RENTON, Wash. — A 61-year-old man was charged with murder in connection to the killing of a Renton hair salon owner in February.
Reyna Hernandez, 54, was killed on Feb. 26 and her body was found days later at a cemetery in Mexico. Her former partner, Louie Hernandez, was charged with first-degree murder, according to court documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Louie Hernandez is still being held in a federal facility in Mexico, but officials are working to extradite him to face trial in King County. He is being held on $5 million bail.
Timeline of events
Feb. 28: Friends of Reyna Hernandez reported her missing when she didn't return home from running errands and didn't open her business. A friend told police Reyna mentioned she was going to a residence in south Renton in the late morning hours of Feb. 26.
Renton police officers responded to a missing persons call and visited the south Renton residence, which was her last known location. There, they found her cellphone on a couch. They also reviewed the home video surveillance footage from Feb. 26.
According to court documents, Reyna is seen in the video pulling up to the residence in her car, a maroon Ford Flex. She then enters the residence she used to live in with Louie. Approximately 12 minutes after she went inside, a man police believe to be Louie was seen leaving the house. He then got into the driver's seat of Reyna's vehicle, backed it up to the garage and opened the trunk.
Louie Hernandez was seen moving things out of the trunk and then packing things back in for several minutes. He is seen entering the house again, then leaving minutes later wearing different clothes. He gets in Reyna's vehicle and drove away.
Reyna was never seen leaving the house.
“We were able to place him, chronologically, right after the incident happened,” said Meeghan Black, the public information officer with Renton police.
March 2: Reyna's body was discovered in a cemetery near Mexicali, Mexico. Her body was wrapped in a blanket, which was the same color as a blanket that Louie was seen loading into the Ford Flex days before.
At the scene, it was discovered that the suspect tied Reyna's body to a tree with a rope while she was still in the trunk, then drove away, causing her body to fall out of the trunk onto the ground.
March 8: Authorities in King County were made aware by a family member of reports out of Mexico that a dead body was discovered. That family member believed there were similarities and police contacted Mexican authorities. The family member was able to help law enforcement identify Reyna because of her unique tattoos.
March 10: Louie was arrested on unrelated charges -- he was caught with fentanyl, methadone and gun ammunition at a Mexican military checkpoint. He was booked into a federal facility that day.
March 26: While a family member was cleaning the Renton residence that once belonged to Louie and Reyna, they discovered a bullet casing. It was later determined to be from a .32 caliber pistol.
March 30: Reyna's body was flown from Mexico to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
April 1: An autopsy done by the King County Medical Examiner showed Reyna died from a gunshot wound to the head.
During their investigation, police tracked the suspect's cellphone and located Reyna's Ford Flex as it traveled to Mexico. Her car was captured on video on Feb. 26 in Oregon and in California on Feb. 27. According to court documents, Louie had driven from the Renton residence to Calexico, California in just over 47 hours.
Court documents allege that Reyna was shot and killed within minutes of her entering the Renton home.
“Our detectives have worked meticulously in a very difficult and spread-out situation and were able to put together a case that the King County Prosecutor’s office supports the charge of murder one,” Black said.
What happens next?
The KCPAO and federal officials are working to complete a formal extradition request. Once that is done, the Department of Justice will put in the formal request from its counterparts in Mexico.
Reyna Hernandez was a small business owner in Renton. She is remembered by her family and friends as happy, loving and very dedicated to her family and hair salon clients.
“Reyna Hernandez deserves justice; her family and friends deserves justice and we are doing our part to make sure that Louis Hernandez is brought back to King County to face these charges,” Black said.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington.