The suspect in the death of a Renton hairdresser was extradited to King County after being arrested in Mexico on unrelated charges in March 2024 before being charged with first-degree murder in Washington.

According to the Renton Police Department, suspect Louie Hernandez, 61, who is accused of murdering his spouse, Renton hairdresser Reyna Hernandez, in February 2024, was extradited to King County after being arrested on separate charges in Mexico in March 2024. Following his arrest in Mexico, Louie Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in May 2024.

According to the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, Louie Hernandez was booked at 8:18 p.m. March 7, 2025, into the King County Correctional Facility. His bail is set at $5 million, and his arraignment is scheduled for March 18.

According to prior reporting from the Renton Reporter, Reyna Hernandez’s body was found on March 8, 2024, at a Mexicali, Mexico, cemetery with a gunshot wound to the head. Shortly after her body was found, according to staff from the Attorney General Office of the Mexican state of Baja California, Louie was detained by Mexicali law enforcement and found with large amounts of cash and large amounts of fentanyl while driving Reyna Hernandez’s vehicle.

At that time, none of his charges were related to Reyna Hernandez’s murder, but after Renton detectives caught wind of his detainment, they linked him as the prime suspect for the homicide.

“Typically, in an investigation like this, we build our case, the prosecutor files charges, and then a warrant is issued for the suspect,” Meeghan Black, a Renton police department spokesperson, stated in an email to the Renton Reporter. “At that time, we would work with local and federal authorities to extradite the suspect to Washington state to stand trial.”

Detectives ruled this was a domestic violence case, which post-death, Reyna Hernandez’s friend Nancy Ossorio said she never would have expected until the week before Reyna’s initial disappearance.

“She had a purple eye and marks on her chest, and she even posted photos of the marks on Facebook. Then she called me via video after I saw what happened, and then I saw her in person,” Ossorio said. “You know, you can’t really get in between people’s relationships, but I cared for her, and I pleaded with her, but only she knows why she didn’t make a police report.”

Ossorio said she was surprised Louie Hernandez hit her. She said she knew Reyna Hernandez and Louie Hernandez had been having problems, but they always had a good relationship. Ossorio said she and the couple spent a lot of time together, gathering as family on many occasions.