Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of murder. Please take care while reading.
Sencere Hayes was arrested in Chattanooga, TN, in connection to Mercedes Vega‘s brutal murder in Arizona last year. Vega’s body was discovered in the back of a burning Chevy Malibu in April 2023, off Interstate 10, about 50 miles west of Phoenix. She had been beaten, shot, and burned, and her body had been doused in bleach.
Tennessee authorities announced Hayes’ arrest and said plans were underway to extradite Hayes, 22, to Arizona to stand trial. Vega’s murder investigation was still active, police said, but gave few other details about whether any other people were involved, what might have been the motive for the crime, or what led them to Hayes in Tennessee. Ashley Holden from Arizona news outlet ABC 15 said the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed more arrests were coming.
Vega was last seen on a parking garage security camera
Vega, who was 22 when she died, was a part-time adult dancer in Phoenix who planned to become a personal trainer and open a gym. She was last seen on her apartment security camera where she parked her Dodge Charger. She was never heard from again.
According to Erika’s mother and stepfather, Erika and Tom Pillsbury, who spoke with Dateline, Vega seemed to be looking at her phone in the footage and might have been in a FaceTime chat. Based on text messages, Vega could have been on her way to meet friends for sushi or at a Dave & Busters.
However, Vega texted her mother shortly before she disappeared “I just feel weird, like maybe I shouldn’t go anywhere,” Erika said. According to Arizona authorities, evidence showed Vega had canceled “personal plans” and was on her way to work.
The burning car was discovered the next day
The next morning, the Chevy Malibu was reported burning on the side of the road, and Vega was found dead inside. It’s unclear who owned the vehicle, but it wasn’t Vega’s. Reports have said the car had a salvage title. Vega’s cause of death was ruled “conflagration, blunt force, and ballistic injuries.”
At that time, authorities said evidence was gathered from the vehicle but gave little information about a person or persons of interest in the case. The witness who reported the car said they saw someone outside the vehicle, but it’s unclear who that was.
“I know she fought”
After Vega died, USA Today says her family shared flyers seeking information about what happened. Vega was hit in the back of the head in the garage, forced into the car — presumably the Malibu — and later shot, the flyer said.
She was then burned alive, the flyer added, but it did not clarify how Vega’s family confirmed that information. Her autopsy stated smoke inhalation contributed to her death, suggesting she was alive when the fire started. Blood evidence was reportedly found in the parking garage near her car. Of her daughter’s final moments, Vega’s mom, Erika, told Dateline, “I know she fought. She did.”
Erika added, “She was so bright,” when Hayes’ arrest was announced. “She was such a beautiful, sweet, kind soul. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. It just doesn’t seem real that she’s gone. She was mine and the person that did this had no right to take her away,” she said. And speaking with NBC News, Erika later added, “Now I know the person who did this to her is going to pay for it.”