‘The smell is different’: Neighbor details suspicious behavior at suspected Dacara Thompson murder house, suggests cover-up

A neighbor identified only as “Cody” is breaking his silence about the disturbing events he witnessed in the early morning hours of August 23, 2025, the night that Hugo Hernandez-Mendez allegedly killed 19-year-old Dacara Thompson at his home in Bowie, Maryland.

Cody, who says he lives only about forty feet from Hernandez-Mendez’s residence, told FOX 5 DC he noticed a small fire burning in the suspect’s backyard that morning. At first, he thought little of it, but the odor immediately caught his attention.