The Murder of Delcia Mejia

Delcia Mejia was only 16 years-old when she was murdered inside her family’s Miami, Florida home on September 17th, 2004. The teen was last seen alive by her family the previous evening. Delcia reportedly said goodnight to her mother Delcia Oliva and stepfather Raul Mata around 11pm on September 16th. Delcia’s mother left for work the following morning around 5:30am, but she did not check on Delcia as she believed she was sleeping and did not want to wake her up. 

Delcia’s stepfather Raul left for the home around 7:45am—he also said that he did not check on Delcia before he left, but he also assumed she was asleep. Raul returned to their home less than two hours later, around 9:15am. At this time, Raul reportedly discovered Delcia’s body in her bed. She had been stabbed to death.

Over a decade has passed since Delcia’s death, and police have not made any arrests in connection with her murder.  However, a detective working the case has stated that Raul is a suspect in the case. He has been reportedly been “extensively questioned”, but he has never been charged with anything related to the case. 

However, the detective also stated that they are open to exploring other suspects as well. He explained, “even though common sense dictates that we look at [Raul], I don’t want us to be oblivious to anyone else. I don’t want the people out there to focus all of their attention on Mr. Mata. If there is any bit of information out there that will lead us to another individual, I am all ears” Despite this, though, Raul has still not been ruled out.

A murder weapon was never found, but detectives reportedly have DNA that could lead to a suspect. They are hoping that the advancement in DNA technologies could help them identify the killer. Meanwhile, investigators are encouraging anyone with information that could help solve Delcia’s case to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477) 

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UPDATE (9/27/20):

Raul Mata has been arrested and charged with Delcia's murder. The arrest was made after investigators were able to use new technology to match DNA found under Delcia's fingernails to Raul. This type of technology was reportedly not available to investigators back in 2004 when the murder occurred. 

Investigators believe the murder occurred after Raul made several inappropriate sexual advances towards Delcia. He later separated from Delcia's mother and moved to California where he started a new life with a new wife and children. Authorities were able to track Raul down, and he was arrested in California on September 26th, 2020.     

UPDATE (October 2020):

Shortly after his arrest, Raul Mata used a pen to stab himself in the femoral artery. He was transferred to a hospital where he later died from his injuries.