PHOENIX — A Phoenix woman is facing second-degree murder charges after a man was hit and killed by an SUV at a Phoenix apartment complex on May 3.
Mikela Antresa Bahe, 29, was arrested May 6 in Flagstaff, three days after the incident near 16th Street and Maryland Avenue in Phoenix.
According to court documents, Phoenix police responded to the apartment complex on May 3 after a 911 caller reported a man had been run over by a dark-colored SUV that fled the parking lot. The victim was found in the parking lot with serious injuries and was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Security video from the apartment complex showed a woman emerge from the building and enter an SUV. At around the same time, the male victim entered the parking lot from the stairs and stepped in front of the SUV as it began moving. Court documents state the victim held his arms out toward the vehicle, appearing to signal it to stop. The vehicle continued to accelerate, striking the man, who fell to the ground and was dragged under the vehicle. The SUV drove over the victim and fled the parking lot without stopping.
Investigators obtained security video that identified her as Mikela Bahe.
Court documents say the victim had met Bahe through the phone application MokoSpace and picked her up near a donut shop on the morning of May 3.
The victim’s nephew told investigators he spoke with the victim by phone at approximately 12:56 p.m. that day, during which the victim said he had met a woman through the app and was on his way to pick her up.
Shortly after that call, the nephew received a text message from the victim saying he had been “catfished” and that the woman he picked up did not resemble the person he had matched with on the app.
The victim told his nephew he was trying to return her to her home or otherwise end the date.
After the incident, investigators reviewed Bahe’s social media accounts and found that she had traveled to Flagstaff.
Bahe was taken into custody and transported to Phoenix Police headquarters on May 6 for an interview.
According to court documents, during the interview, Bahe said she remembered being in Phoenix for the weekend and being with the victim.
She said the victim took her to a dispensary but stated she had no recollection of events after leaving the dispensary.
After investigators showed her surveillance video of the incident, Bahe said she had no recollection of what happened or what occurred afterward.
Bahe is charged with second-degree murder, theft of means of transportation, and failure to remain at the scene of a fatal accident.
Court documents note she refused to submit a DNA sample as required under Arizona law. She has ties to the Navajo Reservation, according to court records.
