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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Department of Homeland Security said a youth
soccer coach who was charged with murdering a 13-year old boy whose body
was found by the side of a road in Oxnard is an undocumented immigrant.

Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, appeared Tuesday in a downtown Los
Angeles courtroom in connection with the killing of Oscar Omar Hernandez.
No plea was made and arraignment was continued to April 30. He is being
held without bail.

Oscar's mother, Gladys Bautista, stood up in court to get a better look at
the man accused of killing her son.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charge
Monday as he stood with the victim's parents and sister at a news
conference.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder
during the commission or attempted commission of a lewd act with a child,
with the District Attorney's Office expected to subsequently determine
"whether or not the death penalty is appropriate for this particular
case," Hochman said.

Garcia Aquino faces a possible maximum sentence of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole in connection to the teen's death.

The victim's brother, Daniel Hernandez, told Eyewitness News outside of
court he wanted "justice and whatever the full extent of punishment of the
law allows."

He was arrested Wednesday in an unrelated case in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in Palmdale on Feb. 22, 2024.

Garcia Aquino was charged with one felony count of assault with the intent
to commit a sexual offense and faces a possible maximum sentence of six
years in state prison in that case.

He is also accused of assaulting a 14-year-old teenager at his then-home
in Sylmar on Dec. 10, 2022.

"Sexual predators who target victims for their own gratification will be
held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Hochman said.

Garcia Aquino killed 13-year-old Oscar on March 28 in Lancaster and dumped
his body in Ventura County, prosecutors allege.

That day, Oscar had boarded a Metrolink train to Lancaster to help the
soccer coach at a complex. When he didn't return home that night, the
family worried and started looking for him. He was reported missing by his family two days later.

Investigators found the boy's body on the side of the road in Oxnard on Wednesday. The LAPD was assisted by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office
and the FBI during the investigation.

"No parent should ever have to endure the unimaginable pain and sorrow of learning their child has been murdered," Hochman said. "Oscar simply
boarded a train and little did he or his family know that he would never return."

Police have not revealed what evidence led them to find his body more than
60 miles away in the remote area.

The teen's mother is devastated over her son's death. Bautista described
her son as a happy kid who loved soccer and was excited that he was about
to receive his visa so he could return to visit relatives in Honduras.

Last Thursday, family and friends held a vigil where the teen's body was
found.

"He didn't need to be treated like an animal. That was my son," Bautista
cried out in Spanish.

One of his friends there described him as the "nicest person."

"He was just trying to have his own money and accomplish his goals in
life," another friend said.

That evening, friends and relatives paid tribute to the teen with a
memorial outside his home.

"He was always kindhearted. He had such a great personality, he was
funny," 12-year-old Melanie Samayoa said. "He would always bring out a
smile to us, and like one of my friend's said he's such a great dancer,
too."

Detectives are still investigating. A cause of death is unknown.

Additional victims or anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department at (818)374-5415 or the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department at (877) 710-5273.

Anyone who wishes to remain anonymous can call the Los Angeles Regional
Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

https://abc7.com/post/soccer-coach-charged-13-year-old-boys-killing-due- los-angeles-court-tuesday/16143789/

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