Left: Mario Garcia-Aquino (Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office). Right: Oscar Omar Hernandez (GoFundMe).
A California youth soccer coach is behind bars after he allegedly murdered one of his players, a 13-year-old boy, and ditched his body on the side of the road.
Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, 43, is charged with murder in the death of 13-year-old Oscar “Omar” Hernandez, whose body was found in Ventura County last week, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a press release. Garcia-Aquino was a youth travel soccer coach.
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According to officials, Hernandez’s family allowed the boy to stay with the defendant at his home. Hernandez traveled by train on March 28 to Lancaster to his soccer coach’s home. The victim’s family reported him missing two days later after he was not responding to texts. Cops believe Garcia-Aquino killed Hernandez while doing or attempting to complete lewd acts with the boy. The child was found dead on the side of the road Wednesday in Oxnard, police said.
“No parent should ever have to endure the unimaginable pain and sorrow of learning their child has been murdered,” DA Hochman said. “Oscar simply boarded a train and little did he or his family know that he would never return. Sexual predators who target victims for their own gratification will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Hochman did not release the cause of death nor provide details about what led up to the murder. If convicted, Garcia-Aquino could face the death penalty or life in prison.
Cops had also been investigating Garcia-Aquino for a Feb. 22, 2024, sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy. He was charged with assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense. Officials said investigators had yet to obtain enough evidence for an arrest before he allegedly murdered Oscar.
Detectives fear that Garcia-Aquino may have sexually assaulted other victims and are asking anyone to come forward with information.
From cops:
Additional victims or anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department’s Juvenile Division, Abused Child Unit at (818) 374-5415 or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau at (877) 710-5273. Information also may be provided anonymously by phone to the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
“There is no excuse for these type of crimes,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. “We will continue to pursue justice and work tirelessly to ensure we bring closure to the victims and their families, while ensuring that such individuals face the full extent of the law.”
Oscar’s family was present at Monday’s press conference but did not make a statement. At a vigil last week, his mother described him as a happy teen who loved playing soccer.
“He didn’t need to be treated like an animal. That was my son,” Gladys Bautista said in Spanish, according to local ABC affiliate KABC.
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