Raleigh Police have arrested and charged a 20-year-old man with killing his roommate in their apartment near North Carolina State University, WRAL reports. Officers found the body of Christina Maria Matos Sunday night (April 4) after her father called police to perform a welfare check.
Gerardo Matos grew concerned after he and his family hadn't heard from his daughter since her 20th birthday on Friday. According to WRAL, Christina's family drove to her apartment, which she shared with roommates, but found that all bedrooms in the three-room suite-style apartment were locked. They waited for her to arrive, but she never did. That's when they reached out to police for help. When they arrived, they found her dead inside her locked room.
Police began investigating her death as a homicide, which led to the arrest of Erick Gael Hernandez-Mendez, one of her roommates.
"What was the motive? What motivated this guy?" asked Gerardo Matos. "I need to know what the motive was. What was the reason?"
Christina Matos' family is devastated with the events that have occurred over the last week. While no additional arrests have been made and no information released from police suggesting an accomplice, Matos' father thinks someone could have helped Hernandez-Mendez kill his daughter.
"He may have done it, but maybe someone else helped open the door to her apartment or have been an accomplice," said Gerardo Matos. "My daughter, my beautiful princess, she was in her room sleeping when this happened."
Hernandez-Mendez was charged with murder in the death of Christina Matos and booked into Wake County Detention Center.
Photo: Raleigh Police Department