A California woman, aged 46, faces the grim prospect of spending her life in prison after a jury found her guilty of the brutal murder of her ex-boyfriend. Trista Ann Spicer was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of 42-year-old Eric Mercado, who she bludgeoned with a frying pan and then fatally slit his throat before concealing his body in a “makeshift tomb” in her backyard.

The verdict, delivered by a San Bernardino County jury on Monday, also included a sentencing enhancement for Spicer’s use of a deadly weapon in the crime. Spicer had claimed her actions were in self-defense, as Mercado had been missing since 2014 until his remains were unearthed from her property in 2022.

This gruesome case unfolded after San Bernardino Police Department’s Homicide Unit followed up on a tip received on August 23, 2022. The tip suggested the presence of human remains on Spicer’s property, prompting detectives to interview her and subsequently secure a search warrant for her residence on the 1400 block of E. Davidson Street.

The informant who tipped off authorities was Waylan Gentry, Spicer’s boyfriend at the time. He revealed that Spicer had relocated Mercado’s remains from beneath a set of concrete steps, fearing exposure as her family planned to sell the home. Gentry testified that Spicer had been contemplating a move to Illinois to be closer to her family, but she confided in him about needing to “get rid of” Mercado’s body before leaving, and sought his assistance in the grim task.

Gentry’s testimony proved pivotal, painting a chilling picture of Spicer’s intentions and actions, as reported by the San Bernardino Sun. His account contributed significantly to the jury’s decision, sealing Spicer’s fate as she now awaits sentencing for her heinous crime.

The task, according to Gentry, was to help Spicer “get rid of” her boyfriend, the San Bernardino Sun reported.

“I didn’t know what she meant,” Gentry said. “She said he was buried under the stairs. I did not believe her.”

Gentry reportedly said he decided to go to the police after speaking with his mother, who told him to “do the right thing.” When police searched the home, they found a hidden storage compartment that was about 8 feet wide, 6 feet high, and 3 feet deep.

Mercado’s body was reportedly found in the compartment wrapped inside a sliced air mattress. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Mercado told police that his nose and eye socket appeared to have been “obliterated” and would have left him dead “within seconds.”

“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 news release. “Homicide investigators identified pertinent information and learned that Trista Spicer and the decedent, Eric Mercado, lived at the residence together. Investigators learned that Mercado had been reported missing by his family in 2014 and had not been seen since.”

During the trial, Spicer testified that she met Mercado in 2014, claiming that he soon convinced her to start using methamphetamine again after six years of being clean, the East Bay Times reported.

The physical and emotional abuse began shortly afterward, she claimed. However, she said Mercado was prone to fits of violence and she was afraid to report the abuse.

She reportedly said that in October 2014, Mercado became upset over the dinner she prepared and threw it at her. At the time, she was sitting naked on the couch because he had ordered her to do so. She reportedly said Mercado stabbed her in the neck before ordering her to get him coffee in the kitchen. While there, she said she grabbed a frying pan and used it to strike Mercado in the head, swinging the cooking utensil with both hands before cutting his throat.

Spicer is currently scheduled to appear in court for her sentencing hearing on Jan. 20, 2026. She is facing 16 years to life in a state correctional facility.