Youth soccer coach charged in killing of missing California middle school student
A youth soccer coach has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of 13-year-old Oscar “Omar” Hernandez, a San Fernando Valley resident found dead in Oxnard on April 2 after his family reported him missing two days prior.
Hernandez’s body was found in a wooded area near Harbor Boulevard in Oxnard, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. Hernandez was a student at Sun Valley Magnet School.
Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, 43, of the Antelope Valley, is accused of killing Hernandez on March 28, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Monday, April 7.
Garcia-Aquino was taken into custody in Los Angeles. No information on the boy’s cause of death or how Hernandez ended up in Oxnard, a city over 100 miles away from Lancaster, was immediately available.
The felony complaint, filed on Monday, April 7, includes a special circumstances allegation that the crime happened while the suspect was engaged in the commission or attempted commission of a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14.
“On that day, Oscar Hernandez went up to Lancaster to see Mr. Garcia-Aquino. Two days later, he was reported missing,” Hochman said.
His family reported him missing on March 30 when he hadn’t returned home after boarding a train to to the Antelope Valley to help Garcia-Aquino, according to relatives. He was never heard from again. A GoFundMe was created for Hernandez’s memorial expenses and support for his family.
Garcia-Aquino worked as a coach for youth travel soccer at the Hurricane Valley Boys Soccer Club, where he coached various age groups, according to Sheriff Robert Luna.
On Wednesday, April 2, Garcia-Aquino was arrested on suspicion of a charge unrelated to Hernandez’s death, related to a February 2024 case of assault with intent to commit a lewd act.
The February 2024 charges filed against Garcia-Aquino stem from an assault that allegedly occurred on Feb. 22, 2024 in Palmdale, involving a 16-year-old boy. Garcia-Aquino “befriended” a Sylmar family, who allowed their juvenile son to stay with him in Palmdale. The family reported sexual abuse to the Palmdale Sheriff’s station after that stay, Luna explained.
Detectives learned that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating an unrelated instance of abuse. The sheriff’s department and the police department have jointly filed the felony count of assault with intent to commit a lewd act.
Authorities are seeking additional victims of Garcia-Aquino, asking anyone with information or who believes they have been a victim of him to contact authorities at (818) 374-5415 or (877) 710-5273 to report, or anonymously by phone at (800) 222-8477.
“No matter what your documentation status is, we have a young man who was murdered, killed…” Luna said, emphasizing that immigration status is not an issue in reporting any crimes.
“We’re looking at everything,” Luna said when asked if authorities believe there are more assault victims or possibly more missing persons connected to Garcia-Aquino.
Hernandez’s family joined Hochman as he announced the charges alongside LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and Luna, some family members donning shirts with Hernandez’s photo on them.
Garcia-Aquino is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday, April 8. He faces at least life without parole or possibly the death penalty, if convicted of special circumstances murder in Hernandez’s death and up to six years if convicted of felony assault with intent to commit a lewd act, in relation to the 2024 assault.
Hochman referenced a new death penalty policy, under which his office will determine whether or not it is appropriate in this case.