Major Update in Bleach-in-Throat Burned Body Case

Two defendants accused of targeting a. young woman in Arizona, pouring bleach. down her throat, and leaving her in a. burning car while she was still alive. could now [music] receive the ultimate. punishment. Prosecutors have announced. that they are seeking the death penalty. So, what does this mean for trial. preparation in the case as it moves. forward? Now, we're not only getting. expert insight from a criminal defense. attorney and former prosecutor, but we. are also sitting down with the victim's. parents to get [music] their reaction to. the capital punishment decision. >> Did you stand there and watch her burn?

Did you Did she scream? >> [music]. >> Did she say anything? They didn't just. take her life, they destroyed all of our. lives. >> Yes. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by. Law & Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, real quick before we jump into. this any further, the reason we can do a. deep dive into this kind of story is. because of the support that we get from. our sponsor Upside. Now, this is a free. app that gets you cash back on daily. essentials like gas, groceries. It is so. easy to use. When I go pump my gas, I.

can use Upside. I go to a convenience. store, I can use Upside. I grab a quick. bite to eat, I can use Upside. And. that's right, this is real cash back. After you spend, money appears in your. Upside account that you can transfer. right into your bank account. what you. do. You download the Upside app for. free, you buy whatever you plan to. purchase, you pay as usual with a debit. or credit card, you file a claim in the. app, and just like that, money back. So, to find out how much you can save with. Upside, click the link in the. description or scan the QR code on. screen, but make sure to use our promo. code SIDEBAR because you'll get an extra. 25 cents back on every gallon on your. first tank of gas. 22-year-old Mercedes.

Vega of Tempe, Arizona was independent. and strong, according to her family. Not. one who would easily back down from a. fight. And when she was the target of an. armed robbery, she was reportedly. prepared to give a statement against the. accused robber. But before she had a. chance to, prosecutors allege that that. man went to extreme lengths to keep her. quiet, ultimately ending her life. And. now, if convicted, this suspect could. face a death sentence of his own. That.

has just come out. Maricopa County. prosecutors announced on Wednesday that. they plan to seek the death penalty. against 29-year-old Kajaun Young and. 23-year-old Sincere Hayes. In a press release, the Maricopa County. Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated, "I. believe the death penalty is an. appropriate sentencing consideration for. the jury for these two defendants. We. will continue to pursue justice for. Mercedes Vega and her family." Now, I. want to give you a quick rundown of how. we got to this point cuz I think it'll. make sense of why prosecutors are moving.

forward here with the death penalty. This started with the discovery of. Mercedes' body in April of 2023 inside. of a burning car along I-10. Now, this. is near Tonopah. It's more than an hour. away from where Mercedes lived in Tempe. Investigators believe that Mercedes was. kidnapped from her apartment building's. parking garage. The last time she's seen. alive is on surveillance video that. shows her walking from the elevator out. into the garage, and her apparent. abduction happened off camera. But hours. after she was allegedly taken, dispatchers get a call about a burning.

car on the roadside. It was like out in. the bushes, but I saw flame inside. vehicle. Okay, so they're on the west side of. I-10? Yes. Yeah, just just north of the highway, lady. Uh I don't really know what it is that. um I couldn't tell you. Okay, unknown. vehicle. Okay. Anyone You said there's. people outside the vehicle? Uh I believe there's at least one person. outside, yes. In the backseat of that. burning Chevy Malibu, first responders.

found Mercedes. The medical examiner. confirmed she had been shot in the arm, beaten, had bleach poured down her. throat, and was burned alive. She. ultimately died from smoke inhalation, according to the ME's office. It's just. a savage killing. It is an awful crime. But it would be evidence that was found. in Vega's abandoned Dodge Charger that. would lead authorities to the three. suspects, Sincere Hayes, Kajaun Young, and Jared Gray. So, when police reviewed.

that surveillance video from the. apartment complex, they spot that Malibu. leaving the garage at the same time as. the Charger, which was eventually found. abandoned about a mile from the. apartment. Inside the car, they. apparently find the large purse that. Vega was carrying in the surveillance. footage, as well as blood. They also. find a plastic grocery bag that had. blood near its handles with a second. grocery bag inside it. This is according. to court filings that were reviewed by. the Arizona Republic. Investigators. apparently found a fingerprint on the. plastic and put it into the national.

