Two Suspects Arrested For Murdering a 19-year-old Girl

Madera, California: Last Friday, Melanie Rios Camacho was found dead in an orchard off Avenue 20 west of Highway 99 in Madera County after her mother reported her missing.

Now, authorities have arrested Vicente Jasso, her ex-boyfriend and Jose Lopez Hernandez for the murder charges. The latter assisted Jasso in the murder.

Camacho went to see Jasso after her shift at Auto Zone at 10:15 pm on Friday. She told her mother that she would be hanging out with her friends. When her mother could not reach Melanie, she reported her missing.

Her coworkers said that she went to meet Jasso and when police looked for Jasso found her burnt car in the farm area off Avenue 14 near Road 8.

“To the family of Melanie, we are deeply sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, especially as we approach Melanie’s 20th birthday, which would’ve been this Friday,” said Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Melanie and Jasso dated and broke up three days before Thanksgiving. Jasso, 23 has a history of criminal charges and abuse reporting.

“The witness witnessed a blue Ford Mustang with a black hood pass his location on the street with one person inside, turn around near the vehicle that was on fire and then return to his location with two persons inside,” according to Pogue.

The description led the officers to Jose Lopez Hernandez who was arrested Saturday afternoon.

Jasso led deputies and California Highway Patrol officers on a pursuit from Madera to Turlock and back down to Atwater, according to investigators, before being taken into custody on Monday morning.

Authorities claim that Jasso threw Camacho’s possessions—including her driver’s license—out the window while driving.