Overview
- The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed formal notices to pursue capital punishment for Sencere Hayes and Cudjoe Young, who are indicted on first-degree murder and related felonies.
- A death-penalty notice was not filed for Jared Gray, who remains in Georgia on an unrelated sentence and has not been transferred to Arizona.
- Court filings allege Vega was targeted to prevent her cooperation or testimony in an earlier armed-robbery case in which she had identified Young.
- Investigators cite fingerprints linking Hayes to a bloody grocery bag in Vega’s car and Gray to a cup inside the burned Malibu, with additional evidence connecting Young to the vehicle.
- Young’s separate robbery case is set for Feb. 2, 2026, and the murder trial is scheduled to begin May 28, 2026, as Vega’s parents publicly support the prosecutors’ capital decision.