database, but it would be a year before. a matching print was added to the system. after an alleged crime out in Tennessee. That is how police identified Sincere. Hayes. Jared Gray's fingerprint was. reportedly found on the bottom of a. plastic cup inside the Malibu. This is. according to the Arizona Republic. He's. currently dealing with a court case out. in Georgia. He's expected to be. extradited to Arizona to face charges as. well. But police believe that the third. suspect, Kajaun Young, helped organize. this entire hit on Mercedes. And what. could possibly be the motive behind such.

depraved alleged actions? Turns out, Mercedes was set to testify against. Young in an armed robbery case. So, police believe he wanted to get rid of. her. Between 2019 and 2020, at least. three dancers from Phoenix's La Girls. Club, including Mercedes, were targeted. in armed robberies. In November 2019, one dancer told police she was robbed at. gunpoint in her Scottsdale condo parking. lot by a masked man. She believed that. she'd been followed home from the club.

Says she was never told if detectives. actually pulled up the security footage. Then in November 2020, another dancer. says she was approached by a masked man. with a gun in her garage. He reportedly. ran off when another car pulled in. And. authorities believe that Mercedes was. robbed by Young in 2020. When Mercedes. spoke with one of the other dancers who. asked her to describe her attacker, the. other woman agreed it sounded like the. same man. This is according to NBC News. Now, Mercedes' family says that she. picked him out of a lineup, had written. a victim impact statement for his trial.

She was reportedly set to testify. against him the day that she was found. murdered. And Young was charged in 2021. for armed robbery with a deadly weapon. This is according to Maricopa County. court records. All right, so to talk. about the evidence against these three. men, as well as what changes now that. the prosecution has announced its intent. to seek the death penalty against two of. them, I want to welcome back on criminal. defense attorney, former prosecutor Kurt. Altman. Uh Kurt, thanks so much for. taking the time. It's good to see you. Hey, you bet, Jesse. Thanks for having. me. First, have you ever dealt with a.

case that involved such horrifying. violence? I talked about it before, but. to think about what she went through, it. it it is unimaginable. It is. unimaginable, this level of depravity. Um have you ever dealt with something. like this? You know, I'm sorry to say, Jesse, I. have on on a few occasions. I've had. cases that are just beyond human. imagination, which this one is. I could. not imagine how heinous a death that was.

when you're alive inside of a car that's. burning that you can't get out of. But. unfortunately, you see these now and. then, and this is just horrific. Are you. surprised that you have the prosecution. now going the death penalty route? No, I'm not surprised at all. First of all, the death penalty, capital punishment in. Arizona, it's on the books. So, when. it's appropriate and through discretion. of the prosecutor, when they believe. it's appropriate, I think they should. seek the death penalty. Whether you. believe in it or not, that's what the. law says. And this case is no surprise. at all. Way back when courts, judges.

used to decide whether it's a death case. or not in Arizona, I had a judge tell me. one time, "If you have to wonder. if it's a death case or not, it's not.". I don't think many people are wondering. about this one. They're filing a notice. of intent to seek the death penalty. Can. that delay the case? Because then it's. two stages, right? It's the guilt phase, it's the trial phase, and then it's the. uh the penalty phase. So, it now it. makes the trial longer, and I I would. imagine in terms of uh jury selection.

and experts, um does this now make the. the uh potential trial date um does it. delay it? 100%. It's going to substantially delay. the case. The defense in something like. this, once that notice of intent uh is. filed, has an opportunity to start to do. not only investigation to defend the. case, but also a whole separate. mitigation type investigation where. they're allowed to get experts, they're. allowed to dig into the past history of. their clients, and it takes quite some.

time um for them to be able to. effectively put together what they. believe could be mitigation. So, the. courts are going to give them a lot of. leeway. This is going to substantially. slow down the resolution of the case. And I want to talk more about the. evidence uh that investigators say they. have against these defendants cuz I. think it's really substantial and really. important. So, the criminal complaints. that were reviewed, according to the uh. Arizona Republic, indicate that police. were able to get their hands on travel. information. That we're talking about.

