The prime suspect in the murder was arrested Tuesday
The father of a murdered Florida woman is in jail after authorities said he acted on a tip in the recovery of his daughter’s body and dug up a front lawn to find the body.
Sierra Hernandez was murdered on Nov. 8 and her family has been looking for answers since her disappearance. Her father, Christopher Hernandez, received a text message claiming to have information about her whereabouts last week and went with four others to a house in Auburndale to investigate the lead on their own, according to local news outlet WESH .
“A text came in, and the text said, ‘girl dead, body burned in yard,”’ Trey Stokes, the victim’s cousin, told the outlet. “I believe they had an address that was given to them.”
Hernandez and the others began to dig in the yard searching for Sierra – an action that landed all of them in jail for tampering with physical evidence, according to affidavits reviewed by the outlet.
The five arrested included Hernandez, his fiancee Amber Merzacco; Hernadez’s brother Christopher Preston Hernandez; and two others: April Merrill and Kalob Ashley, according to The Ledger . They were taken into custody on Jan. 18 and held without bail.