Exotic Dancer Murder and Arrest

On April 17, 2023, the body of 22-year-old Mercedes Vega, an exotic dancer working in a strip club in Phoenix, Arizona, was found in the backseat of a burning Chevy Malibu on Interstate 10 in Tonopah, approximately 53 miles west of Phoenix. Vega had suffered severe injuries, including blunt force trauma, a gunshot wound to the arm, and was doused in bleach, with bleach also found in her throat. Her body was then burned inside the abandoned car. The night before her body was discovered, Vega had been out with friends near Mill Avenue in Tempe and was last seen entering the garage of her Tempe apartment complex, where her Dodge Charger was parked. Blood was found in the garage, and her Dodge Charger was later found dumped a few miles away. The Chevy Malibu in which her body was found had a salvage title and was not registered to her. After 18 months without any arrests, Sencere Hayes, 22, was taken into custody on November 11, 2024, in Tennessee. Hayes is alleged to have tortured Vega with bleach before her death. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to extradite Hayes back to Arizona, and more arrests are expected to follow.

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