purchases for plane tickets for Hayes. and Gray to fly out to Arizona from. Tennessee, where all the suspects. originally from. It is believed that the. credit card information connects back to. Young. In fact, during the interview, Hayes reportedly told police that he. quote had business with another person. out west, but wouldn't say who. When. investigators apparently spoke with. Gray, he told them allegedly that he. never traveled to Arizona, that he. didn't know Young or Hayes. Kurt, as we. go through this, how damning is that.

kind of digital trail, that paper trail? And how would you defend against it? Well, I mean, welcome to the 21st. century, right? Everything is digital. now. You can do very little without some. digital record of it out there that that. law enforcement can find. So, it's very. damning evidence. I mean, it's often. better evidence, probably better. evidence in this case than eyewitness or. cooperator type testimony because it's. irrefutable. Where these cards were. used, where they traveled, what plane.

they got on, and things like that. So, damning? Very damning. How do you defend. against it? Man, that's a tough one, because you can't really beat the. digital trail. You just have to find. another explanation for it. And maybe. there is one. They're still presumed. innocent, but it's difficult. I mean, social media, uh digital evidence, credit cards, travel records, they are hard hard to. confront as a defense lawyer. And if Young was so dead set on getting. rid of Mercedes, right, as prosecutors.

alleged, the question becomes why didn't. he just. do it himself, right? Here's something. to know. Turns out, he was out on bond. at this time and was wearing a GPS ankle. monitor. So, authorities would have been. able to track him. Again, assuming. alleging that he did all this and was, you know, instrumental in all this, that's something to consider. The. problem for him is the cell phones. Cell. phones can be tracked, too. So, the cell. phone location data, the evidence, is. likely going to be critical in this. case. Why? Because according to court. records, according to authorities, the.

plane tickets were connected back to a. cell phone number. Police were able to. track it, showed that the phone was. following the path that the Malibu took. on the day that Vega died and was in the. area where her body was found. Maricopa. County investigators also reportedly. talked to a man whose cell phone. location was near the scene of the. burning car. And get this, he apparently. tells authorities that Young called him. to go, quote, pick up a package. Turned. out, two men, likely Hayes and Gray. The. court paperwork indicates that the man.

told detectives he was given the. location, as well as a car, picked up. two men, drove them back to the Phoenix. area. Phones belonging to that man and. Hayes both apparently or allegedly show. them on I-10 in the hours after Vega's. death. And police were also able to. confirm that the phone number connected. to the plane ticket purchase was the. same number or allegedly the same number. that called this unidentified man at. around 2:00 a.m. Now, there's no word on. whether this man who allegedly gave. Hayes and Gray a ride is going to face. any kind of charges, but Kurt,

I mean, my gosh, I mean, what stands out. to you about that he he's now got to be. a huge witness for the for the. government. Oh, yeah, for sure, right? I mean, again, we go back to digital trails from. credit cards to social media to cell. phones. Those cell phones ping off. towers. Law enforcement and technology. today can almost pinpoint within a. hundred [clears throat] some two hundred. yards where that phone is at any given. time. So, it's important for this. witness, this unidentified witness, to. testify. [clears throat]. Going to be very important, because. people can say, "Hey, that I didn't have.

my phone. Someone else had my phone. This is why it was here." But this. person certainly is going to be a key. kind of bridge that brings everything. and all this digital evidence together. and puts the suspects where police and. prosecutors say they are. It's going to. be, again, a very difficult thing to. defend just because of the digital. evidence that's hard to dispute. Of. course, but you know, from a defense. perspective, if he takes the stand, defense attorneys will say, you know, you're cooperating with the government. You you claim you were a part of this.

Why should we trust you? Are you really. credible? Prosecution can't. uh cherry-pick their witnesses. They're. given who they're given. Um and I do wonder if there's going to. be something along the lines of like he. didn't know what was going on. He was. just told to do this. He didn't really. know the circumstances of it. But is he. going to be a problematic potential. witness at a trial? Well, sure. I mean, that gives at least. it gives the defense some sort of. chance, right? A cross-examination of. some somebody like this. Cuz from what. I've read and from what you just. indicated here, uh there's probably some. significant evidence that ties this.

