Marissa DiNapoli’s family wants answers after teen slain in Morgan Hill

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — The family of slain Morgan Hill teenager Marissa DiNapoli received support from a surprising source outside the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose this week.

The 18-year-old woman’s boyfriend, Martin Mendoza, is charged with first-degree murder and he made his first court appearance Tuesday.

Following Mendoza’s brief court appearance, DiNapoli’s friends and family talked to a dozen news reporters gathered outside the courthouse. In the middle of a news conference, DiNapoli’s sister, Monice Ramirez, heard inmates shouting from a jail’s outdoor exercise yard next door.

The inmates were curious about the news conference, which included District Attorney Jeff Rosen. Walking closer toward the jail, Ramirez held a large poster over her head with the young homicide victim’s photograph. Inmates began shouting, “Justice for Marissa! Justice for Marissa!”

The sister shouted back and told inmates who DiNapoli’s alleged killer was. Ramirez yelled out “Martin Mendoza!”

Mendoza, 20, of Morgan Hill, is being held in the same jail, located on Hedding Street in downtown San Jose, inmate records show. On Tuesday, a judge denied granting Mendoza bail and ordered the accused killer to return to court for an arraignment September 9.

The victim’s friends described Mendoza as a possessive, violent, and manipulative boyfriend. DiNapoli was a victim of repeated domestic violence, according to a police report. Police said the couple had previously broken up, but they re-connected and were in a current relationship at the time of the homicide.

On July 2, the teenager’s body was found by Anderson Lake. She had five stab wounds in her back, the police report states.

DiNapoli was last seen alive on June 29, when she was recorded by an internal home surveillance camera as she walked down a staircase with her boyfriend. Mendoza, who rented a room in the house, was angry with DiNapoli. In the video, the boyfriend can be heard questioning DiNapoli about her communications.

“Martin was confronting her about contacting her ex-boyfriend. Marissa’s facial expression was visibly apprehensive,” Detective Kyle Tolentino wrote in a police report.

One of the victim’s friends, Vienna Chambers, said DiNapoli was in love with Mendoza. “If people were friends with her, he’d try to stab them. Two years ago I told her, ‘he’s going to kill you.’ (For) two years I tried to tell her, ‘he’s going to kill you,'” Chambers said.

Family demands answers from Morgan Hill PD

Ever since DiNapoli went missing in Morgan Hill on June 29, the homicide victim’s large family has taken a proactive approach to finding justice.

On the morning of June 30, DiNapoli’s father and sister went to the police station to report her as missing. That night, some of the missing teen’s family members went out searching for Mendoza to confront him. They found the boyfriend at a home on Monterey Road in Morgan Hill and started knocking on the front door, according to the police report. Someone in the house called 911 reporting that “multiple males” were causing a disturbance by banging on the door.

When police officers arrived on Monterey Road, “officers observed Martin Mendoza retreat into the (911 caller’s) residence to avoid police contact,” Det. Tolentino wrote. Police described Mendoza as “uncooperative” in their missing person investigation.

To raise awareness that DiNapoli was missing, her sister posted a copy of the staircase surveillance video on Instagram.

A Change.org petition calling for an investigation into how MHPD’s handled the case was recently launched by the homicide victim’s siblings. “The day after Marissa was reported missing, her sister Monicia Ramirez provided police with the exact location of Martin Mendoza Jr., the last person seen with Marissa. Officers confronted Mendoza in person — yet did not arrest or detain him for questioning. He fled within hours of that encounter,” the petition states.

On July 1, Mendoza drove his car to Mexico using the San Ysidro border crossing, the police report states. While Mendoza was allegedly fleeing into Mexico, “multiple phone calls were made to Marissa and Martin by MHPD officers. However, both phones went straight to voicemail and neither one responded to text messages,” Tolentino wrote.

On July 2, the victim’s friends and family organized search efforts around Anderson Lake.

Her siblings wrote that “Marissa was the youngest of eight siblings … and later adopted by the DiNapoli family through child welfare services. Despite growing up in the foster care system, Marissa and her siblings became leaders, educators, and professionals.”

During the family’s search efforts, a community member’s drone spotted DiNapoli’s lifeless body by the lake in a picnic area. “A community member, not the police, discovered Marissa’s body,” the petition states.

Last week, FBI agents, officers with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. border control agents teamed up with Morgan Hill police to find DiNapoli’s killer. Mendoza re-entered the U.S. by walking on foot, without his car and cellphone, District Attorney Rosen told reporters. He was captured and arrested Sunday by United States Marshals in El Centro, California.

The petition states, “Marissa’s life mattered. Our community deserves answers.” More than 5,500 community members had signed the petition as of Wednesday afternoon.

According to MHPD, when officers saw Mendoza retreat into the Monterey Road house on June 30, they did not have crucial pieces of evidence. As the investigation developed, officers traced GPS locations for the suspect’s and victim’s cellphones and vehicles. They also later obtained surveillance videos confirming that the couple was together in the hours leading up to DiNapoli’s disappearance.

Domestic violence allegedly preceded slaying

Mendoza physically assaulted DiNapoli during multiple violent incidents during their relationship, according to the police report. MHPD says that these incidents were never reported to police. DiNapoli’s friends said they warned the teenager to stay away from Mendoza.

“If she was in the car with him, and he wanted to see her phone, he would try to break a window,” Chambers said.

“Martin in very possessive. She was so in love with him. She was so sure about him. I tried to warn her. Two years later, I get a call that she is missing and then found dead,” Chambers said.

DiNapoli was stabbed to death before her body was left by Anderson Lake, according to court documents.

“It was a lethal and brutal attack. She was then just left there,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.

On Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Morgan Hill Community Cultural Center, community members are holding a counseling session for domestic violence awareness. The meeting will focus on early warning signs of domestic violence, recognizing red flags in a relationship, and understanding patterns of unhealthy behavior.