Naman Shrestha
When a Houston-based millionaire named Jake Merendino was discovered dead in a ravine in Mexico after finalizing a deal on a luxurious condo, people from his community were shocked and devastated. In the episode titled ‘Baja Noir’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Fatal Destination,’ the focus is on the mysterious case and the investigation that ensued. As the detectives searched for answers, they uncovered a sinister plot orchestrated by someone close to him.
Jake Merendino Was Found Brutally Murdered in Mexico
Irene and Charles “Buster” Merendino welcomed Jake Clyde Merendino into their world on September 22, 1963, in Beaumont, Texas. Since he was an only child, his parents showered him with immense love and affection. While growing up in the scenic city in Jefferson County, the Monsignor Kelley High School graduate hailed from a financially secure household. His parents were employed at the multinational natural gas company, ExxonMobil, and had built a comfortable life for themselves and their son through hard work and dedication. After his parents passed away, he inherited all their wealth. Lovingly referred to as J.C. by his friends and family, he was a dog dad with a deep penchant for traveling across the world. His globe-trotting adventures had taken him to many breathtaking spots around the Northeast, West Coast, and Europe.
Jake was a spirited and warmhearted individual who was always there for his friends and loved ones. He satiated the travel enthusiast in him by exploring exotic locations often. On one such trip in June 2013, his path crossed with David Enrique Meza, a 25-year-old escort in San Diego, California, and sparks flew between the two. Jake had booked his service through an advertisement for an online escort portal. Jake felt a deeper connection with Meza, which he expressed to explore further. The two soon got into a relationship which went on for two years, on and off. During their time together, the affluent retiree splurged abundantly on Meza, often buying him extravagant stuff. As per reports, Jake purchased around three vehicles, which included a $45,000 sports car, and bought luxurious clothes and designer eyewear only for his partner.
Jake also paid for Meza’s travels and dental appointments. His spending on the latter exceeded $100,000, including thousands in cash. On April 30, 2015, the pair took a trip to Rosarito, Mexico, where Jake finalized the deal of a $273,000 high-rise condominium at Palacio Del Mar, a swanky beach-front complex with sweeping views of the Rosarito beach. When the couple returned to Baja the following day, they had to stay at Bobby’s by the Sea in Baja, due to impending final touches at the Rosarito property. In the early morning hours of May 2, Jake took his car out from the parking lot and told a hotel staff member that he was going to help a friend stranded on the road. Tragically, his remains were found in a ravine off the highway between Rosarito and Ensenada. As the Mexican police officers inspected the scene, they noticed that he had been stabbed to death and also had a couple of slash wounds on his neck. A homicide investigation was immediately launched.
Jake Merendino’s Killer’s Primary Motive Was His Wealth
As the detectives dug deep into the personal life of Jake Merendino, they learned about his relationship with David Enrique Meza. The authorities realized that the deceased 51-year-old had no clue about his young lover being in a long-term relationship with a young woman named Taylor Marie Langston, who was carrying David’s child. This raised a cloud of suspicion over the victim’s young lover. About a month after the murder, when the investigators brought the suspect in for questioning, he denied having anything to do with the killing but claimed that he and Langston had lured him to meet the former at the spot where his remains were found to get the key to the new condo and steal his stereo equipment. As per his accounts, after getting the key, he drove away to San Diego while leaving Jake alive on the side of the road.
The authorities also interviewed David’s girlfriend, Langston, who claimed that they had visited his friend named Jose “Joe” Aguilera in Mexico on May 1, 2015, and returned home after about four hours. However, when the investigators reached out to Joe, he told them that he had received a call from David about a week after the murder to lie to the police about them coming to his house when the fact was that the couple had not seen him for a year and a half or so. As the investigation intensified, the detectives uncovered a possible motive as they learned that the suspect was Jake’s beneficiary and was supposed to inherit the luxury beachfront condo in Rosarito, Mexico. Not only that, they also found text messages between David and Langston that the couple planned to carry out the killing once the deal on the condo was finalized.
Just a few days after the passing of Jake Merendino, David also reportedly submitted a 2014 handwritten will, which named him as the sole beneficiary of the deceased’s estate, to the probate court in Galveston, Texas. On top of that, the police also found out that the suspect had drained the 51-year-old’s bank account. They gathered more incriminating evidence against the couple, who shared several conversations in the weeks after the murder. In one of the texts, David had written, “It’s consuming me little by little, it’s sucking the life out of me…I don’t know how to cope. I don’t know how to get past this and move on.” He had also left a voice message on Langston’s phone, stating, “Every day of my life I wake up feeling guilty, I wake up hating myself for doing that. I had to, I had no choice … no, I had a choice, but I did it because I wanted to, for my family.”
The Killer Lured Jake Merendino into a Death Trap
Connecting the dots, the investigators theorized that while Jake Merendino and David Meza were staying at Bobby’s by the Sea, the latter left the hotel around 10:30 pm on his motorcycle and returned to his San Diego house, which he shared with Langston. A couple of hours later, he lured Jake out of the hotel while he drove back to Mexico with his girlfriend following him in another car. According to the detectives, David ambushed him in the early hours of May 2, 2015, and killed him brutally before disposing of his remains on the side of the highway between Rosarito and Ensenada in Los Arenales, Mexico.
That same evening, around 7 pm, David and Langston returned to Bobby’s by the Sea and picked up all his belongings from the room he was sharing with Jake. With so many incriminating pieces of evidence against the couple, the authorities finally arrested David Meza and charged him with one count of interstate or foreign domestic violence resulting in murder on December 23, 2015. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Taylor Marie Langston, was charged with one count of obstruction of justice and one count of lying to a federal officer.
David Meza is Serving His Sentence at a California Prison Facility
Initially, David Meza and Taylor Langston pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. However, more than a year later, in February 2017, the latter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and received a lesser sentence. A few months later, in April 2017, David’s trial for the murder of Jake Merendino commenced. After two weeks of intense back-and-forth between the prosecution and defense, the jury deliberated for seven days before reaching a verdict. Finally, on May 2, 2017, the killer was convicted of one count of foreign domestic violence resulting in death and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
In December 2017, during the convict’s sentencing hearing, the judge described his crime as an “inhumane, depraved act” and stated, “The Merriam dictionary defines ‘heinous’ as hatefully or shockingly evil, abominable. This murder was shockingly evil – excessively so.” Ultimately, David Meza was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of his boyfriend, Jake Merendino. On top of that, he was also ordered to serve an additional 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to obstruct justice charge. In 2020, he filed an appeal to get his conviction overturned by putting forward various arguments, claiming he was not given adequate Miranda warnings, overlooked his “heat of passion” defense instruction, and more. However, the court denied his appeal. Currently, he is seemingly incarcerated at North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, California.
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