A California woman is facing the prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison after a San Bernardino County jury convicted her of killing her former boyfriend and burying his body in a concealed “makeshift tomb” behind her home.
Jurors on Monday found 46-year-old Trista Ann Spicer guilty of second-degree murder with a deadly-weapon enhancement for the 2014 slaying of 42-year-old Eric Mercado. His remains went undiscovered for eight years until detectives, acting on a 2022 tip, uncovered a hidden storage chamber on Spicer’s property.
Spicer insisted during the trial that she acted in self-defense, telling jurors that years of escalating violence culminated in a deadly confrontation in October 2014. She claimed Mercado had been abusive, prone to drug use, and violent outbursts.
According to her testimony, the night of the killing erupted after he became angry about dinner, threw food at her, stabbed her in the neck, and ordered her to fetch coffee. Spicer told the court she grabbed a frying pan and struck Mercado before slitting his throat.
Investigators, however, described a far different scene when they searched the home on East Davidson Street in August 2022. Acting on a tip from Spicer’s then-boyfriend, Waylan Gentry, officers obtained a warrant and discovered an 8-by-6-by-3-foot hidden chamber containing Mercado’s remains.
His body was wrapped inside a cut-up air mattress. The medical examiner reported that Mercado’s nose and eye socket had been “obliterated” and said the injuries would have killed him “within seconds.”
Gentry testified that Spicer had confided in him about moving the body as her family prepared to sell the house and before she relocated out of state. He said she asked him to help her “get rid of” her boyfriend. When he shared the conversation with his mother, he said she urged him to “do the right thing,” prompting him to go to police.
Authorities said the initial tip aligned with the physical evidence found at the property.
“During the service of the search warrant, investigators observed what appeared to be a makeshift tomb on the property.
Investigators entered the makeshift tomb and located human remains inside,” police wrote in a statement. They added that Mercado had been reported missing by his family in 2014 and had never been seen again.
Spicer is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2026, and faces between 16 years to life in a state correctional facility.