Unraveling the Mystery of the Exotic Dancer's Murder

Arrest Details and Timeline

Sencere Hayes, 22, was taken into custody on November 11 in Tennessee in connection with the killing of Mercedes Vega, 22, on April 17, 2023. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office made this announcement in a statement. Since then, the sheriff’s office and local prosecutors have been working to extradite Hayes to Arizona. The case remains active and under investigation, and no other information will be released at this time. It is unclear what charges Hayes faces, where he is being held, or if he has a lawyer representing him.

The victim's mother, Erika Pillsbury, has endured a long 19 months, feeling that her daughter would never see justice. However, with this arrest, she now believes that the person responsible will be held accountable. "Now I know the person who did this to her is going to pay for it," she said by phone on Monday.

Details of the Crime Scene

Mercedes Vega's body was discovered in the back seat of a Chevy Malibu on the shoulder of Interstate 10 near Tonopah, roughly 52 miles west of Phoenix, on April 17. She was a performer at a Phoenix strip club and had plans to become a personal trainer. According to her autopsy, she had been beaten, shot, and burned. A forensic pathologist who reviewed her autopsy for NBC News stated that her face appeared to have been doused in bleach.

Hours earlier, a security camera in Vega's apartment complex showed her walking into the garage where she had parked her Dodge Charger. She was never heard from again. On April 18, the Charger was found in the middle of a road roughly a mile from Vega's apartment. The authorities have declined to comment on how the vehicle got there.

Vega's family found blood on the garage floor near where she parked, leading them to believe she may have been assaulted and abducted. The sheriff's office has also declined to comment on this.

Investigation and Evidence

The Malibu in which Vega's body was found had a salvage title and had previously been registered to a person who could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the car's most recent owner, State Farm Insurance, has declined to comment, citing customer privacy policy and "sensitivities surrounding this tragedy."

The 911 caller who reported the car fire saw someone walking around the Malibu, but the report did not provide additional details about the person.