Sierra Hernandez: Suspect arrested and charged with numerous offenses in 'murdered' Florida woman's case

WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA: A Florida woman's family is left devastated after her presumed death which five family members came to know about while in jail after being arrested while searching for her, according to multiple reports. 

On January 14, Sierra Hernandez, 20, was reported missing and a body, believed to be hers, was discovered on January 19. Last week, the Polk County Sheriff's Office announced that they believe Hernandez was murdered, but a public information officer said authorities are still awaiting confirmation of her identity through DNA.

Authorities have arrested a suspect in Sierra Hernandez's case

A woman, who was allegedly driving Hernandez’s car, has now been arrested and charged with numerous offenses in connection with Hernandez's presumed death. The suspect, Daphne Fernandez, 44, was arrested on January 15 and has been charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, abuse of a dead body and accessory after an act of capital felony, as per the sheriff’s office. 

A man, who was identified by a witness as one of Hernandez’s alleged attackers, has also been arrested but he is charged with murder and other offenses in connection with another case.

Enrique Martinez, 26, was arrested on January 23 in connection with the November killing of Edil Rodriguez, as per the sheriff’s office, and has been charged with first degree murder, tampering with evidence as well as resisting arrest among other charges. Martinez has not been charged in connection with Hernandez's case.

Why were Sierra Hernandez’s family members arrested?

According to the reports of Fox 13 and WESH, Hernandez’s family members have said they were arrested when they tried to conduct their own search for the missing woman at a location they had been tipped off about. 

They were all arrested on January 19 and and released on January 24 and had been charged with evidence tampering, while some were charged with trespassing and/or armed burglary, online records show.

​​"I would do this over and over again for her, you know, to be put back where we were," Amber Merzacco, one of the family members who'd been arrested, told Fox 13, adding "I would do it for her again." Charges against all of Fernandez's family members were dropped, the sheriff’s office said. However, three of them said they'd lost their jobs after being released, WFLA reported. 

Where did the authorities find Sierra Hernandez's remains?

An arrest affidavit for Fernandez says police found a woman's remains, presumed to be Hernandez's, in a burnt pile in Fernandez's home. The victim went to that location on January 9 to see a man she'd met online, per the affidavit.

The two spent the night there and after the man briefly left the next day, he alleged to police he returned to see Hernandez tied up, as per the affidavit. He also alleged he saw Martinez who he recognized as the murder suspect police had been looking for. 

He claimed that when he tried to intervene on behalf of Hernandez, Martinez “charged” at him, after which the man fled. Another witness told police she'd overheard three men discuss how Hernandez had been tied up and was being tortured in Fernandez's home, the affidavit alleged.

An investigation is ongoing and further charges may be added, the sheriff’s office said.