An odd and upsetting case is unfolding in Los Angeles. A mother of four is on trial for killing her 11-year-old son after she kept him locked in a closet for three years.
Veronica Aguilar has been charged with murder and child abuse of her son, Yonatan Daniel Aguilar, who was found in the family’s home on August 22, 2016.
For years Veronica Aguilar managed to keep her fourth child, Yonatan, hidden from the world. The only people who knew he still existed were sworn to secrecy.
According to court records, Aguilar told anyone who asked about her son’s whereabouts that he was seeking treatment in Mexico. He had special needs and reportedly had difficulty in school.
The mother of four complained about her son’s behavior to her husband saying she found it difficult to get him the right treatment because they were both undocumented immigrants.
Jose Pinzon, Yonatan’s stepfather, testified that Aguilar told him she sent the boy to Mexico for treatment. But that was far from the truth.
For three years, Aguilar kept Yonatan locked in a closet in the family’s one-bedroom home in Echo Park, California. She reportedly fed him alcohol-based cold medicine to make him drowsy.
On August 22, Aguilar broke the news to Pinzon – Yonatan had been in the family’s home the entire time. She told her husband the boy had died and Pinzon believed she would go to Mexico to bury him, but instead she brought him to the closet. Pinzon called 911.
How did Pinzon miss the boy? He reportedly worked 18-hour days and slept on a different floor than the children.
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When detectives arrived they found the boy, whose nickname was “Chubby,” lying on the floor.
“I saw a very gaunt, frail-looking child, who at that time to me looked like a 5, 6 or 7-year-old boy,” LAPD Det. Abel Munoz, said according to ABC 7.
At the time of his death Yonatan weighed 34 pounds.
Currently, a preliminary hearing is underway. Aguilar has been in jail since her arrest in 2016, and if convicted she could face 15 years to life in prison.
This is absolutely horrific!
How could this little boy have been locked up and no one knew or cared enough to investigate?
Let’s say a prayer for Yonatan.
