SoCal youth soccer coach pleads not guilty to murder of 13-year-old boy

Soccer coach pleads not guilty to murdering teen

Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino pleaded not guilty to the murder of 13-year-old Oscar "Omar" Hernandez.

LOS ANGELES - A youth soccer coach pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he murdered a 13-year-old boy who had traveled to Lancaster to see him, along with charges that he assaulted two other teenage boys.

What we know:

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, 43, to remain jailed without bail while awaiting his next appearance Aug. 18 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Garcia-Aquino is charged with the March 28 murder of Oscar "Omar" Hernandez.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission or attempted commission of a lewd act with a child. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Garcia-Aquino.

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He is also charged with one count each of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense and lewd act on a child 14 or 15 years old. Those charges involve a different teenage boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted on Dec. 10, 2022, at a home in Sylmar where the defendant was living at the time, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

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Garcia-Aquino is also charged in a separate case with a felony count of assault with the intent to commit a lewd act involving a 16-year-old boy in Palmdale on Feb. 22, 2024, District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters shortly after the defendant's arrest in April. That case was filed in Lancaster, but subsequently sent to the downtown courthouse, where the murder case was filed.

The backstory:

Hernandez -- who had traveled to Lancaster to see his soccer coach March 28 -- was reported missing two days later and found dead in Oxnard, Hochman said.

Hernandez's body was discovered April 2 by the side of a road in Oxnard, but authorities have not announced how the boy was killed.

The district attorney said in April that "certain investigative techniques" were used to find the teen's body and determine his alleged killer, adding that the information will be detailed in court at the appropriate time.

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In a statement, Hernandez's family said they were "devastated by the unimaginable loss" and "heartbroken that someone entrusted with his care could commit such a horrific act."

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters in April that Garcia-Aquino was a youth travel soccer coach with the Hurricane Valley Boys Soccer Club, working with different age divisions in the Sylmar area and had no reported criminal history.

One of the assault charges involves a teen whose family was "befriended" by Garcia-Aquino and allowed their son to stay with him at his Palmdale residence, according to the sheriff.

The family subsequently notified the Palmdale Sheriff's Station about the alleged abuse, Luna said.

In a statement on the social media site X, Homeland Security posted, "13-year-old Oscar `Omar' Hernandez was an innocent child who was exploited and killed by this depraved illegal alien who should have never been in this country."

Authorities asked in April for anyone with information about Garcia- Aquino or any other alleged victims to call the Los Angeles Police Department's Juvenile Division, Abused Child Unit at 818-374-5415 or the Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273.