Found Deceased MD - DaCara Thompson 19, res Lanham, car found w/purse, cash, ID, seen on vid parking 1800 blk Jasmine Ter walking twd Riggs, Hyattsville, 22 Aug 2025

[iQuill]

Godspeed DaCara ... prayers for your family and all who loved you. May justice be swift and severe. MOO

 

[otto]

There is a bit more to her text to her father that could convey she was not planning to stay out late… she told him she would ‘be back soon’.

Body found along highway identified as missing Maryland woman

Her father, Daniel Thompson, said she left their house in Lanham around 10 p.m. on August 22 to get gas. He last spoke to her over text just before midnight, he said.

"I got gas and I'm out. I should be back soon. I love you too. Goodnight," Daniel Thompson said as he recalled his daughter's text.

It was the last time he would ever hear from her.


IMO

Thank you! I'm seeing mixed reports about that last text message with one article stating that she was "going out", and others that she was "out" and returning home soon.

The last message was at midnight, and her car was parked at 3:06 AM. Someone must have seen her during those three hours, and that may tell us why she met him around 3:15 AM.

 

[otto]

One possible scenario is that she was lured to his vehicle ... what was the lure? Perhaps to purchase something at a discount. There are many possibilities.

She parked at 3:06 AM. She walked for roughly 10 minutes to meet him at his car. She spoke to him, then she "willfully" got into his vehicle. Her phone remained in his vehicle until it was deactivated at 5:03 AM, which is most likely when she was transported to where her body was found.

I'm guessing that she received the facial injury, and possibly the skull fracture, as soon as she got into his vehicle - possibly elbow, since they would have been sitting beside each other.

She got into his car at roughly 3:15, she arrived at his house at 3:47. It's a 30 minute drive. He left with her in his car as soon as she got into it.

"Palm and elbow strikes provided extreme reactive maximum peak forces (for men, 13 kN), which have a high probability of causing head injury. The elbow strike has the highest potential to reach extreme impact values and fracture skull bones."

Upper Limb Strikes Reactive Forces in Mix Martial Art Athletes during Ground and Pound Tactics - PMC

Athletes of mixed martial arts use a ground and pound strategy with the strikes in the dominant ground position. The aim of this study was to compare the average peak force (Fpeak) among three punches and to estimate the probability of achieving a ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[lastkiss]

I had the same thought.

One week later, at around 4:50 p.m. on Aug. 31, the Maryland State Police (MSP) responded to reports of a disabled vehicle on the bridge over the South River in Annapolis. Troopers found a body on the river embankment about 30 feet below the bridge.

The woman, they observed, was fully naked and had visible tattoos and jewelry.

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/prince-georges-county/court-documents-detail-the-last-known-moments-of-missing-murdered-19-year-old/

…

Also had the disabled vehicle not have been where it was it’s no telling if she would have ever been found.

Snipped

On August 31, around 4:50 p.m., Maryland State Police responded to the Rt 50 between Maryland Rt 424 and Maryland Rt 97 in Annapolis for a disabled vehicle on the short bridge that is over the South River.

New court documents reveal disturbing details in DaCara Thompson murder case

Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, 35, is accused of killing 19-year-old Dacara Thompson.

www.wusa9.com

Dropped Pin

View details about Dropped Pin in Annapolis, MD United States on Apple Maps. Address, driving directions, images, nearby attractions and more.

maps.apple.com

I agree. It was an absolute miracle that she was found at all… let alone so quickly.

I’m not familiar with the area but I’m sure LE said that he threw her body down over the river. Did he miss? Or did she wash up shortly after landing in the water (unlikely).

Quite remarkable she was found. I’m glad for her families sake though, that they got her back. RIP young lady, I’m so sorry your life was cut so short.

All Jmo.

 

[Elley Mae]

I'm curious why she parked so far away from where he was parked. I wonder what cell data and texts will tell us. Did he give her a location to meet that was intentionally too far from her car? Was he parked where she parked, and did he then drive a little farther away from her car to separate her from her car?

She was parked at Jasmine Terrace and Riggs Road. At 3:06, she left her SUV and walked from Jasmine Terace down Riggs Road towards University Boulevard. She spoke to him, then got into his vehicle ... which was across the street from the Galaxy Night Club.

View attachment 613078

Google Maps
Zoomed into car location

She met him in the family dollar parking lot, to the left of patel brothers.

