California Woman to Stand Trial for Allegedly Killing Ex-Boyfriend with Frying Pan and Box Cutter, Buried Body Under Her Stairs For Years

Trista Ann Spicer and Eric Israel Mercado (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office) and the home where she allegedly killed and buried him

A 44-year-old woman in California, Trista Ann Spicer, will face trial for allegedly murdering her ex-boyfriend, Eric Israel Mercado, by striking him with a frying pan and slitting his throat with a box cutter before burying his body in a makeshift tomb on her property.

San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge William Jefferson Powell ordered Spicer to be tried on one count of murder with an enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon. Spicer has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 42-year-old Mercado, who had been missing since 2014 until his remains were discovered on Spicer’s property in 2022.

Trista Ann Spicer and her defense attorney, Gary W. Smith, speak at the preliminary hearing on Friday, June 21, 2024, at the San Bernardino Justice Center. Spicer is accused of killing her boyfriend, Eric Mercado, and burying him in her backyard in San Bernardino. Mercado was reported missing in 2014 and was discovered by police in 2022 after a tip from Spicer’s more recent boyfriend, Waylan Gentry.

According to the San Bernardino Police Department, detectives conducted a follow-up interview on August 23, 2022, after receiving a tip about possible human remains. The tip led investigators to obtain a search warrant for Spicer’s property on E. Davidson Street. During the search, investigators found a makeshift tomb containing human remains, later identified as Mercado.

Investigators determined that Mercado had been reported missing by his family in 2014 and had not been seen since. Evidence collected during the investigation pointed to Spicer as responsible for Mercado’s death, leading to her arrest on September 2, 2022, in Yucaipa, California.

Trista Ann Spicer walks into the courtroom for her preliminary hearing on Friday, June 21, 2024, at the San Bernardino Justice Center. Spicer is accused of killing her boyfriend, Eric Mercado, and burying him in the backyard of her home in San Bernardino.

During a preliminary hearing, new details about Mercado’s death emerged. Waylan Gentry, Spicer’s recent boyfriend, testified that he provided the tip to the police. Gentry, a convicted felon, stated that he had been living with Spicer since 2019 and that the two regularly used drugs and alcohol. In 2022, Spicer mentioned moving to Illinois but needed to take care of something first. She asked Gentry to help "get rid of" her boyfriend, which led Gentry to inform the police after consulting with his mother.

Waylan Gentry takes the witness stand during the preliminary hearing of his former girlfriend, Trista Ann Spicer, on Friday, June 21, 2024, at the San Bernardino Justice Center. Spicer is accused of killing her then-boyfriend, Eric Mercado, and burying him in her backyard in San Bernardino. Mercado was reported missing in 2014 and was discovered by police in 2022 after a tip from Gentry himself.

Police discovered Mercado's body in a hidden storage compartment under the stairs, wrapped in a sliced air mattress. The medical examiner reported that Mercado’s nose and eye socket had been obliterated, causing death within seconds.

Spicer is scheduled to appear in court again on July 12. If convicted, she faces severe legal consequences for the alleged murder of Mercado.