witness to the crime that allows this. witness or could allow this witness to. be charged with some sort of crime in. this homicide. And whether this person. is charged or whether they're given a. pretrial sort of deal, they're getting a. break. They're probably going to get a. break to testify. And every time. somebody gets a break to testify, that. gives an incentive to be untruthful, because they're going to protect. themselves. And that gives the defense. an opening. So, the cross-examination. and the analysis of this witness's. testimony is going to be critical for. the defense. And as a defense lawyer,

this is where I'm going to try to hone. in, you know, maybe this person did it. and my client didn't. Maybe this person. is covering up what they did to get a. deal and throw our clients under the. bus. This is where you're going to focus. your energy, a lot of your energy, in a. defense of a case like this as a defense. lawyer. Now, authorities believe that. Hayes and Gray took a Greyhound bus. together back to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Uh officers flew there to arrest Hayes. in November of 2024. He was extradited. back to Arizona, charged with, we. believe, uh premeditated first-degree. murder, kidnapping, arson, armed.

robbery, theft, hindering prosecution. Young, whose armed robbery case is. supposed to go to trial next year, was. apparently charged with the same thing. as Hayes in connection with Vega's. death. Both of them could get the death. penalty if convicted. And as I. mentioned, Gray is dealing with a. separate case. He's expected to be. extradited back to Arizona, charged with. murder. Is that complicated, though, Kurt, in terms of uh extradition or the. circumstances where one jurisdiction's. case would take precedent over another? You think it's going to be complicated.

here to get him back? I mean, certainly it could be. complicated. Most of the time. authorities try to work out a deal, so. it's not complicated. He's got He's got. charges, I think you said Georgia, right? Uh authorities hopefully will be. working together saying, "Hey, this is a. capital case here. This is a homicide. case here in Arizona. Can we take. priority?" And the two states and the. authorities in the two states will work. together to get him back. Sometimes. there's a struggle. Do I see sometimes. Georgia might say, "Listen, it's more. important for us to get justice here in. this state for our victims, our people,

whatever that crime may be, before we. turn him over." So, depending on what. they can work out, there's a real. possibility that he stays in Georgia. till that case is over. I have a feeling. authorities will do their best to. cooperate and get him out here so this. case can get moving because of the. nature of it. Now, something interesting. I want to talk about as well is that. Mercedes was ready to testify against. Young in that armed robbery case and had. reportedly picked him out of a lineup. The prosecution filed motions in Young. and Hayes' cases stating, "The state of. Arizona, by and through undersigned.

counsel, hereby moves to admit. statements of Mercedes Vega that were. previously precluded due to forfeiture. of wrongdoing on behalf of the. defendants." Now, Kurt, doesn't that. mean that her statements, which were. otherwise hearsay, right? They could. were otherwise going to be hearsay, they. could come in against these defendants. because it's the defendants' fault that. she can't testify. Am I understanding. that correctly? And what do you think. those statements are? The I mean, the that's exactly right. That's what the prosecution is asking. They're They're like, "Normally, under. the rules of evidence, she would be the.

person who would have to testify uh to. whatever these statements are that she. probably gave to law enforcement.". >> Probably about the armed robbery. Right. Right. Now, uh. the defendant in the armed robbery, which to my understanding is Young, the. prosecution's saying, "Hey, the rules of. evidence don't allow him to benefit. uh and lose not have these statements. come out against him because of. something that he instigated to make. that witness unavailable." They're. basically saying she's unavailable. because of the defendant's actions,

therefore her statements are no longer. hearsay and can come in. But isn't that. I mean, he wasn't convicted of that yet, right? I mean, that's the allegations. that he's responsible for her death and. no longer being available. But under the. rules of evidence, uh. you you can just be accused of it and. that's enough for a rationale for those. statements to come in? Well, that's that's something that the. court's going to have to decide. That's. why the state filed the motion saying, "Hey, this is the evidence we have.". It'll be interesting because in the. armed robbery case, um in order to get.

those statements in, they'll probably be. pretrial hearings where a lot of the. homicide evidence will have to be. presented because they have to kind of. show beyond a certain probably a. preponderance of the evidence at that. point that Young was involved in this. disappearance or the unavailability. [clears throat] of the witness. Um so, it'll be interesting. We'll hear a lot. about the homicide uh during those. pretrial hearings in the armed robbery. case. So, I want to You mentioned the state's. motion. Actually, I want to take a look. a look at the state's motion to seek the.

