The soccer coach of a 13-year-old who was found dead after his family reported him missing last week has been charged in the teen’s murder, officials announced on Monday.
Oscar Omar Hernandez, of the San Fernando Valley, was reported missing by his family on March 30 after he “failed to return home from visiting an acquaintance in Lancaster,” Los Angeles police said last week.
The teen had gone to visit his soccer coach — 43-year-old Mario Edguardo Garcia-Aquino — two days earlier, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Oscar was found dead on Wednesday in the city of Oxnard, west of Los Angeles, off to the side of a road near Leo Carrillo State Beach, Hochman said.
Garcia-Aquino has been charged with murder with special circumstances on Monday, Hochman said.
The suspect has separately also been charged with a felony count of assault with intent to commit a lewd act against a 16-year-old boy, Hochman said. Garcia-Aquino was arrested on Wednesday on that charge, which stemmed from an alleged incident in Palmdale on Feb. 22, 2024, authorities said.
“These cases are tragic, and the Hernandez family, you have our deepest sympathy for a loss that words cannot even begin to describe,” Hochman said at a press briefing on Monday. “Our role, though, is to bring justice to this family and to hold the person responsible for these brutal, heinous, unspeakable, unthinkable acts, hold them accountable and prosecute and punish them to the full extent of the law.”
Hochman said he does not have any details on how Oscar was killed at this time.
Garcia-Aquino is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Hochman said.
If convicted, the suspect faces a sentence of at least life without the possibility of parole for the murder charge or the death penalty, Hochman said. He also faces six years in prison if convicted of the assault charge, Hochman said.
Authorities are asking any alleged victims of the suspect or anyone with information to come forward.
“There’s always a fear that there’s more victims, and we want to make sure we account for everybody that’s out there,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at the briefing.
Garcia-Aquina was a youth travel soccer coach with a boys’ soccer club in the Sylmar area, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. He had no reported criminal history, the sheriff said.
“If for some reason anybody fears coming forward, even as a youth or a family, because you may be here undocumented, we’re not going to ask about that,” Luna said. “Please. You need to come forward. We will assist you — whether it’s our department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the LA County District Attorney’s Office — any of us are going to wrap our arms around you and make sure that you get the appropriate services. We guide you the right way and we protect you as well.”
Oscar’s family members attended the press briefing but did not make a public comment.
Family and friends of Oscar paid tribute to the teen on Thursday at the site where the body was found on the side of a road in Oxnard.
“He didn’t need to be treated like an animal. That was my son,” his mother, Gladys Bautista, cried out in Spanish, ABC News’ Los Angeles station KABC reported.
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