(PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Md.) — A Maryland man has been arrested and charged in the killing of a 19-year-old woman who was reported missing last month, Prince George’s County police announced Friday.
Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, 35, of Bowie, is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of Dacara Thompson of Lanham.
On Aug. 31, Maryland State Police discovered a body in neighboring Anne Arundel County. The remains were later identified as Thompson, prompting a joint investigation with county detectives.
Investigators said surveillance footage showed Thompson approaching a black SUV in the early morning hours of Aug. 23. After speaking to the driver, she entered the vehicle.
Police said the SUV went to a home in the 12000 block of Kembridge Drive in Bowie, where evidence indicates she was killed in a bedroom.
Hernandez-Mendez allegedly had access to the SUV and lived in the bedroom where the killing occurred, investigators said.
Detectives are working to determine whether Hernandez-Mendez and Thompson knew each other before Aug. 23.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not released a cause of death, but investigators said they expect the case to be ruled a homicide.
Hernandez-Mendez is being held without bond.
Police urged anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at 301-516-2512 or call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
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