By Hannah Nightingale – The Postmillennial
A 35-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala has been charged with killing a 19-year-old Maryland woman and dumping her body off a bridge near Annapolis, Maryland. DaCara Thompson was found deceased off of Route 50 in Anne Arundel County on August 31, Prince George’s County Police confirmed Friday.
Prince George’s County Police Department Interim Chief George Nader said that Hugo Hernandez-Mendez has been charged with second-degree murder, per WUSA.
Thompson was reported missing by her father around 9 pm on August 23, police said. The father told police that he had last seen her the night of the 22nd, and that he had called her when she hadn’t returned, but she didn’t answer. She had texted him that night, saying that she was grabbing gas for her car and going out. That was the last he had heard from her.
Family members tracked the last location of her phone on August 24 to the intersection of Jasmine Terrace and Riggs Road in Hyattsville. They found her car there and called police.
Maryland State Police responded on August 31 at around 4:50 pm to Route 50 between Maryland Rt 424 and Maryland Rt 97 in Annapolis for a vehicle that was disabled on a bridge that goes over the South River.
Court documents stated that troopers at the scene saw her body around 30 feet below the bridge on the river embankment. She was nude and injured. DaCara’s family met with detectives on September 3, where detectives were able to identify her through photos the family shared.
Surveillance footage recovered by detectives from the early hours of August 23 showed Thompson leaving her white SUV and walking from Jasmine Terrace down Riggs Road toward University Boulevard. She was seen talking into a business’ parking lot on University Boulevard, where she approached the driver’s side of a black GMC Yukon Denali and appeared to speak to the driver. She walked around to the passenger side and got in the front seat.
Authorities discovered that the Denali was registered to a person who lived in Bowie, Maryland, and they believe the two arrived at that home at around 3:47 am. Thompson’s phone was deactivated at 5:03 am.
Detectives went to the home on September 3 just before 9 pm, where they saw the black SUV parked at the address. Police went to carry out a search warrant early hours of September 4, but saw a man leave the home and get into the SUV. Police stopped the driver, who has been identified as Hernandez-Mendez, and detained him.
He allegedly told authorities that he had been at the Galaxy Night Club on University Boulevard in the early hours of August 23, which was across the street from where Thompson was seen getting into the black SUV. When questioned about the disappearance, he denied involvement and asked for a lawyer.
Authorities believe Hernandez-Mendez killed DaCara Thompson in his bedroom in the morning hours of August 23, and then drove to Rt 50 between Rt 424 and Rt 97 and threw her body off the bridge. Per WJZ, charging documents said that a roommate recalled to police “hearing the defendant having sex” and then “a grunting noise which made it believe that someone wasn’t enjoying the sex.” A search warrant of the home uncovered what police believed to be the victim’s blood and a missing fingernail, as well as hair and other evidence, including “multiple pairs of women’s underwear and lingerie.”
A GoFundMe set up originally for search efforts and a private investigator will now go towards Thompson’s funeral costs. “Dacara was a beautiful, kind-hearted young woman who brought joy to everyone around her, and her absence has created a void that words can’t fill. During the days she was missing, we held onto hope, but now we must focus on honoring her memory with the dignified farewell she deserves,” the fundraiser, which has raised over $27,000 as of Monday evening, stated.