Woman, who slashed her ex-boyfriend’s throat using a box cutter after obliterating his face with a kitchen utensil and then “buried him under the stairs,” was found guilty
California – In a chilling California case that took nearly a decade to unravel, a 46-year-old woman, identified as T. Spicer, has been convicted of murdering her ex-boyfriend and hiding his body beneath her home in a concealed, makeshift grave. Spicer was found guilty of second-degree murder and received a sentencing enhancement for using a deadly weapon in the killing of 42-year-old E. Mercado. The gruesome discovery of his remains in 2022 closed a missing persons case that had haunted Mercado’s family for eight years.
The trial revealed a brutal and calculated crime. Though Spicer claimed she acted in self-defense after years of alleged abuse, prosecutors presented a much darker version of events. According to court testimony, Spicer struck Mercado with a kitchen utensil and then used a box cutter to slash his throat. Rather than report the incident, she concealed the body in a hidden chamber beneath her residence.
The case broke open in August 2022 after authorities received a tip suggesting human remains were buried on Spicer’s property. Investigators obtained a search warrant, and what they found beneath the stairs stunned even seasoned detectives. Hidden in a compartment measuring roughly eight feet wide, six feet tall, and three feet deep, they found Mercado’s body wrapped in a shredded air mattress. Officials said his face had been obliterated, rendering him almost unrecognizable.
The location of the body matched the details shared by Spicer’s then-boyfriend, W. Gentry, who testified at trial. Gentry told jurors that Spicer had confided in him about the body being “buried under the stairs.” He said she asked for help in removing the remains after learning her family planned to sell the home. He also recalled her telling him she intended to move to Illinois but needed to take care of “one thing” first—words that only later made sense when he realized what she meant. Gentry’s mother, alarmed by the conversation, persuaded him to alert the authorities, setting the final investigation in motion. That tip led directly to the discovery of Mercado’s body and Spicer’s arrest.
Mercado was first reported missing in 2014, and for years, his family had no answers. Spicer, meanwhile, continued her life without raising major suspicion until the 2022 tip reignited the case. During her trial, she claimed Mercado had abused her since 2014, asserting that she acted out of fear and desperation. But prosecutors dismantled her defense, describing her testimony as a cover story to hide a deliberate killing. They argued that her multiple attempts to hide the body and the inconsistencies in her account pointed to premeditation—not panic.
The jury ultimately sided with the prosecution, convicting Spicer on all counts. Her sentencing is scheduled for January 20, 2026, and she now faces 16 years to life in prison. As part of her plea, she waived the right to appeal. For Mercado’s family, the conviction ends a long and painful wait for justice. What began as a missing persons case concluded with the exhumation of truth from beneath a suburban floor. The resolution offers a measure of closure—however grim—and a stark reminder of the darkness that can lie hidden in the most familiar places.