death penalty because the filing says if. the defendants are found guilty of. murder, they will have committed the. offense, quote, in an especially. heinous, cruel, or depraved manner. So, the document reads, "Victim M. Vega. consciously suffered physical or mental. pain, distress, or anguish prior to. death, and the defendant knew or should. have known that victim M. Vega would. suffer." And when it comes to Young, prosecutors allege that he ordered this. hit on Mercedes while he was awaiting. trial for other offenses, you know, attempt to commit armed robbery. And the.

motion says, "The defendant committed. the offense to prevent victim M. Vega's. cooperation with an official law. enforcement investigation, to prevent. her testimony in a court proceeding, or. in retaliation for her cooperation with. an official law enforcement. investigation." And the filing indicates. that if the case does make it to the. penalty phase, the state will call in at. least one medical examiner to testify. about Mercedes' physical pain and. suffering. So, Kurt, let's be clear. about this. Under the law, prosecutors can't just say we're seeking. the death penalty cuz we want to. They.

have to actually be justified under. specific criteria, specific factors that. would warrant the death penalty. If. you're talking a particularly egregious. crime where the victim suffered. tremendously or because they were a. witness. Those are the aggravating. factors, right? Correct. There's a statute in Arizona. that says if you get to the penalty. phase in a case like this, the. prosecution must prove aggravating. factors beyond a reasonable doubt, just. like the guilt phase. Um to a juror or a. jury must find beyond a reasonable doubt.

these aggravating factors in order to. impose the death penalty. And they are. specifically listed. Um they're They're. enumerated in the statute what those. aggravating factors can be. And one of. them is cruel, heinous, and depraved. manner of death. Um and the other one. There's another one that says the the. homicide was committed to quiet a. cooperator, right? Which is what the. allegations are here. So, what the state. will do if they get to the to the um. penalty phase is they'll bring in a. medical examiner or some other medical. expert that'll talk about the autopsy.

that said, "Hey, she had uh smoke. inhalation." Which means while that car. was burning, she was breathing. You. can't breathe if you're not still alive. And then they will describe what it's. like uh in some manner to die from smoke. inhalation and all these other injuries. Maybe estimate how long it might have. taken and what she went through. And the. jury will hear that evidence uh and then. have to decide if that was a heinous. manner of death. Mhm. And by the way, to to to try to. figure that out, how exactly is a.

medical examiner going to know what she. went through? Well, their from their uh their. testimony is going to be from their. experience and their training. First of. all, they're they're going to say. beyond a medical certainty, she was alive while that car was. burning. We know that because there was. smoke in her lungs. They'll say. something along those lines. And then. I'm sure the prosecutor, if I were the. prosecutor, I'd ask, "Well, can you describe Do you have any. experience to be able to uh describe to. the jury what it's like to die from.

smoke inhalation? A- and. based on research a- and their. experience, the medical examiner will. probably have some testimony as to that. A- It's opinion testimony, but it's. based on their medical training. So, Well, well, not even I I mean, they can. describe what happens to the body i- i-. in explicit detail. And when a jury. hears that, right? They're going to hear. the First of all, the pain from getting. shot, beaten, bleach thrown in your. throat, um and then being burned and.

grasping for oxygen, you know, in a m-. in a medical diagnosis, in a medical. explanation, y- you know, i- it's going to be hard, I. think, in death penalty cases, particularly one like this, for the jury. not to be. persuaded, not to be uh overcome with. emotion, and have that be a decision, have that be a factor that you know, factors into their decision. Yeah, I think that's right. If the. evidence comes in in this case as we're. hearing it today, this is awful. Uh I. had forgotten about the bleach. And of.

course, a medical examiner can tell a. jury exactly what bleach in someone's. throat or bleach on someone's skin, what. it does to the skin and how long it. takes and how that works. So, they're. going to hear graphic, horrific details. Certainly, it's up to them whether they. believe it or not, what that proof is, but they're going to hear it and it's. going to be brutal. So, for now, Hayes. and Young are set to go to trial in May. of 2026. Uh Kurt, thank you so much for. coming on. Really, really appreciate uh. your perspective and uh your analysis on. this. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Jesse. Anytime. Okay. So, now. I want to welcome back on two special. guests, Mercedes' parents, Tom and Erica. Pillsbury. Thank you both so much for coming on. It's great to see you again. Um very. festive uh in the background. Um but I. can imagine that the holidays are a. difficult time. Um Yeah, that's That's. of you. Mercedes' Christmas tree behind Tom. there. I can That was her tree? That's. her tree from her house. Wow. Beautiful. It's beautiful. Um.

