The soccer coach of a 13-year-old California boy who was found dead last week has been charged with his murder.
The body of Oscar Omar Hernandez was found in a wooded area of Oxnard last week, according to KTLA.
On Monday, Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, was charged with murdering Hernandez.
“No parent should ever have to endure the unimaginable pain and sorrow of learning their child has been murdered,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a news release, according to the Ventura County Star.
Missing Cali teen last seen with alleged sex pest soccer coach found dead in ditch https://t.co/F9SOsIFhsw pic.twitter.com/3ug4IaINzb
— New York Post (@nypost) April 5, 2025
“He didn’t need to be treated like an animal. That was my son,” said Gladys Bautista, the victim’s mother, according to KABC-TV.
Police said that when Hernandez disappeared, he was heading to meet Garcia Aquino, according to KTLA.
“The charges allege that Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, on the date of March 28, 2025, murdered Omar Hernandez in Lancaster,” Hochman said, adding that Hernandez died during the “commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child.”
Garcia Aquino faces a separate sexual assault charge.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the sexual assault charge involved a 16-year-old also coached by Garcia Aquino.
#BREAKINGNEWS Mario Garcia Aquino, 43, was charged with murdering the 13-year-old boy and is facing at least life without the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.https://t.co/lctV2ZBuhW pic.twitter.com/pgxutXJycb
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) April 8, 2025
“In February of 2024, Garcia Aquino befriended a Sylmar family who allowed their juvenile son to stay with him at his residence,” Luna said. “The family subsequently filed a criminal report with the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station alleging sexual abuse of their child.”
“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, according to ABC.
“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,” he said.
Luna said authorities are asking any other potential victims 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,” he 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.”
