WASHINGTON — Court documents reveal what led to the death of a Wheaton, Maryland, mother who tried to defend herself and why no one knew where she was several days after finishing her shift at a fast-food restaurant.
The story that Elmer Campos-Martinez, 47, told investigators does not add up to the medical examiner’s findings of how 21-year-old Dania Mendez de Guerra died, court documents show.
The two were having an extramarital affair and met working at a KFC restaurant on University Boulevard West in Wheaton, which is close to where investigators found Mendez de Guerra’s body. She went undiscovered for days after her husband reported her missing, because court documents said her body was partially covered with trash.
Montgomery County investigators found Mendez de Guerra on Nov. 10. They noted she had injuries to her body and face, and had defensive wounds on her hands, the documents said.
She has a 4-year-old child.
Martinez told investigators that on Nov. 5, he waited outside the restaurant for Mendez de Guerra to get off work, and the two got in an argument when she wanted to end their relationship, according to the court documents.
The documents said Martinez told investigators he hit her three times before pushing her to the ground, where she hit her head. But an autopsy found she died of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation, the documents said.
“Martinez stated that the victim appeared unresponsive. He took her purse and cellphone and fled the area in a taxi. He discarded her property in a dumpster,” Montgomery County police said in a statement.
Martinez is charged with second-degree murder and is being held without bond.
