Suspect in the murder case of Mercedes Vega presents his first plea

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The suspect charged with multiple felonies in the murder of Mercedes Vega, a Tempe woman found burned alive in the West Valley desert last year, entered his first plea Wednesday.

Sencere Hayes pleaded not guilty through his attorney before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and theft of conveyances.

The 22-year-old was arrested on November 11th in Hamilton County, Tennessee.

He was extradited back to the Valley late last month and his bail was set at $2 million, cash only.

Vega was last seen on surveillance camera leaving her Tempe apartment on April 16, 2023.

Friends said she was meeting others, but her car was later found abandoned near Culinary Dropout in Tempe.

Her body was found the next day in another car that was set on fire near Interstate 10, a few miles west of Tonopah.

A coroner’s report said Vega was shot in the arm, hit in the head and had bleach in her throat, but she was still alive when the fire broke out. The report concluded that Vega died of smoke inhalation.

For more than a year, Vega’s murder remained a mystery until Hayes was arrested while already in prison in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Investigators believe he has a criminal past, and officials say Hayes is the first of several arrests expected in this case.

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