Texas – The Texas Rangers and the Laredo Police Department have identified the man believed to be responsible for the 2016 killing of 33-year-old Janette Escamilla Jaramillo, of Laredo. Almost a decade after Jaramillo’s death, a Webb County grand jury has indicted 42-year-old Sergio Mendez.
On May 18, 2016, around midnight, Jaramillo—a mother of nine—left work to return home, but never made it. As daylight broke hours later, her body was discovered by Laredo Parks and Recreation Department employees underneath a skate ramp at Seven Flags Park, just blocks from her home. Jaramillo had been brutally strangled after an attempted sexual assault.
Investigators quickly discovered surveillance footage showing Jaramillo walking with an unidentified man approximately 30 minutes after she was last seen leaving work.
The suspect was described as tall, with short, cropped hair, and wearing a trash bag, likely due to the rain that evening. Despite this lead, there was insufficient evidence to make any arrests at the time.
In 2021, Jaramillo’s case was flagged for eligibility under the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Se-ual Assault Kit Initiative program, funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance.
This initiative provides investigative funding for unsolved sexual assaults and related homicides, with the goal of bringing justice to victims and their families.
Through the SAKI grant, Advanced DNA testing was conducted by Bode Technologies, which ultimately led to Mendez’s identification. His identity was confirmed through forensic DNA analysis.
Mendez was indicted by a Webb County grand jury on March 12, 2025. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in Edinburg for an unrelated crime and remains in custody.
