A 13-year-old California boy's soccer coach has been charged with his murder

A Southern California soccer coach has been charged with killing a 13-year-old boy and assaulting a 16-year-old boy, prosecutors announced on Monday.

Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, 43, is charged with murder in the death of 13-year-old Oscar "Omar" Hernandez, who was found dead on March 28 at a wooded area in Oxnard, the Los Angeles County District Attorney announced.

Garcia-Aquino has also been charged with felony assault with intent to commit a lewd act in a separate case involving a 16-year-old boy in Palmdale, California, last year.

"These cases are tragic and the Hernandez family, you have our deepest sympathy for a loss that words cannot even begin to describe. Our role though is to bring justice to this family and to hold the person responsible for these brutal, heinous, unspeakable, unthinkable acts," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters.

Garcia-Aquino was initially arrested by Los Angeles Police Department detectives Wednesday morning in the assault case, Hochman said. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the murder charge but could also face the death penalty if prosecutors decide to pursue that.

Paste BN was working to identify whether Garcia-Aquino has obtained an attorney for comment on his behalf.

DA identifies man as teen's soccer coach

Omar's family reported him missing when he failed to return home after visiting Garcia-Aquino in the Los Angeles suburb of Lancaster on March 28. That day, Omar got on a Metrolink train to help Garcia-Aquino and never made it home, KABC-TV reported. His body was found on April 2.

The LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division took over the case on April 1 and received information that led them to “an area of interest” in Oxnard, about 60 miles west of Los Angeles, Capt. Scot Williams of the Robbery-Homicide Division said in a statement sent to Paste BN.

The department worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and conducted a foot search of the area, Williams said.

At the time, the remains had not been positively identified as Omar's, but the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office has since confirmed the remains belong to the boy. His cause and manner of death are pending, the office said.

Omar's mother, father and sister attended the news conference but did not answer questions.

Sexual assault charged related to February 2024 incident

The assault charge against Garcia-Aquino, who had no reported criminal history until now, is in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred on Feb. 22, 2024, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed.

As a former youth travel soccer coach in the Sylmar neighborhood who worked with different age divisions, Garcia-Aquino befriended a family to allow their 16-year-old son to stay at his home in Palmdale, Luna said. The family later filed a criminal report alleging their child had been sexually abused.

Due to the nature of the offenses, Luna said the sheriff's office's Special Victims Bureau had reason to believe there may be other victims. He urged other victims to come forward, even if they are in the U.S. without legal permission.

"We're not going to ask about that," he said. "I know it could be either embarrassing you don't want to tell somebody, but it's very important that we bring justice, not only to the family here to my left, but any families that may have been victimized by this ... No matter what your documentation status is, we have a young man that was killed, murdered. That matters and it should matter to everyone else out there."

Teenager was funny, always made those around him smile, loved ones say

Omar was a student at Sun Valley Magnet School, according to the Los Angeles Unified School District.

School principal Robert Garcia said in a statement to community members that he is saddened about the teen’s death.

“On behalf of our entire school community, I want to offer my deepest condolences to those who are impacted by this loss, including the student’s family, friends, and school personnel,” he wrote in the statement. “Every member of our school community matters, and this loss impacts us all.”

His mother, Gladys Bautista, told KABC-TV that he was happy, loved soccer, and was excited to get his visa so he could visit family in Honduras.

"He didn't need to be treated like an animal. That was my son," his mother said in Spanish.

Vigil held to honor Omar in Oxnard

Loved ones held a vigil for the teen in Oxnard last Thursday, where his body was found, as well as at the family's home, reported KNBC-TV. Candles were lit as those who knew him stood by, peering at a photo of the boy. A Winnie the Pooh plushie and flowers sat next to his photo as loved ones looked on and remembered him.

Student Ashley Cruz told KNBC-TV that she organized a day to honor the boy and that she feels bad that he died the way he did. She said he was cheerful and had his whole life ahead of him.

"I posted 'Everybody wear black tomorrow' ... to show love for Omar and to make sure he's not forgotten," Cruz told KNBC-TV.

Another student, Keidy Cruz, said he was nice and kind.

"It's just so sad and heartbreaking," Cruz said. "My dad is friends with his dad and when I learned that he'd gone missing, I'm like 'I wonder how the family's thinking. It's very devastating."

This story has been updated to fix a typo.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

Anthony Robledo covers national trending news at Paste BN. You can email him at arobledo@usatoday.com or follow on X @anthonyarobledo