‘The smell is different’: Neighbor details suspicious behavior at suspected Dacara Thompson murder house, suggests cover-up

A neighbor identified only as “Cody” is breaking his silence about the disturbing events he witnessed in the early morning hours of August 23, 2025, the night that Hugo Hernandez-Mendez allegedly killed 19-year-old Dacara Thompson at his home in Bowie, Maryland.

Cody, who says he lives only about forty feet from Hernandez-Mendez’s residence, told FOX 5 DC he noticed a small fire burning in the suspect’s backyard that morning. At first, he thought little of it, but the odor immediately caught his attention.

“The smell is different. It’s not a brush smell. It smells more like something like trash burning or something like that,” Cody told the outlet. “I would be willing to bet they were burning evidence of some sort. What I told the detectives, I know that that ash pile that was back there, is no longer back there.”

Did Hernandez-Mendez’s roommates help hide evidence?

The neighbor’s observation, coupled with the disappearance of the ash pile, suggests the possibility that Hernandez-Mendez and his roommates may have deliberately destroyed evidence. Investigators have not publicly confirmed that theory.

What makes Cody’s account more unsettling is that it lines up with other reports from inside the home. One of Hernandez-Mendez’s roommates told detectives he heard his housemate in his bedroom with a woman that night, who seemed to be in distress.

The unexplained fire and the troubling noises behind closed doors have deepened suspicions about what unfolded in the house.

Suppose someone was indeed burning material in the backyard, and the ash pile was later removed. In that case, it raises the question of whether Hernandez-Mendez may have received help hiding his crime.

The Dacara Thompson case

The timeline of events leading to Thompson’s death has been pieced together through surveillance footage and police investigation. Thompson’s family reported the recent high school graduate missing after she left home early on August 23, saying she was going to get gas.

Hours later, surveillance footage captured her entering the passenger side of a black GMC Yukon Denali in Hyattsville, a vehicle later linked to Hernandez-Mendez. More than a week later, on August 31, investigators found Thompson’s body naked off Route 50 in Anne Arundel County. An autopsy revealed she suffered skull and facial fractures, which authorities say point to homicide.

Hernandez-Mendez is in custody

Police searched Hernandez-Mendez’s Bowie home and recovered several items that prosecutors believe tie him directly to Thompson’s killing. Investigators found blood stains on a mattress, a fake French manicure nail matching one missing from Thompson’s hand, and strands of hair consistent with the wig she was wearing when last seen on surveillance video.

Detectives also noted possible blood traces inside the SUV’s passenger seat, further reinforcing that she was in his vehicle the night she disappeared.

Hernandez-Mendez, a 35-year-old Guatemalan national previously arrested for DUI in April, is now in custody on first- and second-degree murder charges. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed he is in the country illegally.

Prosecutors in Prince George’s County have stressed their focus remains squarely on seeking justice for Thompson. Hernandez-Mendez was denied bond and is currently in custody. His next court appearance is scheduled for October 8, 2025.