Now, law enforcers are trying to figure out who killed her and where the crime took place.
On May 8, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched to the Windy Saddle Trailhead on Lookout Mountain.There, a hiker had made a grisly discover -- the body of a woman who appeared to have been stabbed to death.
Jeffco authorities spent nearly 24 hours processing the scene before the area was reopened to the public. Yet they're still not certain if the crime actually took place at our near the site or if Mercado was killed elsewhere, after which her body was dumped in the lot.
Only yesterday did officials publicly identify the victim in the case as Mercado. In their initial release, she was said to have "no known connection to Colorado, but does have previous ties to Nevada and California." Not long thereafter, however, the JCSO corrected that to reveal she was living and working in Aurora at the time of her death.More information about Mercado comes from 7News. Turns out she relocated to Aurora in February and had been working at a Mexican restaurant in the city.
She also had an unspecified criminal past and was engaged to marry a California inmate upon his release. Indeed, her first residence upon her arrival in Colorado was with the man's mom. There's no telling at this point if this background will help investigators discover who ended Mercado's life. As of now, clues to the brutal crime are few and far between.If you have any information about the death of Sandra Mercado, you're encouraged to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 303-271-5612 or Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). Here's a look at the aforementioned 7News report.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Mile High Murder archive circa April 18: "Warrant: Richard Kirk may have been on pain meds, pot edible when he killed his wife (50)."
