Teens used Facebook to lure NJ man to Md. to kill him, police say

WASHINGTON — Two teenagers are accused of using Facebook to lure a New Jersey man to Montgomery County, Maryland, to kill him.

Hikers discovered the body of 22-year-old Jordy Mejia in November along Game Preserve Road in Gaithersburg.

Montgomery County Police found no identification on the body, but they distributed a photo of a distinctive shirt he had been wearing.

That shirt matched the description of a man reported missing in Guttenberg, New Jersey, and helped police to identify Mejia.

According to charging documents, on Oct. 15, Mejia told his mother he was going to Maryland to see a girl he had met on Facebook.

On Oct. 18, she filed a missing person report.

The charging documents say Mejia’s Facebook account showed long talks with someone identifying themselves as Shaila Smith.

A phone number the person gave Mejia, along with phone records, led police to 19-year-old Neris Moreno of West New York, New Jersey.

Moreno was arrested Monday in Silver Spring, along with 16-year-old Jackelin Leiba-Esperanza of Brentwood, Maryland.

Leiba-Esperanza told police she had been dating Moreno for a few months and living with him in New Jersey.

She also admitted leaving voice messages for the victim claiming to be Shaila Smith.

Moreno and Leiba-Esperanza are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

They appeared in court in Rockville Wednesday and are being held without bond.

Michelle Basch

Michelle Basch is a reporter turned morning anchor at WTOP News.

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