Cause of Death for Renton Woman Found Dead in Mexico, Former Partner Charged

RENTON, Wash. – A 61-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the February killing of a Renton hair salon owner.

Reyna Hernandez, 54, was killed on February 26 and her body was found days later in a cemetery in Mexico. According to court documents from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, her former partner, Louie Hernandez, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Louie Hernandez is still being held at a federal facility in Mexico, but officials are working to extradite him so he can face trial in King County. He is being held on $5 million bail.

February 28th: Reyna Hernandez’s friends reported her missing when she didn’t come home from errands or open her store. A friend told police that Reyna mentioned that she was driving to a residence in south Renton in the late morning hours of February 26th.

Renton police officers responded to a missing person call and visited the south Renton residence, which was her last known location. There they found her cell phone on a couch. They also reviewed home video surveillance footage from February 26.

According to court documents, Reyna is seen in the video pulling up to the residence in her car, a maroon Ford Flex. She then enters the apartment where she used to live with Louie. About 12 minutes after she entered the home, a man police believed to be Louie was seen leaving the home. He then got into the driver’s seat of Reyna’s vehicle, backed into the garage and opened the trunk.

Louie Hernandez was seen taking things out of the trunk for a few minutes and then putting them back in. He is seen entering the house again and leaving a few minutes later in different clothes. He gets into Reyna’s vehicle and drives away.

Reyna was never seen leaving the house.

2nd March: Reyna’s body was discovered in a cemetery near Mexicali, Mexico. Her body was wrapped in a blanket the same color as the blanket Louie had seen days before being loaded into the Ford Flex.

At the scene, it was discovered that the suspect had tied Reyna’s body to a tree with a rope while she was still in the trunk and then drove away, causing her body to fall out of the trunk and onto the ground.

8th of March: Authorities in King County were alerted to the discovery of a body by reports from Mexico from a family member. That family member believed there were similarities, and police contacted Mexican authorities. Because of her unique tattoos, the family member was able to help law enforcement identify Reyna.

March 10th: Louie was arrested on unrelated charges – he was caught at a Mexican military checkpoint with fentanyl, methadone and bullets. He was admitted to a federal facility that day.

26th of March: While a family member was cleaning the Renton home that once belonged to Louie and Reyna, they discovered a bullet casing. It was later determined to be a .32 caliber pistol.

March 30: Reyna’s body was flown from Mexico to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

April 1st: An autopsy conducted by the KING County Medical Examiner determined that Reyna died of a gunshot wound to the head.

During their investigation, police located the suspect’s cell phone and located Reyna’s Ford Flex heading to Mexico. Her car was captured on video in Oregon on February 26th and in California on February 27th. According to court documents, Louie drove from the Renton residence to Calexico, California, in just over 47 hours.

Court documents allege that Reyna was shot minutes after entering the Renton home.

The KCPAO and federal officials are working to complete a formal extradition request. Once this is done, the Justice Department will submit the formal request to its counterparts in Mexico.

Reyna Hernandez was a small business owner in Renton. Her family and friends remember her as a happy, loving and very dedicated woman to her family and hairdressing clients.

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