How are you guys How are you guys doing? How are you holding up? Again, I know. this is probably a very difficult time. of year. Um but how are you both doing right now? Um i- it's hard. It is a hard time of. year. Um. And every day is hard. It's hard to hang up her stocking. It's. hard to know, you know, she wasn't here. for Thanksgiving and. uh on the days that we know that she. would normally be here, i- her presence.

is. missed, for sure. Yeah, this is the time of the year that. we know. I mean, I would see her periodically. through the months, like if she needed. something or she wanted me to fix her. car or whatever, but I know for a fact. that she was coming here for Christmas. or Thanksgiving. So, it it is very, very. hard to know that she's not going to. walk through that door. And she loved Christmas? Was a big. holiday for her? >> Yes, she was a very. um we're Christmas people and we kind of.

instilled that on her, so she loved. Christmas at the same time. And when she. was little, um one thing that me and her. used to do, and I still do to this day, was we would watch Christmas movies. over and over and over again. So, I. still watch them and think of her while. I'm watching them. That's so nice. I mean, I have to tell. you, your decorations um are amazing. Um. I can feel. um it's really it's I have to tell you, it's very impressive, to say the least. But um I'm glad Mercedes' tree is there.

Um. I One of the reasons we obviously wanted. to talk to you, not only to revisit the. case and see how you're doing, big development this week. Um. this decision to move forward with the. death penalty against two of these. defendants, um how are you feeling about. that? And is this something that you. both were advocating for uh since the. beginning? Yeah. Um. I wanted. Cujo, Sincere, and Jared to know.

that we would never stop. Um. that they needed to understand that. Um. and that any life I have left in me. and any breath I have left, I will. continue to advocate for Mercedes. And um I will ensure that every lawful. consequence that they could possibly. endure, they will face. Um they chose to make this decision. And.

um. I think that. it. the consequences should be brought down. upon them with. without mercy, um without hesitation. And I we we won't rest until. uh. every person who is responsible for. taking her away from us um is held. accountable. It's something we've been fighting for.

Um it's very hard to be happy about this. cuz you have mixed emotions. You're. happy and sad and you're angry and. you're frustrated. Um. I don't want someone I'm not happy that. someone could die. Um that's not what I. want. But what they did to our child, it fits what they did to our child. Um I'm not an advocate of saying, "Oh, well, this or an eye for an eye." But I. mean, ultimately, my daughter didn't do. anything wrong. This is over. a cell phone and a thousand dollars.

They had no caring of life. People. flying here that didn't know her. Um. Like Erica said, it it fits the it fits. what they did. I mean, they didn't just. They could have done. simple thing, but they ended up. torturing our child. Um. They don't have any care for life. So, I don't have any reservations about. that. I'm glad that the state has. finally got to that point because Cujo. is the main person in this whole thing. He is the reason we're sitting here. Um.

the other people just followed along. Um and for the state to agree that he. deserves. is a very i- it's very good for us. And. it it it kind of helps us that we're now. going on that path that we know is going. to be a long path. And they didn't just. take her life, they destroyed all of our. lives. >> Yes. Yeah. No, 100%. The Has the. prosecution. um communicated to you what to expect. next? I was talking about this before. that when it becomes a death penalty. case, a trial date can be delayed. There's a.

lot that has to be prepared. You now. divide the trial into two phases. Has. the Have the prosecutors given you an. idea about what to expect, what the. timeline's going to be, what this case. is going to look like? Mhm. We know it's going to take a long. time. But this isn't something that fades with. time. Yeah, they they've made it clear. that this could be a couple years. It's. not something that, you know, you're. going to have delays and you're going to. have this and you're going to have that. Um cuz they when they asked us if if.

this is something we wanted, they made. that clear. If you decide to go this. route, this is what could end up. happening. It could take three, four, five years. You never know with the. system. And we understood that from day. one. And it's not something that we're. ever going to walk away from. >> No. Um I mean, it's. it's going to We're going to make sure. it it it follows them and that. everything that they did and everything. um every time we go to court, every time.

