Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, a 43-year-old soccer coach, is expected to be charged with the murder of 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez, whose body was found last week in Ventura County. Hernandez was reported missing on March 30 after he failed to return home from a soccer practice in Palmdale. According to ABC7 Chicago, the boy’s body was discovered in a ditch in a wooded area in Oxnard on April 2.
Garcia Aquino, believed to be the last person to see Hernandez alive, was arrested last week on an unrelated sexual assault charge. The Los Angeles Police Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, and FBI collaborated on the investigation, which led to the discovery of Hernandez’s body over 60 miles from where he was last seen.
The family of Hernandez, devastated by the loss, confirmed their attendance at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, where District Attorney Nathan Hochman is expected to announce the charges against Garcia Aquino. Yahoo News reports that Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna will also be present.
Hernandez’s mother, Gladys Bautista, described her son as a happy child who loved soccer and was looking forward to visiting family in Honduras. Friends and family held a vigil in his memory at the site where his body was found. The investigation into the cause of death is ongoing, with authorities yet to reveal the evidence that led them to the remote location.
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