Roommate charged with killing woman in Raleigh could face death penalty if convicted

The man charged with killing 20-year-old Christina Matos in their Raleigh apartment could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted, a judge told him Thursday.

Erick Gael Hernandez-Mendez is charged with first-degree murder. He made a brief first appearance in court and asked to be represented by the capital defender’s office.

Matos and Hernandez-Mendez were roommates at the Signature 1505 apartments on Hillsborough Street, where Matos was found dead on Sunday night.

Police have not said how Matos died or provided a possible motive.

On Thursday, Matos’ parents, brother, aunt and nine college-age people, some of them friends since middle school, attended the court appearance.

Yolanda Matos, Christina’s mother, said she is surprised that someone who knew her daughter for so long — someone she should have felt safe with — is now accused of killing her. Christina Matos and Hernandez-Mendez also were in the same graduating class at Clayton High School last year, according to the Johnston County Report.

“I can’t believe the kids, the persons, they kill her in her house, her apartment,” she said after the court appearance. “As a mother, you live your life for your kids.”

Matos turned 20 on Friday, but when she stopped responding to text messages, the family drove from Clayton to her second-floor apartment near the N.C. State University campus to check on her.

Her mother had a key to get inside the apartment, according to ABC 11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner, but couldn’t open Matos’ locked bedroom door. Police were called.

Matos took classes at Wake Tech in the fall, but was not enrolled in the spring semester, a school spokesperson told The News & Observer.

Matos was a former server at Jonathan’s Sports Lounge & Grill, according to the bar’s Facebook page. Matos’ father Gerardo Mato said his daughter worked as a waitress at Mango’s Nightclub.

A close friend to many

Najiah Williams, a friend of Christina Matos’ since middle school, said she also knows Hernandez-Mendez.

Williams spoke after Thursday’s court appearance and said Matos told her she wasn’t getting along with her roommates.

Williams said she would fondly remember a trip she took with Matos to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“People had the best memories (of her),” she said.

Tyrone Thompson said Matos was one of his best friends, and he recently traveled to New York City with her to introduce her to family.

Matos was also lived in New York before she moved to North Carolina. She got a tattoo that said “718,” the area code for Brooklyn in New York City, after consulting Tyrone.

“She just always got me like no one else did, man,” Thompson said. “She was my best friend.”

Hernandez-Mendez is next due in court at 9 a.m. April 29.

This story was originally published April 8, 2021 at 2:49 PM.