uh they face a a new consequence or. something new comes to light, we want. the world to know what these monsters. did. because they deserve it. They They the. world deserves to know what these. monsters are capable of doing. Um especially to an innocent, young, beautiful woman who was doing absolutely. nothing wrong. Um and we know it's going. to take a long time. We know the legal.

system takes a long time. It's been five. years and he's not been convicted of the. burglary, of holding her at gunpoint. It's been over five years. You know, he. kind of sits there like a little prince. saying, "Oh, I'm not a convicted felon.". Um. but his horns are holding up his crown. because he's got multiple felony. charges. He's just not been convicted. And the grief doesn't go away. It's. never going to change. It's We're always. going to feel this pain. But their.

actions created these consequences and. it ruined so many people's lives. L- Let me ask you about that because. when the death penalty is introduced. into cases, and particularly if you have. multiple defendants, what you tend to see a lot of is plea. deals being worked out. You'll have. defense attorneys who say, "Listen, uh if you agree to take the death. penalty off the table, my client will plead guilty, life in. prison." If that becomes a situation. here for any of those defendants,

would that be something you would be. open to? It would take a lot for for And now, I'm. I'm speaking for myself, but I I I can't. I would want to know everything. I'm not. just going to agree to it. I want to I. would want to know who else is involved. Um. why they did this and you know, we need. to know We're not just going to say, "Yeah, okay, yes.". Um There's questions that I want. answered. >> Yes, there's questions. >> Did you stand there and watch her burn? Did you Did she scream? Did she say.

anything? But we can't trust anything. that they say. These aren't honest. people. So. it and I ultimately no, I don't want. them to say, "Oh, yeah, we did it. I'll. go ahead and plead guilty." That that. doesn't help us and that doesn't help. the public because then people aren't. going to know exactly. what it these monsters were capable of.

doing and I believe the public needs to. understand what kind of monsters there. are out there that are doing these. horrific things and if I feel like. that's a cop-out and I would prefer um. not. to accept that. Um it would it would. take a lot unless there was some way. that they could prove that what they. were saying was true or it was proven. with other evidence. Um I mean, we we.

have a life sentence of grief. uh no matter what and them having a life. sentence seems. especially without the world knowing. what they've done. and what they were capable of, it seems unfair and um almost. uh unjust. >> Well, unjust but also reckless because. people don't People need to know what.

these monsters are capable of doing and. I know that there's other cases out. there that. uh. they you know, oh, well, we went ahead. and gave them a life sentence and. there's parents out there going, "Wait a. minute, what happened to my kid? What. did she go through? What torture did she. or he endure?". And and it's never said and it's never. stated and it's just like wiped away. like it never happened, but I want.

People should know what these what these. monsters are capable of doing. >> Yeah, just answer questions basically. and I and I don't see that happening and. Erica kind of hit on it. I I don't. believe what they're going to say is. true anyway. I think it's a cop-out. I think it's a. cop-out just to you know, now that they. know that they're going in this. direction, you know, we don't have a say. whether, you know, if they can pull it. off or not. We can give our opinion, but. ultimately the state has to decide that. If if that is valuable, the one if it. would came down to us, we would want.

things answered because we don't have a. lot of answers. Where was she for 2. hours? What did you do to my daughter for 2. hours before you and she ended up on. I-10? We still to this day don't know. what happened to her or or what she went. through for 2 hours. She was missing. And and look, you make the point and. accurately so, you don't know if they'd. be even telling the truth if they were. to admit to it and I hope that the state. will will take into your considerations. whatever decision's made and and it'll.

be clear there's no It's not like. there's been an offer of a plea deal yet. or some There's been a suggestion of it, but again, this is something we see. I I. I do have to ask, you know, if this does. go to trial, as you can imagine, particularly now if it's a death penalty. case and you know, we read the court. paperwork where. one of the factors to prove that this is. a case that warrants the death penalty. is they would have to show just how. heinous and cruel this is and what. Mercedes went through. This is going to be a brutal case.

