New details emerge about murder of Mendota man as teen suspect appears in court

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Three months after Fraylee Hernandez was discovered dead in Mendota, new details are coming to light about his death.

In court on Friday, the 18-year-old was charged with murdering Hernandez.

The young man was just 17 at the time Hernandez died in January.

Because he was a minor, the case is going through the juvenile court system.

We were not allowed to record the proceeding and cannot report his name.

The 18-year-old sat wearing a purple shirt, dark blue pants, and listening to the proceeding through a Spanish interpreter.

He was just feet away from his mother as a sheriff's detective detailed the investigation.

Testifying that the male victim and the young man had a months-long sexual relationship.

They met again on the morning of January 6. And according to sworn testimony, the victim wanted more physical contact than what the 17-year-old was comfortable with.

Within moments, the boy had pulled a grape knife and slashed Hernandez.

It quickly escalated with the details too graphic for Action News to report.

The young man's attorney suggesting he feared he was about to be raped and acted in self-defense.

Action News Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi says it's an interesting argument.

"Did he go too far in what he did? Those are issues that will come up. Because if he went too far, maybe it's a second-degree murder, maybe it's a manslaughter. But if it's truly a self-defense, then he's not guilty of it," Capozzi said.

After months of investigation, detectives zeroed in on the 18-year-old, matching his DNA to some found at the crime scene.

Investigators met the teen at his high school but didn't place him under arrest or read him his Miranda rights.

They only arrested him on his way out the door and gave him his rights during a formal interview at sheriff's headquarters later in the day.

"If I were on the defense side, I would clearly make a motion to suppress any evidence that was given at the school interview. That might've been a violation of his Miranda rights. There was no reason not to give him his Miranda rights there," Capozzi explained.

Late Friday, the judge ruled the 18-year-old will remain in juvenile hall as the case proceeds.

Prosecutors want the judge to move the case to adult criminal court. Everybody's now due back on May 14th.

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