RENTON, Wash. — Just over a year after the body of Renton hairstylist Reyna Hernandez was found in Mexico, the man accused of killing her and putting her there has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Friends and neighboring businesses noticed her Renton hair salon had remained closed for several days in late February 2024 and reported her missing. Friends reported speaking to her on Feb. 26, 2024 and she told them she was going to run errands. She never returned and all communication abruptly stopped.
Police say Louie Hernandez, 61, shot and killed Reyna sometime after she was last seen and drove her body to Mexico. Her body was found a week later tied to a tree at a Mexican cemetery.
Hernandez was on the run but was arrested on drug possession charges in Mexico on March 10, 2024.
Nearly a year later, on March 8, he was extradited to the United States to face charges for Reyna’s murder.
He is being held on a first-degree murder charge and entered a plea of not guilty at his arraignment on March 18.
Bail was set at $5 million.
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