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The body of 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez was found on the side of the road a few days after Oxnard after a San Fernando Valley boy was reported missing. Harnandez’s family reported missing on March 30 after a failed visit from a visit with a football coach in the Lancaster/Palmdale area.
Los Angeles prosecutors filed murder charges on Monday in special circumstances, in the loss and death of 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez, who disappeared after visiting a football coach in the Antelope Valley last month.
The coach, who Hernandez’s family identified as Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, was arrested last week by LAPD detectives investigating a teenage loss disappearance, but he was booked last year on unrelated assault charges.
Garcia Aquino, 43, was expected to appear first in the assault case in a Lancaster court on Monday, but lawmakers said they would not be taken to court for medical reasons.
The lawsuit filed Monday saw Garcia Aquino being charged with a single count of first-degree murder, with a special circumstance claim that the murder took place during another violent felony committee, including robbery and rape.
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell were scheduled to formally announce the charges at a press conference.
Other attack charges accused Garcia Aquino of attacking the man in February 2024 with the intent to commit rape, claiming that Garcia Aquino “takes a “stand of trust and confidence” when carrying out the attack.”
Ventura authorities confirmed Friday that the body found earlier this week in the ditch in Oxnard was the body of Oscar Omar Hernandez. Investigative reporter Eric Leonard reports on NBC4 News on Friday, April 4, 2025 at 5pm.
Several law enforcement sources told NBC LA that the death investigation was handed over to the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Department because Hernandez was believed to have been killed in Antelope Valley, an area that the Sheriff’s Department patrolled.
Hernandez’s family reported missing on Sunday, March 30th. He failed to return from a visit with a Lancaster/Palmdale area coach and did not answer the phone.
The boy’s body was found last week on a road in Oxnard.
The missing person’s lawsuit was investigated by LAPD with the assistance of FBI agents.
The LA County District Attorney’s Office last week did not answer questions about why criminal charges in the 2024 assault case were not filed before Hernandez’s investigation focused on Garcia Aquino.
Law enforcement said it believes there are other victims who have been attacked by Garcia Aquino.
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