The man accused of killing 19-year-old Da’cara Thompson of Prince George’s County was denied bail on Monday. Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, 35, of Guatemala, is charged with first- and second-degree murder.
Thompson was reported missing on Aug. 23, after she left home and never returned.
Her father, Daniel Thompson, said she left their Lanham house around 10 p.m. the previous night to get gas. He last spoke with her over text just before midnight.
“I got gas and I’m out. I should be back soon. I love you too. Goodnight,” her text read. Daniel Thompson said it was the last time he heard from his daughter.
More than a week later, on Aug. 31, a woman’s body was found in a grassy area off Route 50 in Anne Arundel County. That body was identified as Da’cara Thompson late last week.
Hugo Hernandez-Mendez arrested
Hernandez-Mendez was charged last week with killing Thompson. According to court records, he worked for a landscaping company based in Baltimore.
Surveillance video showed Thompson leaving her white Ford Edge SUV at a nightclub in Hyattsville on the night of Aug. 22.
Police said she approached Hernandez-Mendez’s GMC Yukon Denali and, after a brief conversation, walked to the passenger side and got into the front seat.
Investigators said Hernandez-Mendez then drove to his home in the 12000 block of Kembridge Drive in Bowie, where he allegedly killed her. Charging documents allege Hernandez-Mendez then threw Thompson’s body off the U.S. 50 bridge into the South River, a drop police estimated at more than 30 feet.
Thompson’s body had skull and facial fractures, and her family identified her through her tattoos and jewelry, police said.
U.S. Park Police arrested Hernandez-Mendez on a DUI charge five months ago, but released him.
A cousin told police that Hernandez-Mendez has a “drinking and drug problem,” according to court documents.
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