Man Indicted for 2016 Murder of Laredo Mother of Nine, DPS Says

AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Rangers and Laredo Police Department have identified Sergio Mendez, 42, as the man believed to be responsible for the 2016 murder of Janette Escamilla Jaramillo. Nearly nine years after her death, Mendez was indicted by a Webb County grand jury in connection to the crime.

Jaramillo, a mother of nine, was last seen leaving work on May 18, 2016, around midnight. She never made it home, and her body was found hours later by Laredo Parks and Recreation workers under a skate ramp at Seven Flags Park, just a few blocks from her house. She had been strangled, and investigators believe there was an attempted sexual assault.

Surveillance video showed Jaramillo walking with an unidentified man about 30 minutes after she left work. The suspect was described as tall, with short hair, and wearing a trash bag, possibly because of the rain that night. Despite this footage, there was not enough evidence to make any arrests.

In 2021, Jaramillo's case was selected for the Texas Department of Public Safety's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative program. Using a grant from the program, investigators were able to conduct advanced DNA testing, which led them to Mendez. The DNA matched him to the crime.

According to a press release, Mendez was indicted on March 12, 2025, and is already serving a 10-year prison sentence for an unrelated crime in Edinburg. 

He remains in custody as he faces charges for Jaramillo's murder.