SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA — A woman has been convicted of second-degree murder after she killed her ex-boyfriend with a frying pan, slit his throat, and buried his body in a concealed tomb behind her home.
Trista Ann Spicer, 46, now faces 16 years to life in prison for the 2014 killing of 42-year-old Eric Israel Mercado. The jury also found her guilty of using a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime.
Body Discovered Eight Years Later
Mercado had been missing since October 2014, with little information available until a major break in 2022. In August of that year, Spicer's then-boyfriend, Waylan Gentry, contacted San Bernardino police with disturbing information.
Gentry told investigators that Spicer had once asked him for help to "get rid of" her boyfriend before she moved to Illinois. He said she later admitted to relocating Mercado’s body from its original burial spot beneath some concrete steps.
Following that tip, police served a search warrant on the property. Hidden underneath a storage structure, investigators found a makeshift compartment described as a "tomb." Inside, they discovered Mercado’s remains wrapped in a cut-open air mattress. An autopsy revealed extensive injuries, including blunt force trauma that crushed his nose and eye socket, as well as a deep cut to the throat.
Jury Rejects Self-Defense Claim
Spicer testified during the trial, claiming she acted in self-defense. According to her account, Mercado had emotionally and physically abused her and pressured her to relapse into methamphetamine use after six years of sobriety.
She said that on the night of the murder, Mercado stabbed her in the neck during an argument over dinner. She alleged that while he demanded coffee, she grabbed a frying pan from the kitchen and struck him before cutting his throat. The jury was not persuaded by the testimony and rejected the claim of self-defense.
Spicer is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2026.
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