A Jefferson Parish jury needed less than two hours to convict 43-year-old Marrero resident Nathaniel Hernandez of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice in the November 2022 stabbing death of his girlfriend, 32-year-old Sara Torello. Prosecutors said Hernandez stabbed Torello inside her car, drove away with her body in the front passenger seat, dumped her in a wooded area of the West Bank covered in debris and brush, and then set her Honda CR-V on fire five hours later.
The two-day trial in the 24th Judicial District Court featured testimony from 27 state witnesses before Judge Michael Mentz, with Assistant District Attorneys Piper Didier and Leo Aaron prosecuting the case, according to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office. Torello suffered 22 stab wounds total, including 10 to her head and neck, with one wound piercing her right carotid artery, as reported by NOLA.com. Aaron told jurors, “Twenty-two stab wounds, each time, each stab, each punch: specific intent to kill,” per the outlet's account of the trial.
Parish Workers Witnessed the Attack
The killing happened on November 17, 2022, after Hernandez and Torello dropped her son off at a New Orleans school. Jefferson Parish employees were clearing a canal bank in the 3800 block of Alex Kornman Drive in Harvey when they watched Hernandez violently attack Torello as she screamed, according to investigators cited in the same NOLA.com report. A Jefferson Parish Drainage Department worker called 911 to report a man actively killing a woman inside a vehicle, while another worker recorded the SUV's license plate number as it fled the scene, the district attorney's office said.
Nearby residents initially mistook the arriving sheriff's deputies for parish workers investigating illegal canal dumping before learning that a fatal stabbing had occurred next door, according to WWL-TV. Investigators later used video captured by a Jefferson Parish worker to help identify Torello.
Drone and K-9 Tracked Suspect Into the Woods
Torello's body was found roughly 100 yards from her burning vehicle in a wooded area near the 700 block of Churchill Parkway in Avondale. Sheriff's Office deputies tracked Hernandez into those woods, within 100 yards of the burning SUV, using a drone team equipped with thermal infrared technology alongside a police K-9 unit, WWL-TV reported. Deputies located Hernandez nearby; he later claimed he had “floated” into the wooded area, and separately asserted that a detective might have killed Torello.
Hernandez's hoodie, which authorities said had Torello's blood on it, was found near the incinerated Honda CR-V. Investigators also connected Hernandez to the burning vehicle after finding a lighter and an LD 100s cigarette pack with a missing top on his person at the time of his arrest, matching a partially burned cigarette box top recovered near the SUV, according to the district attorney's office.
A Documented History of Abuse
Hernandez, who also used the alias Nathan Mendoza, had a prior 2020 conviction for battery on a dating partner involving a previous girlfriend. The district attorney's office said he had a broader documented pattern of physically abusing women beyond that conviction, and per the office, he had a history of domestic violence against Torello specifically.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Hernandez had physically abused Torello at least four times in the two months before her death, including one instance in which she hid from him inside a pharmacy restroom to call her father for help, according to the district attorney's office. According to an obituary published by Mothe Funeral Homes, Torello was born in Avondale, lived in Old Jefferson, and was the mother of a young son.
Mandatory Life Sentence Ahead
Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19. Under Louisiana law, a second-degree murder conviction carries an automatic mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, per Louisiana state law. His obstruction of justice conviction for tampering with evidence carries a separate maximum penalty of up to 40 years at hard labor and a fine of up to $100,000 under state statute, meaning his sentencing hearing will largely focus on formalizing those statutory terms rather than weighing discretionary options.
