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Body Of Mom, Who Officials Say Was Murdered By Boyfriend, Found Weighted Down In Freezing Water
The body of Missy Hernandez was recovered by a dive team just days after her boyfriend Ramon Jimenez was charged with her murder.
The body of a California mother, whose boyfriend was recently charged with her murder, has been discovered weighted down in a body of water.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday that the body of Missy Hernandez, 30, was recovered by a dive team from the California Aqueduct in an unincorporated area by Huron. The body was found on Sunday after three hours of searching through freezing water.
“Hernandez’s body was discovered weighted down beneath the surface,” Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims stated.
Hernandez, also known as Missy Perez, was last seen at an art show in downtown Fresno on Dec. 7. She had attended the event with her boyfriend Ramon Jimenez, 41, Mims announced earlier this month. He was charged last week with murder and domestic violence in connection with Hernandez. At the time, officials expressed confidence that they had evidence that could convict him. Now it appears that the alleged evidence also led to Hernandez's body.
“Based on digital evidence later discovered during the investigation, several locations were identified as places to search for Missy’s body," Mims said.
Jimenez has been in jail since Dec. 8 on a previous charge of domestic violence against Hernandez from October. A sheriff’s deputy who went to Hernandez’s home on Dec. 8 after the missing woman’s loved ones called in a welfare check recognized Jimenez as someone wanted on a that domestic violence charge.
During Tuesday’s presser, Marjaree Mason Center Executive Director Nicole Linder, a domestic violence advocate, spoke on the topic.
“This is the worst case scenario,” she said. “Sadly, Missy’s death is not the only that has happened this year. There have been multiples. But this is exactly what we have tried to prevent.”
In a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses, Hernandez's niece Dolly Ayala alleged she had been abused “daily” by a “coward.” She said Hernandez had attempted to leave Jimenez “many” times.
Jimenez is due back in court on March 22. It’s not clear if he has an attorney.
Hernandez was the mother of an 11-year-old daughter.
"We are very grateful that there was the find of my sister's body but then there's the young ones that don't understand,” Daisy Hernandez, Missy's sister, said, according to ABC 30 in Fresno. “They don't have closure. They want to know why this happened, and those answers we still don't have,"
She added, "If anybody out there that's going through a situation like that, do not be afraid, to not just call your friends but also family members."
