevent Mercedes Vega's cooperation with an official law enforcement investigation to prevent her testimony in a court proceeding or in retaliation for her cooperation with an official law enforcement investigation. And honestly, once the other arrests happen, that theory started making a lot more sense. Because think about it. It wouldn't make sense for Sincere to allegedly go to these lengths entirely on his own for a case that didn't even directly involve him. It would make sense that he was the henchman, the one who was directed to go do this. Prosecutors believe that Cujo was the driving force behind it. He knew that Mercedes testimony could seriously hurt him in court. And according to the investigators, because of that, he decided that she needed to be silenced before the trial could even happen. Now, was Cujo capable of physically committing the murder himself? Yes, sure. But prosecutors say that there was one major hiccup with that. A major issue. He was already, and that was that he was already in custody at the time. So according to the investigators, he allegedly relied on his childhood friends Sincere and Jared to go carry out this murder for him instead. And if prosecutors are right, that means that Mercedes murder was coordinated and planned well before the night in the parking garage. This was premeditated. It was orchestrated and planned out far, far in advance of when it actually happened. Now, regardless of whether Cujo was physically there or not, investigators believe that all three of these men played roles in what happened to Mercedes.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

You know, we didn't know who Sunsera was and we didn't know who Jared Gray was, but we knew who Kujo was. We obviously, when we first heard about it, we just kind of held each other and cried.

[Annie Elise]

Now this begs an even bigger question, and I don't know what the answer is for this and I don't know if maybe there is an answer that I'm unaware of. But when you have these high stakes witnesses, what is the system doing to protect them, to make sure that there are protections in place? Because we've seen this with many cases, right? You even saw a little bit of it with Diddy. When there's a fear of witness intimidation, witness tampering, silencing a witness, especially as something's carrying on years and years, where is there some sort of protection in play for these high stakes witnesses? Who's to say that they're not going to just be wiped off the street, Especially if the rooted crime was already a violent one? Clearly there's a history of violence, right? Or I mean, I guess not officially because it hasn't, hadn't been adjudicated yet and he hadn't been convicted. But if there's a pattern and a history of violence. Clearly, the high stakes witness would be in danger as well. So what are we doing or how are we failing at protecting them to make sure that they're safe and they can actually go to the trial and testify. Now, another major piece of evidence in all of this was travel records. Investigators say that Sincere and Jared both flew from Tennessee to Arizona around the time of the murder, which this created a pretty significant paper trail. Jared later admitted to the investigators that he had in fact been in Arizona, though he claimed that it was only for business. He didn't elaborate on what kind of business that supposedly was. He left it at that. But that was his excuse and he was sticking to it. And initially, Jared lied to investigators altogether, first claiming that he didn't even know Sincere or Cujo, but then later changing his story to admit that he at least knew Cujo because they had been from the same hometown. So ultimately, Jared was charged with first degree murder, armed robbery, kidnapping and theft. Cujo was charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. And once all three of these arrests had been made, the investigators started publicly laying out more of a complete timeline of what they believe happened the night that Mercedes was killed. At around 8:45pm surveillance cameras captured the white Chevy Malibu, the same one that Mercedes body would later be found in, torched and burned. It was entering the parking garage at her apartment complex. And I'm going to show this footage again over on the video version of this episode, so you audio listeners go take a look after. But about 30 minutes later, surveillance footage captured Mercedes exiting the elevator and walking into the garage by herself. And honestly, this part, it really sits heavy with me because according to prosecutors, these men were just allegedly there already waiting for her, sitting in that parking garage, watching the elevator doors, waiting for Mercedes to come downstairs, which again, that means that this was planned long before she ever even stepped into the garage that night. Investigators later captured footage that showed both the Chevy Malibu and Mercedes Dodge Charger leaving the garage at roughly the same time. So prosecutors believe that Mercedes was likely attacked, forced into the Malibu and then driven away while another suspect followed behind in her vehicle. And then, as we know, there's the bleach. A lot of people following this case have questioned that detail specifically because it feels especially cruel and deliberate. And people have wondered whether it was done to a destroy evidence somehow, possible DNA evidence that was found in or around her mouth. You know, something along those lines, or if it was something more symbolic, because investigators reportedly believe that the Reasoning may have been much more symbolic. According to them, the bleach was allegedly meant as punishment for Mercedes speaking out against Cujo for agreeing to testify against him. Which, you know the saying, you know, stitches, get stitches. I don't think there's a saying for this, but basically, basically like that you're gonna speak out against me? Well, I'm gonna silence you and I'm gonna pour bleach down your throat. So in other words, this wasn't at all about hiding evidence. It was about intimidation and torture. And honestly, the level of hatred and cruelty involved in this, it is so difficult to process. The evidence tying these men to Mercedes murder appears to be substantial. Investigators aren't just pointing to vague circumstantial evidence. They're pointing to DNA, cell phone data, surveillance footage, travel records, and prior connections between the suspects.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

Yeah, I'm very, very happy with the evidence that they have because it is not circumstantial. Now our focus is on the trial, getting these people to trial and focus on justice for her, and then we can heal. Because I honestly, I'm not going to be a victim for the rest of my life.

