(Cupventi.com) – Authorities have made a significant break in the case of the brutal murder of Mercedes Vega, a 22-year-old exotic dancer whose body was discovered in a burning car on an Arizona interstate more than a year ago. On November 11, Sencere Hayes, 22, was arrested in Tennessee and taken into custody in connection with Vega’s tragic death, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement Monday.
The sheriff’s office is currently working to extradite Hayes to Arizona to face charges related to the murder, though specific details about the charges have not been disclosed. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have refrained from releasing additional information at this time. It is unclear where Hayes is being held, or whether he has retained legal counsel.
The arrest comes nearly 19 months after the discovery of Mercedes Vega’s body, which had been found on April 17, 2023, in the back seat of a Chevy Malibu on the shoulder of Interstate 10, near Tonopah, Arizona, about 52 miles west of Phoenix.
Mercedes Vega, a performer at a Phoenix strip club, had aspirations of becoming a personal trainer. According to her autopsy, she was severely beaten, shot, and then burned. Authorities noted that her face appeared to have been doused with bleach. A forensic pathologist reviewing the autopsy results for NBC News confirmed these disturbing details.
Vega’s mother, Erika Pillsbury, spoke out after learning of Hayes’ arrest, expressing her relief that her daughter would finally see justice. “For 19 months, I felt like my daughter would never get justice. Now I know the person who did this to her is going to pay for it,” Pillsbury said in an emotional phone interview Monday.
The events leading up to Vega’s death remain shrouded in mystery. Surveillance footage from the night of April 16, 2023, shows Vega entering the garage of her apartment complex, where she had parked her Dodge Charger. The following day, her car was discovered in the middle of a road roughly a mile from her apartment, but investigators have not disclosed how it arrived there. Vega’s family discovered blood stains on the garage floor near her vehicle, fueling their suspicion that she was assaulted and abducted.
After Vega’s body was discovered, authorities quickly identified the car in which it had been found. The Malibu was registered with a salvage title and had been previously owned by someone who could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson from State Farm Insurance, the car’s most recent insurer, declined to discuss the details, citing privacy policies and sensitivity regarding the case.
A crucial piece of the investigation came from a 911 caller who reported seeing someone walking around the burning car before it was fully engulfed in flames. Details about this individual remain sparse, and investigators have not released further information about their identity.
As of now, the case remains under active investigation. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed additional developments, and the community is left to wonder what new revelations may come to light as the legal proceedings unfold.