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/prince-georges-county/court-documents-detail-the-last-known-moments-of-missing-murdered-19-year-old/

 

[AngTxGal]

I'm curious why she parked so far away from where he was parked. I wonder what cell data and texts will tell us. Did he give her a location to meet that was intentionally too far from her car? Was he parked where she parked, and did he then drive a little farther away from her car to separate her from her car?

She was parked at Jasmine Terrace and Riggs Road. At 3:06, she left her SUV and walked from Jasmine Terace down Riggs Road towards University Boulevard. She spoke to him, then got into his vehicle ... which was across the street from the Galaxy Night Club.

View attachment 613078

Google Maps
Zoomed into car location

From the video it appears her car is on the right, in a parking lot on Jasmine Terrace behind her, it is a white Ford Edge.
She walks to the left in the video, across Jasmin Terrace and toward the mailbox on the corner of Jasmine Terrace and Riggs.
In the background of the video to her right across the street you can see the Fire Station- which is at 7800 Riggs.
She walks to the left of the Fire Station toward the mailbox, not to the right. She does not pass in front of the Fire Station.
On the map that Fire Station is the two story white roof building below the 3rd blue dot in the top right of your map.
Isn’t the video consistent with her walking across on Jasmine Terrace toward the Patel Brothers which is toward University or Northeast on Riggs, and not Southwest on Riggs toward University??

IMO

 

[Inthedetails]

One possible scenario is that she was lured to his vehicle ... what was the lure? Perhaps to purchase something at a discount. There are many possibilities.

She parked at 3:06 AM. She walked for roughly 10 minutes to meet him at his car. She spoke to him, then she "willfully" got into his vehicle. Her phone remained in his vehicle until it was deactivated at 5:03 AM, which is most likely when she was transported to where her body was found.

I'm guessing that she received the facial injury, and possibly the skull fracture, as soon as she got into his vehicle - possibly elbow, since they would have been sitting beside each other.

"Palm and elbow strikes provided extreme reactive maximum peak forces (for men, 13 kN), which have a high probability of causing head injury. The elbow strike has the highest potential to reach extreme impact values and fracture skull bones."

Upper Limb Strikes Reactive Forces in Mix Martial Art Athletes during Ground and Pound Tactics - PMC

Athletes of mixed martial arts use a ground and pound strategy with the strikes in the dominant ground position. The aim of this study was to compare the average peak force (Fpeak) among three punches and to estimate the probability of achieving a ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Maybe he offered her a lift back to her car?

jmo

 

[AngTxGal]

She met him in the family dollar parking lot, to the left of patel brothers.

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/prince-georges-county/court-documents-detail-the-last-known-moments-of-missing-murdered-19-year-old/

The article says… Court documents reveal details of DaCara Thompson’s murder

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Aug. 23, she got out of her Ford and walked toward the 2000 block of University Boulevard in Hyattsville. At the time, she was wearing a light-colored jacket, black pants and light-colored shoes.
She walked into the parking lot of a nearby Family Dollar and spoke with the driver of a black GMC Yukon Denali. After speaking for a short time, Thompson got into the passenger front seat.


It looks more like that to me because she turns left and doesn’t appear to walk in front of the Fire Station in the video. So she crossed Riggs and walked toward University on Jasmine Terrace, almost behind the Fire Station toward the Family Dollar.
Is there other footage?

IMO

 

[AngTxGal]

She told her father that she was "going out" after getting gas. She was near the Galaxy Night Club. We haven't heard where she was when she was out, but there's nothing unsafe about going out for the evening.

We haven't heard from anyone who was her that evening when she was out. We don't know why she approached his vehicle ... for example, did she meet him while she was out and did he tell her he was selling something she wanted ... maybe a brand new discounted cell phone? We don't know how she met him or why she went to his vehicle and then got into it.

We do know that she parked her car at 3:06 some distance from his vehicle, that she spoke to him, then got into his car. Within 30 minutes, she was at his house, her phone was in his car, and she was violently assaulted.

We have to consider that she met him, and he may have wanted to go to the Galaxy Night Club.
Is that club opened at 3AM?
Yelp says the club closes at 3AM. So was she late? Was he leaving the night club?

Galaxy Night Club- Yelp hours are Fri and Sat 9:30-3AM

She was 19 years old, that is under age for most night clubs, and drinking age in Maryland is 21.
Maybe she couldn’t get in?