[Annie Elise]

Now, despite all of that, which feels overwhelming, all three men have pleaded not guilty. Which means that Mercedes family now faces the possibility of enduring three separate trials. And with every trial comes another round of reliving what happened to Mercedes. Another round of hearing the details, seeing the evidence, being reminded of how brutally her life was taken simply because prosecutors say she was willing to testify, testify in a crime that happened against her. In December of 2025, prosecutors announced that they would seek the death penalty against two of the three men, specifically Cujo and Sincere.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

This decision to move forward with the death penalty against two of these defendants, how are you feeling about that? And is this something that you both

[Annie Elise]

were advocating for since the beginning?

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Yeah. I wanted Cujo, Sincere and Jared to know that we would never stop, that they needed to understand that and that any life I have left in me and any breath I have left, I will continue to advocate for Mercedes and I will ensure that every lawful consequence that they could possibly endure, they will face. They chose to make this decision, and I think that the consequences should be brought down upon them without mercy, without hesitation. We won't rest until every person who is responsible for taking her away from us is held accountable.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

It's something we've been fighting for. It's very hard to be happy about this because you have mixed emotions. You're happy and sad and you're angry and you're frustrated I'm not happy that someone could die. That's not what I want. But what they did to our child, it fits what they did to our child. I'm not an advocate of saying, oh, well, this or an eye for an eye, but, I mean, ultimately, my daughter didn't do anything wrong. This is over a cell phone and a thousand dollars. They had no caring of life. People flying here that didn't know her. Like Erica said, it fits what they did. I mean, they could have just simple thing, but they ended up torturing our child. They don't have any care for life. So I don't have any reservations about that. I'm glad that the state has finally got to that point because Cujo is the main person in this whole thing. He is the reason we're sitting here. The other people just followed along. And for the state to agree that he deserves is a very. It's very good for us. And it kind of helps us that we're now going on that path that we know is going to be a long path.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

They didn't just take her life. They destroyed all of our lives.

[Mercedes' Stepfather (Tom)]

Yes.

[Annie Elise]

Now, as of this recording, it hasn't been confirmed whether or not Jared will also face the death penalty. Though that could potentially change depending on how this case develops or if there's any sort of plea agreements that happen. But honestly, thinking about everything that Mercedes family still has ahead of them, it's heartbreaking. But by all accounts, they are ready for it. They have waited years for these arrests, years for answers, years for accountability. And no matter how painful this process becomes, they seem fully prepared to see it through.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

I am so grateful for the community. I'm so grateful for the media. I'm so grateful for all the people that came out and stood with us and marched with us and with, you know, all these people was getting attention and they were paying attention. And if we didn't do that, we wouldn't be here. And I think the most important thing, especially for people out there who maybe have a murdered child and nothing's being done about it. Do whatever you can do whatever you can. Get together with all your child's friends, with, you know, create a Facebook page. Demand justice for your child. It's the best thing you can do. I like to say they didn't just kill a child. They ignited a mom. And I wanted to do everything I could to make them pay attention, and I did everything I could and it worked. And the media helped and the public helped and that she matters. Yes. She danced a couple of nights a week. That's not who she was. That wasn't her personality. It wasn't who she was in the to the core. She was beautiful person. She wanted to be a mom and we missed out on all of that because of them. But I'm so glad that we did what we did. I'm glad I wasn't quiet. Nobody should be quiet. Nobody goodies. Nobody's death should be left in the dark.

[Annie Elise]

Hopefully we will begin seeing these cases move toward trial later this year. Though as we know, delays can happen constantly in situations like this. Defense attorneys will push for more time, they'll file motions, they'll do whatever they can. And death penalty cases can take especially long. But with the amount of evidence that the investigators say that they've gathered, it's difficult to imagine that this case will simply disappear or go unjust. I definitely will be keeping an eye on it as more happens and as we learn more. It just breaks my heart that again, there is not a system in place to protect these high stake witnesses. Because Mercedes was brave. She showed up for herself. She had the bravery and the courage to testify against this man. And yet because of that, because of that bravery, she was killed. It's hor and killed in such a barbaric, brutal and excruciating way. It's horrible. I'm curious to know what you guys think about this case and what your thoughts are on the system as a whole. And is there something more that we can do? Let me know in the comment section or on the review section if you're listening to this on Apple. Thank you so much for hearing Mercedes story today and listening to this episode. I know that it was a lot and I will certainly keep you posted. Most likely as this goes to trial if we don't do a follow up deep dive episode, I will absolutely be including the updates and headline highlights our Thursday episodes. So if you're not following the podcast already or subscribed to the YouTube channel, take a quick second right now, press subscribe. Look on your podcast app whether it's Spotify, Iheart, Apple, whatever and find the follow button so that you don't miss that. Alright guys, thank you so much and until the next one be nice, don't kill people and just watch your back back. Bye. Hate cleaning, hate scrubbing, hate dishwashing. Bro, we got you millions of videos about smart cleaning hacks will make your chores feel like a breeze. Download TikTok and check it out.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Want to be a star?

[Annie Elise]

No problem. Anyone can shine on TikTok.

[Mercedes' Mother (Erica)]

Post your first video today. Real life, real story. Real you download TikTok and get started.

[Annie Elise]

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