Tennessee Man Arrested for Murder of Arizona Woman Mercedes Vega
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WTVC) — A Tennessee man accused of abducting, torturing, and murdering a woman from Arizona has been arrested after more than a year of mystery surrounding her death. On November 11, 22-year-old Sencere Patrick Hayes turned himself in at the Hamilton County Jail, according to authorities.
Hayes faces charges related to the abduction and murder of 23-year-old Mercedes Vega in April 2023. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona reports that Vega’s body was discovered in a burned-out vehicle in Tonopah, Arizona, just off Interstate 10. Police believe Hayes is responsible for the brutal crime, which included the abduction, torture, and eventual murder of Vega.
Vega was last seen on April 16, 2023, when she was with friends in downtown Tempe, Arizona. Authorities later learned she had been abducted from her apartment, hit on the head, shot in the arm, and burned alive in the vehicle. After a month, investigators learned that bleach had been found in her throat during an autopsy, suggesting further malicious intent. Her parents were devastated to find blood stains in her parking spot days after her disappearance.
Following his arrest, Hayes was detained, and more details about his connections to Hamilton County are still being investigated. Online records show Hayes had been arrested twice in the area earlier in 2024. In one instance, he was involved in a shots-fired incident, and in another, he was pulled over for speeding and had no driver’s license.
Vega’s parents, who are still mourning their daughter’s loss, said the news of Hayes’ arrest provided some solace as they prepared for their second holiday season without Mercedes. “This time of the year is really hard,” said her mother, Erika Pillsbury. “We have her stocking to hang up, and I will always hang it up right next to her siblings’ stocking.”
Authorities have suggested that additional arrests in connection with the case may be forthcoming.
