She Was Meeting a Man To Finalize Their Breakup. Police Say He Killed Her and Drove Body to Mexican Cemetery

Louie Hernandez is accused of murdering Reyna Hernandez, who had just moved in with her new boyfriend, authorities say

An American woman who was found slain and bound to a tree in a cemetery in Mexico went to her boyfriend’s home to end their relationship for good when he allegedly killed her and drove her body all the way from Washington State to Mexico, authorities say.

Reyna Hernandez, a hair salon owner from Renton, Wash., was found dead in a cemetery in Mexicali, Mexico, in March, days after she was reported missing by her friends and family, PEOPLE reported previously, citing a statement from the Renton Police Department.

Her boyfriend Louie Hernandez, 61, has now been charged with first degree murder in connection with her death, according to charging documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Reyna, 54, was allegedly paying Louie a visit to finalize their breakup when he allegedly shot her in the head on Feb. 26, police said in the charging documents. She had just moved in with her new boyfriend, who she had been dating for five months at the time of her death, per police.

Louie then allegedly put her body in her vehicle and drove down to Mexico where he left her tied to a tree in the cemetery, investigators say. 

Renton police had said during the initial stage of the investigation that the killing was a result of domestic violence, PEOPLE reported at the time. 

In the charging documents released on May 1, police say the victim’s current boyfriend claimed that Louie had allegedly abused Reyna in the past and threatened to kill her and “cut off her head” on several occasions.

Related: American Woman Found Tortured, Killed in Mexico Was Going to See Boyfriend Before She Disappeared: Family

Security footage on the property recorded the moments leading up to and following Reyna’s killing.

Police say within minutes of Reyna entering Louie’s home on Feb. 26, he was allegedly seen on camera loading “a large object wrapped in something light in color, possibly cloth like a blanket or tarp,” onto her vehicle in the garage. The color, size and overall description of the blanket matched the one Reyna was later found wrapped in, per investigators.

When authorities found her body, police say one of her ankles was tied to a tree and the evidence at the scene indicated she had been dragged by the vehicle, per the documents. 

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Related: Missing American Found Tortured to Death in Mexico Cemetery: ‘The Worst Possible Outcome’

Louie is currently being held in Mexico while U.S. authorities work on extraditing him, a King County official confirms to PEOPLE.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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