California deputies found a missing 19-year-old woman dead and arrested her ex-boyfriend and his friend for her murder.
Melanie Camacho left work at about 10:15 p.m. on Friday, telling her mother she was meeting with friends.
“However we spoke with that friend as well as a co-worker, who said she was actually going to meet with an ex-boyfriend,” said Madera Sheriff Tyson Pogue in a press conference Monday afternoon.
Camacho’s mother reported her missing at about 6:45 a.m. Saturday after she didn’t come home and failed to go to work. Two hours later, a witness reported a burning car, which was later determined to be Camacho’s vehicle.
The witness reported seeing a blue Ford Mustang with a black hood pass him by. At that time, he said he only saw the driver inside, but after the car made a turn near the burning car and passed by again, he saw two people inside.
The vehicle description led investigators to Jose Lopez Hernandez, 22, and he was taken in for questioning after detectives executed a search warrant at about 8 p.m. Saturday.
Detectives located remains they believe to be Camacho’s in an orchard off Avenue 20 and charged Hernandez with accessory to murder.
On Monday morning, detectives identified Camacho’s ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Vicente Jasso, as the primary suspect in Camacho’s murder and spotted him driving at about 6:30 a.m. When they tried to conduct a traffic stop, Jasso took off, leading police on a high speed chase up and down Highway 99 until the California Highway Patrol disabled his minivan, and he fled on foot.
As he fled, he tossed away Camacho’s personal belongings, including her driver’s license. Officers chased him down, and he was charged with murder.
Melanie Camacho’s 20th birthday would have been Friday.
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[Featured image: Jose Lopez Hernandez, Melanie Camacho, Vicente Jasso/Madera County Sheriff’s Office]
