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.
MORE: 2 teens arrested, 3rd suspect at large in DC murder of congressional internInvestigators 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.
MORE: 13-year-old boy killed while setting off fireworks in Oklahoma: PoliceDetectives 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.
ICE said Hernandez-Mendez is an "illegal alien" from Guatemala and issued a detainer for him.
"Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, an illegal alien from Guatemala, has been charged with first and second-degree murder in the gruesome death of 19-year-old Dacara Thompson. ICE has issued a detainer for this criminal illegal alien and justice will be served for this Maryland family," ICE said in a statement on social media.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore released a statement on Thompson's death, saying she was "taken from us by an act of senseless violence."
Police urged anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at 301-516-2512 or call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).