Who Killed Anna Hernandez? Teen Found Shot To Death As Her Friend Remains Missing
The decomposing body of 14-year-old Anna Hernandez was reportedly found behind an apartment building in San Diego, California. Now, authorities are not only looking for a killer but a 12-year-old girl who went missing with the slain teen. The Daily Mail reports that both Anna and her friend Nelly Espinosa went missing on November 13, and the search has gone from anxious to downright tragic.
Who killed Anna Hernandez? That’s a question authorities in San Diego are trying to answer while on the search for Anna’s friend Nelly, who hasn’t been seen in almost two weeks. With the details surrounding the discovery of Anna’s body, it’s hard to determine how the search for Espinosa will end. ABC News 10 reports that authorities don’t know if the two went missing together or separately, but the fact that no sighting of her has been reported is disheartening.
Friends bring flowers to site where the family of 14-year-old Anna Hernandez say her body was dumped in Grant Hill pic.twitter.com/d8MEUriagL
— WendyFry (@WendyNBCSD) November 23, 2015
Slain Girl’s Teacher Calls for Answers in Death, Disappearances: The shooting death of one girl an… https://t.co/mRFqn1Cdw4 – #SanDiego
— San Diego 411 (@SanDiego_411) November 25, 2015
Anna Hernandez was missing for approximately a week before her decomposing body was discovered. She was wrapped in a blanket and was nude. Authorities have confirmed that she was both beaten and shot to death in what appears to be an incredibly violent incident. For several days following the discovery of Hernandez’s body, authorities in San Diego kept mum on the few details regarding the investigation. They’re now revealing that this girl was violently murdered and her 12-year-old friend is still missing.
Case of slain San Diego teen and missing friend remains a mystery https://t.co/ygdvjIamYR
— San Diego Press (@SanDiegoCP) November 25, 2015
Teacher: “Would we know more about Anna Hernandez if she was rich&white?” @10News pic.twitter.com/AMiREFjtTE
— Rachel Bianco (@10NewsRBianco) November 25, 2015
This case is attracting a lot of attention on social media, which is rife with conversation about the few details available in this case, along with speculation about what may have happened. There is also discussion surrounding race arising from this tragic murder and disappearance.
San Diego police say Nelly Espinoza is “a runaway”. Believed to be in Mexico. 14-year-old #AnnaHernandez found dead one week ago today. — Kelly Biele (@kellytvnews) November 25, 2015
San Diego police are looking into whether the disappearance of two young girls is related to the slaying of… https://t.co/d3mDTdaIo6 #Alpine — San Diego EastCounty (@SanDiego_Alpine) November 25, 2015
News personalities are also taking to Twitter to share what information they can find on the disappearance of Nelly Espinosa and the horrible murder of Anna Hernandez. Kelly Biele with Fox 5 San Diego tweeted that authorities believe Nelly is a runaway. Police also believe that the 12-year-old missing girl could be in Mexico. At this time, it’s not certain if the slain teen and Nelly were running away together.
NBC News reports that a third girl’s disappearance could be tied to the slaying of 14-year-old Anna Hernandez and the disappearance of 12-year-old Nelly Espinosa. Janeth Mendoza vanished in December 2013. Very few details about her disappearance are available online, but it’s evident that the teen is still missing nearly two years after she vanished.
Reports covering this tragedy have revealed that Anna Hernandez had recently become involved with “the wrong crowd,” but authorities in San Diego have not confirmed or denied whether her murder had anything to do with the crowd into which she had fallen. Meanwhile, forensic experts are going over what evidence was found at the scene of Anna’s slain body. It’s hopeful that some clues will eventually lead authorities to her killer or killers.
[Image via Twitter]