Suspect arrested a year after a dancer was kidnapped from her apartment, tortured and left to die in burned car

Mercedes Vega, who was working in a strip club in Phoenix at the time, had suffered blunt force injuries, was shot in the arm, and was doused in bleach, according to the medical examiner’s eport

Sencere Hayes, 22, (left) was arrested in connection to the murder of Mercedes Vega, 22 (right) (Hamilton County Arrest/MCSO)

A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of an exotic dancer whose body was found inside a burning car in Arizona.

Sencere Hayes, 22, was taken into custody on November 11 in Tennessee, over 18 months on from 22-year-old Mercedes Vega’s brutal killing, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement obtained by Fox10.

In the early hours of April 17 2023, Vega’s body was found on the backseat of a Chevy Malibu on Interstate 10 in Tonopah, approximately 53 miles west of Phoenix.

The 22-year-old, who was working in a strip club in Phoenix at the time, had suffered blunt force injuries, was shot in the arm, and was doused in bleach, according to the medical examiner’s report seen by ABC15. Bleach was also found in her throat.

Vega’s body was then burned inside the car abandoned along the interstate.

The night before her body was found, Vega – who was the victim of an armed robbery in Phoenix years earlier – had been out with friends near Mill Avenue in Tempe, Fox10 reported.

Surveillance footage, obtained by NBC, later showed her entering the garage at her Tempe apartment complex where her Dodge Charger was parked.

Mercedes Vega’s burned body was found in a Chevy Malibu on Interstate 10 in Tonopah, near Phoenix, in April 2023 (12 News)

Vega’s family believe she was attacked there, with blood found inside the garage.

The Dodge Charger was later found dumped a few miles away.

According to a sheriff’s incident report seen by NBC News, the Malibu that Vega’s body was in had a salvage title and was not registered to the victim.

For the next 18 months, no arrests were made.

It is not clear what charges Hayes may now be facing but an MCSO spokesperson told ABC15Arizona that more arrests will follow.

The MCSO said that it is now working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to get him extradited back to Maricopa County.

The Independent has contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for more information.