Are you How Are you planning to be. there? Are you planning to listening to. all this? Is that I I I I can't imagine. what it's like to hear these details, but. do do are you prepared to hear all of. that? I want the truth exposed. I want everything that they did exposed. so we ensure that every lawful. consequence will come down upon them. I know it's going to be difficult. I.

know it's going to be painful, but I. also know that we will know beforehand. before we face it in court that Maricopa. County will make sure that we know the. facts before it's shown, whether it's. body camera footage or whatever it might. happen to be and they're going to be. hard. um and they're going to be awful and. they're going to be so painful to watch, but I want.

these people who are responsible. to. I want it to be shown what they've done. I I want to know why. I want to know. what happened to my little girl. I want. to know if she fought. I want to know if. she screamed. I want to know if she. cried. I want to know if she bit them. I. want to know I want to know because. she's my baby. And I want to know what she endured.

because I have to carry with me every. day this grief that she's gone. Um I want to know the facts that um. of of what she was put through. Um and I want the world to know. what they did to her. Um it will not be. easy and I know that, but it's not easy. now. It's not easy at all. living grief every single day missing. her.

um and right now in my mind. I picture the worst. and I I don't necessarily want to see it. on body camera, but I do want to know. I. want to hear it and I want to be told. and I want the world to know. because I think it's important that um. they face. every single thing that they did and. every. any consequence and any reaction I I.

feel the world needs to know. I struggle with this. Um. like when we got the the paperwork from. the state, I I don't I didn't want to. read it. I don't want to know what my. daughter went through, but I know that. um. we're her voice and. she went through it, so I have to stand. up and I have to stand up for her. Um. the one Erica kind of touched on it, we'll know prior to what's being said, but I'm not going to I'm not going to be. a victim. That's basically what it is.

You're not going to scare me away. because of something you did. I make big I get to choose if I want to. be and sit there and listen to it, so I. have a choice. And I'm going to choose the choice to be. there. Maybe I step out when they show. graphic photos or something on those. lines because I don't want to see that. I don't want to remember. I already have. terrible memories now of what happened. That's just going to intensify it, but. we know by the time we get to that. point, we'll know more and we'll have.

realized, okay, this is what's going to. happen and we're going to hear this and. we're going to see this. Is it something. we can handle? Um if we decide we'll. step out, if we can handle it, we'll sit. in the courtroom, but we're not going to. let them think that we're victims and. we're going to shy away from hearing. things that we need to hear. And it may. be that we're not watching what they're. showing and we've already heard it and. we already are aware of it, but I want. these killers to know that we're there. and we're looking at them and I want to.

watch them react to what they did. And I want to watch the jury react to. what they did. >> Yes. Tom, Erica, you are both incredibly strong. Um I I the level of respect I have for. both of you, I I can't even describe. Um. I I really appreciate you both not only. coming on to talk about this this. development, which is not easy, to talk.

about this case, which is not easy, and. to talk about everything that's going on. in the holiday season, but I I just. really really appreciate you both um. sharing this information, sharing what. you're going through. We are obviously. going to keep uh following this case and. see where it progresses. Always have an. open door to come back here and talk. about it. Um but again, I just want to. just say I am so sorry. for your loss. I'm so sorry for this. journey that you have to go on, but I'm. just wishing both of you nothing but the. best and particularly in this holiday.

season. So Tom and Erica, thank you so. much. Thank you. >> Thank you. We appreciate everything you. do in keeping Anyone that keeps our. daughter's name going um because Erica's. made it It It's she's not fading away as. a number or statistic um and and that's. what we want. We're not looking to gain. anything out of this. We just want. people to know what our daughter went. through and and this probably happens a. lot that we don't know of cuz we've been. sheltered from it. Um and we just thank. everybody for everything that they're.

doing to to make sure she's not. forgotten. You got it. You got it, of course. Yep, we're going to stay on top of it. Um. this is. like it was interesting when you said, you know, the trial will be a moment to. get more details so people can know what. they did. One of the thing or what they, you know, allegedly did. I will tell you. this much. This is why we've been. focusing so much on this story. We've. been kind of hit every single detail of. it because this is a tragic but. important story to tell and we are going. to stay on top of it as much as we can.

So Tom and Erica, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. And that's all we have for. you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us and as always, please subscribe. [music] on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. You can follow me on X [music] or. Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak. to you next time.