Martin Mendoza Jr., 20, was arraigned at the San Jose Hall of Justice on Tuesday on charges of first degree murder and the use of a knife to kill Morgan Hill teen Marissa DiNapoli. He was denied bail.
Superior Court Judge Franklin E. Bondonno scheduled a follow-up hearing for Sept. 9 and ordered the release of additional facts related to the developing murder case — including the revelation that DiNapoli was stabbed five times in her back, according to the Morgan Hill Police Department.
Police said witness interviews and forensic evidence supports law enforcement’s conclusion that Mendoza stabbed and killed DiNapoli. She was last seen on surveillance footage from Mendoza’s residence on June 29.
Cell phone data obtained by the FBI placed both DiNapoli’s and Mendoza’s phones near Anderson Lake on the morning of June 29. DiNapoli’s body was discovered by a community member on July 2.
According to recently unsealed police records, police responded on June 30 to reports that multiple men were knocking on the door of a Morgan Hill home around 9pm.
A family member of the victim was contacted across the street. She stated told police she was searching for DiNapoli. During the interaction, Mendoza was observed by police retreating into the home where the 911 report originated.
Mendoza fled to Mexico following the interaction. He was caught at the border trying to return to the U.S.
He stood behind his attorney during Tuesday’s arraignment.
Rosen stood beside the DiNapoli family as he addressed the press following Tuesday afternoon’s arraignment. He said Mendoza faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted of 1st degree murder, and 16 years to life if convicted of 2nd degree murder.
“The Morgan Hill Police Department did an excellent job in this investigation. They quickly reached out to the DA’s Office, to our investigators, as well as to the crime lab, which helped process the murder scene,” Rosen told the Morgan Hill Times. “(We) also worked with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals, and very quickly got an arrest warrant for Mendoza, which allowed law enforcement to arrest him as he walked back into the country.”
DiNapoli’s biological family and friends turned up to Tuesday’s arraignment in droves. Her sister, Monice Ramirez, brought a body-sized poster featuring a photo of DiNapoli to carry the memory of her younger sister.
“She was a good girl,” Ramirez told the Morgan Hill Times. “She was loving, funny and a woman of God for sure. Love and God are a lot of what she was.”
Ramirez and friends of DiNapoli launched a petition on Change.org calling for an investigation of the Morgan Hill Police Department and its handling of the case after they said the department was slow in releasing information. They also accused the department of racial bias.
Friends and family declined to answer any questions regarding the police investigation following Tuesday’s arraignment.
When asked about the Ramirez family’s criticism of the police investigation, Rosen told the Morgan Hill Times he stood behind the police department’s actions.
The recently unsealed facts also revealed subsequent interviews with family members that referenced multiple prior unreported incidents of domestic violence in which Mendoza physically assaulted DiNapoli. The late teen’s friends confirmed on Tuesday they were also concerned about Mendoza’s escalating behavior toward DiNapoli.
“Two years ago I tried to tell her he’s gonna kill you, and that same day, I told her father that she was still seeing him, and she ended up kind of breaking our friendship a bit because she was so in love with him,” friend Vanessa Chambers said.
