According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), DNA testing led to Sergio Mendes’ murder.
Laredo, Texas – The suspect was identified almost 10 years after the death of his 33-year-old mother from Laredo, Texas.
According to the Texas Rangers and Laredo Police Department, 42-year-old Sergio Mendes was charged this month in connection with the death of Janet Escamilla Jaramiro.
The body of his Texas mother was found on May 18, 2016, under a skate ramp at Seven Flag Spark in Laredo, hours after he was due to return home from work.
Upon further investigation, security footage showed the suspect and Jamarillo who appeared to be wearing garbage bags as it was raining that night. The suspect was tall and had a trimmed haircut, and the two were seen together about 30 minutes after Jamarillo left work around midnight.
Following Jamarillo’s death, the nine mothers appeared to have been strangled after an attempted sexual assault, according to the Texas Public Safety Bureau (DPS). No arrests were made at the time of her death.
A few years later, in 2021, advanced DNA testing was approved by DPS through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
The test found connections to Mendes, who was charged on March 12th in Webb County, Texas.
Mendes is currently in custody in Edinburg, Texas, where he serves 10 years in prison for another crime.