IMO

 

[otto]

We have to consider that she met him, and he may have wanted to go to the Galaxy Night Club.
Is that club opened at 3AM?
Yelp says the club closes at 3AM. So was she late? Was he leaving the night club?

Galaxy Night Club- Yelp hours are Fri and Sat 9:30-3AM

She was 19 years old, that is under age for most night clubs, and drinking age in Maryland is 21.
Maybe she couldn’t get in?

IMO

There is the 3 hour window between getting gas/texting with her father, and meeting her murderer. Where was she during that time - might be the missing clue that tells us why she met him in the parking lot.

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
sleuthdoll !!​

​

 

[borndem]

Maybe he offered her a lift back to her car?

jmo

Hmmmm. A possibility -- she may have said yes to the offer. Then bad things happened.
Rest in peace. No more hurt, no more being scared.
Prayers for those who truly loved her.

 

[Gemmie]

DBM

 

[TMich6811]

Sounds like someone in the house heard her getting raped and murdered and she could still be alive. I understand “not enjoying it” could sound less significant but I hope they are feeling as guilty as they should after the fact

 

[Inthedetails]

Sounds like someone in the house heard her getting raped and murdered and she could still be alive. I understand “not enjoying it” could sound less significant but I hope they are feeling as guilty as they should after the fact

Yeah, I think if someone wasn't "enjoying" sex but was still consenting to it, the noise would more likely be silence. The point of consensual "not enjoying it," is to just get it over with it, imo. That's not something a roommate would hear.

To hear noise that indicates "not enjoying it," indicates rape, imo. But, someone decided to roll over and go to sleep until noon. Sorry to be harsh to a witness, but a murder happened in those "not enjoying it" moments. Maybe banging on the wall would've made a difference and the witness could rest easier knowing they at least did something.

jmopinion

 

[Knox]

Is there any evidence, or claims from anyone, that this 19 year old woman was involved with illegal drugs or sex work?

From everything I've read, she was selected as a candidate for the Maryland Service Year Option - which sounds like an achievement based on good character with a promising future.

We know that the murderer had a rotten character and that he is a criminal, but why would we think that his victim must also be a criminal with involvement in illegal drugs?

Who said DaCara was a criminal or had rotten character? Not a single poster!!

It’s called victimology, looking at the circumstances surrounding a victim to gain understanding of what made them vulnerable to the crime perpetrated against them.

Due to the description of some of the known facts which have been released so far, it’s not completely out if the realm of possibilities to think there was something going on in DaCara’s life which her family didn’t know about. MOO.

That doesn’t diminish the importance of who DaCara was in my eyes at all.

 

[Knox]

At this point, I think she never intended to go away from the location in his vehicle. She might have entered the car willingly, but with the assumption they would stay there. I don't think she wanted him to drive away with her, leaving her car like that. That's my opinion, casting no dispersion on the victim.

If she wanted to go to his house, she could've driven herself.

jmopinion

How far is the monsters home from the parking lot where DaCara entered his vehicle?

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN REMINDER:

Websleuths does not promote or condone violence of any kind toward anyone.

 

[otto]

Yeah, I think if someone wasn't "enjoying" sex but was still consenting to it, the noise would more likely be silence. The point of consensual "not enjoying it," is to just get it over with it, imo. That's not something a roommate would hear.

To hear noise that indicates "not enjoying it," indicates rape, imo. But, someone decided to roll over and go to sleep until noon. Sorry to be harsh to a witness, but a murder happened in those "not enjoying it" moments. Maybe banging on the wall would've made a difference and the witness could rest easier knowing they at least did something.

jmopinion

I'm not convinced that she was fully conscious. There was blood in several areas in the bedroom and in the suspect's vehicle. I don't think she was at his house voluntarily, and I'm inclined to believe that she was injured (facial injuries, skull fracture) in his vehicle before he drove to his house.

It wasn't until 5 AM that the suspect's cousin heard unusual noise from the suspect's bedroom, shortly before her phone was deactivated.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1964098868179849259

 

[Scatcat]

Sounds like someone in the house heard her getting raped and murdered and she could still be alive. I understand “not enjoying it” could sound less significant but I hope they are feeling as guilty as they should after the fact

Thats what stood out me "not enjoying it" that makes me feel sick for this young woman. May she rip xxxx