SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Marissa DiNapoli's accused killer hid behind his defense attorney Tuesday afternoon at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. Martin Mendoza is charged with murdering 18-year-old DiNapoli in Morgan Hill. As he declined to enter a plea, Mendoza stood in a courtroom doorway just out of view from a large group of DiNapoli's family and friends, who were sitting in the gallery.
Investigators believe that the murder weapon was a knife, Morgan Hill Police Department Detective Kyle Tolentino wrote in a police report. "Marissa was found with five stab wounds to her back" near Anderson Lake, Tolentino wrote.
"It was a lethal and brutal attack. She was then just left there," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
Marissa Dinapoli, left, is missing. Martin Mendoza, right, is a person of interest in the investigation. (MHPD photos)The victim's friends described Mendoza, 20, as a possessive and violent boyfriend. One friend, Vienna Chambers, said DiNapoli was in love with Mendoza, and she warned DiNapoli to stay away from him. Leading up to her death, the teenager was in the process of breaking up with her boyfriend, Chambers told reporters outside the courthouse.
"If she was in the car with him, and he wanted to see her phone, he would try to break a window. Two years ago I told her, 'he’s going to kill you.' (For) two years I tried to tell her he’s going to kill you. I told her father that she was still seeing him," Chambers said.
A family member holds up a photograph of Marissa Dinapoli outside a courthouse in San Jose on July 8, 2025. (KRON4 Photo)DiNapoli was first reported to police as missing on June 30, when DiNapoli's father and sister went to the police station. "Marissa texted (her father) that she was staying at a friend's house and would not return home on Sunday (June) 29," Tolentino wrote.
"Marissa never returned home and was not responding to any text messages or phone calls from family members," the detective wrote.
After the teenager disappeared, Mendoza refused to cooperate with police, MHPD said. Mendoza was with DiNapoli when she was last seen alive, when a home surveillance camera recorded them together at Mendoza's Morgan Hill residence on the morning of June 29. In the video, DiNapoli and Mendoza both appear to be upset.
Marissa DiNapoli's friend Vienna Chambers (right) tells reporters that Martin Mendoza was a possessive and violent boyfriend. (KRON4 Photo)Following a missing person search, her remains were discovered at Anderson Lake County Park in the Woodchoppers Flat Picnic Area on July 2. The lifeless teenager was still wearing the same clothing that she was wearing in the surveillance video, according to the police report. Detective Tolentino also recognized DiNapoli's black necklace with a cross.
"Witness interviews and forensic evidence support our conclusion that Martin Mendoza Jr. stabbed and killed Marissa DiNapoli," Tolentino wrote.
Marissa DiNapoli (Photo via Morgan Hill Police Department)Last week, FBI agents, officers with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. border control agents teamed up with Morgan Hill police to find DiNapoli's killer.
On July 1, Mendoza had his cellphone with him as he drove his car across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to prosecutors. Cameras recorded his car traveling into Mexico at the San Ysidro border crossing, the police report states.
Mendoza later re-entered the U.S. by walking on foot, without his car and cellphone, Rosen told reporters. He was captured and arrested Sunday by United States Marshals in El Centro, California.
Martin Mendoza's July 6, 2025 mugshot was released by the Imperial County Sheriff's Office.Within the past 48 hours, Mendoza transported from a jail near the border to San Jose to face charges. A Santa Clara County judge ordered the defendant to remain in custody without bail. He is scheduled to return to court for an arraignment on September 9.
DiNapoli's friends described Mendoza's courtroom behavior as cowardly. "I saw his face and he hid behind the doorway, and hid behind his lawyer. I think he’s scared because we have so much on him to pin him," Chambers told reporters.
DiNapoli's sister held up a poster with the message "Long Live Marissa. Forever 18."
If Mendoza is found guilty of first-degree murder, he could face 26 years to life in prison, District Attorney Rosen said.
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