Another heinous crime perpetrated by an illegal alien has entered the public discourse: a soccer coach is alleged to have sexually assaulted and murdered a California teenaged boy. And the media are once again having a hard time reporting on the immigration status of the accused murderer.
NBC did not have such challenges, identifying the detainee as an illegal alien in short order. Here is that report in its entirety (click “expand” to view transcript:
LESTER HOLT: There are new questions tonight into the death of a 13-year-old California teen, his youth soccer coach being charged with murder. L.A. District Attorney saying the death penalty is not off the table. Our Morgan Chesky has more.
MORGAN CHESKY: Inside a Los Angeles courtroom, soccer coach Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino will soon hear formal murder charges after being accused of killing one of his own players. Officials say the undocumented 43-year old is accused of killing 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez.
NATHAN HOCHMAN: The Hernandez family, you have our deepest sympathy.
CHESKY: The D.A. stressing the death penalty remains an option as investigators piece together a disturbing timeline. Prosecutors allege Garcia Aquino killed Hernandez on March 28th after his family says the coach hired him to do housework. But Oscar never returned. By March 30th, family reported him missing. Authorities discovered the boy's body two days later, dumped in a neighboring county. Oscar's brother breaking down, sharing he didn't deserve this. Now the family is pressing authorities on why Garcia Aquino was still coaching after two other teams previously accused him of sexual assault.
ESTUARDO REYES: You gotta be careful now. Whoever you go out with, even though you trust them, you never know.
CHESKY: Reporter: Now as a memorial for the murdered teen grows, authorities urging other potential sexual assault victims to speak out.
ROBERT LUNA: You may be here undocumented. We're not going to ask about that. Please. You need to come forward.
CHESKY: And in addition to those murder charges for Garcia Aquino, late today the DA announcing they’re also adding charges for sexual assault against a minor, saying his new arraignment is set for April 30th. Lester.
HOLT: Morgan Chesky, thanks.
Very straightforward. There is a mention of the coach’s immigration status very early in the report, a narrative of the events as they are claimed to have happened.
But illegal aliens are sacred in some circles. CBS omitted the story entirely, both on Evening News and Evening News Plus. On the Spanish-language side, Univision mentioned the immigration status of the coach while Telemundo did not. ABC World News Tonight ran a story, but excluded immigration status.
We are witnessing a replay of the uneven and often omissive coverage of horrendous murders such as those of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. Report the crimes if you must, evenly if you must, but don’t neglect to disclose that the alleged perpetrator is an illegal alien. Each omission makes the media look worse.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
4/8/25
6:45 PM
DAVID MUIR: We turn now to a youth soccer coach in California tonight charged with murdering a 13-year-old. The family reporting their son missing, his body has now been found. Here's Matt Gutman.
MATT GUTMAN: Tonight, a youth soccer coach, 43-year-old Mario Garcia Aquino, charged in the murder of a 13-year-old boy.
NATHAN HOCHMAN: Mr. Garcia Aquino murdered 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez on March 28th, 2025.
GUTMAN: Authorities say Oscar Omar Hernandez boarded a train in Los Angeles to visit his coach about 70 miles north of L.A., but when he didn't return home, his family began looking for him, and reported him missing. On April 2nd, investigators finding Hernandez's body on the side of the road in a remote area, nearly two hours from where he had gone to visit that coach. Hernandez's mother asking for justice to be served. Garcia Aquino charged with one count of murder during the commission of lewd acts with a child. The district attorney calling Garcia Aquino a predator, and also charging him with sexually assaulting a different teenager at his home in 2022, and accusing him of assaulting another 16-year-old boy in February. And, they say, they think there could be more.
ROBERT LUNA: There's always a fear that there's more victims.
GUTMAN: The D.A. says if the coach is convicted, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole, or even the death penalty, David.
MUIR: Matt Gutman from Los Angeles. Thank you, Matt.
