Evelyn and Alex Hernandez

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2:20Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:32Today I'm discussing the murder of 24-year-old Evelyn Hernandez and the disappearance of her 5-year-old son Alex Hernandez. On May 1st, 2002, Evelyn was very pregnant with her second son, literally just a week away from her due date. The day Evelyn and Alex went missing was really just like any other. That morning, Evelyn called one of her sisters, then dropped Alex off at preschool, ran a few errands, picked Alex back up, and she ended the night by talking to her other sister about her upcoming baby shower. Now, it wasn't an easy pregnancy for Evelyn. She had worked as a vocational nurse, at Costco, and at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square, but she eventually suffered complications with her pregnancy and was on disability by the end of it.

3:20On top of all of that, when she was about four months pregnant, she discovered that the father of her child, 36-year-old Herman Aguilera, was hiding a huge secret from her. He was actually married. But it seems like Evelyn was somehow juggling all her responsibilities and holding it together. She was planning for the baby shower, and even had a name picked out for the new baby, Fernando. But after Evelyn hangs up with her sister, as Evelyn's due date approaches, she stops answering phone calls and stops taking Alex to school. About a week after that phone call with her sister, on May 7th, Evelyn's due date, Herman Aguilera reported her and Alex missing to the police.

4:05Then, just a few weeks later in July, Evelyn's partial remains were found in the San Francisco Bay. She'd been murdered. Her unborn son and Alex have never been found. This is the case of Evelyn and Alex Hernandez. On May 7, 2002, Herman Aguilera reported the mother of his unborn child, 24-year-old Evelyn Hernandez, along with her 5-year-old son, Alexis Duraldo Hernandez, also known as Alex, missing. He explained that Evelyn was 9 months pregnant, and actually due to give birth that same day. According to reporting by Jackson Vanderbecken for SFGate, Aguilera said he'd last seen Evelyn and Alex about a week prior, on April 30th.

4:53On that day, he says he went to Ikea to shop for Evelyn and buy a bed for Alex. After that, he met Evelyn at San Francisco General Hospital for a prenatal exam, and then took Evelyn home, where he assembled Alex's new bed. After that, he says he picked up Alex from school, drove him home to Evelyn, and then left. Aguilera says he never saw or heard from Alex or Evelyn after that. So, detectives with the San Francisco Police Department get to work, and they were able to put together a timeline for May 1st pretty quickly. It seems that that morning, Evelyn spoke to her sister Olivia, They discussed Evelyn not feeling very well and having pain in her stomach.

5:32And this seemed to go far beyond just discomfort with pregnancy. Evelyn had complications so severe she was unable to continue working. And while Alex's school was just a few miles away from their home in San Francisco's Crocker Amazon neighborhood, Evelyn didn't have a car, so she typically used public transportation to take Alex to and from school every day. Detectives did see that Evelyn left her apartment that morning, dropped Alex off at Buena Vista Elementary School, and then took a bus to the bank to make a deposit. She then bought a new wallet at a Ross store before picking Alex back up from school and going home.

6:10At around 6, Evelyn got her mail, including a disability benefits check. About three hours later, around 9, she called her other sister in Richmond to talk about the upcoming baby shower her family planned for her, and specifically about transportation for the party. After their chat, they said goodnight, and Evelyn hung up. But the next morning, Evelyn didn't take Alex to school, and no one had heard from them since. So at this point, detectives begin to dig deeper into Evelyn's past in hopes of finding any clues to where she may have gone or where Alex may be. They learn that when Evelyn was 14, she immigrated to the United States from El Salvador to live with her mother and her sister.

6:52She attended McAteer High School in San Francisco. Now, in reporting by Ron Harris for the Associated Press in 2002 about her high school closing, he says it was, quote, an educational dumping ground where poorly performing students were often assigned. And San Francisco School's Superintendent Arlene Ackerman says the school closing was in the best interest of the children after a long-standing reputation of underperforming. But Evelyn kept busy and found a community outside of school at a local youth center. A mentor from the center told People Magazine, quote, At first, she was a shy, simple girl, but I could see she was intelligent.

7:32She studied hard and was responsible. They say that once Evelyn felt more comfortable, she started showing interest in acting and performed in plays at the center. Eventually, Evelyn graduated from high school and had her son, Alex. Now, not much is known about Alex's father, but according to the Charlie Project, he served in the Navy, and it doesn't appear that he played much of a role in Alex's life. While everyone said Evelyn loved being a mom, her friend did tell People magazine that she was lonely. Around 1998, Evelyn started dating Herman Aguilera, who was 12 years older than her. He worked as a limo driver and an airline mechanic for United Airlines at the San Francisco International Airport.

8:18Then in late 2001, Evelyn got pregnant with Aguilera's son, who they planned to name Fernando. But a friend of Evelyn told ABC News that Aguilera didn't really react well to this news. And at this point, he was kind of realizing that things with Evelyn were becoming more serious than he wanted them to be. They say that he started acting kind of weird, so concerned and now four months pregnant, Evelyn calls Aguilera's mother. And she tells her that her son is probably not reacting well to this pregnancy because he's already married. Now, detectives were later able to determine that Aguilera's wife knew about his relationship with Evelyn, but she said she did not know about the pregnancy.

9:01As time went on, Evelyn made the decision to end the romantic relationship with Aguilera, but she did agree to allow him to see their son once he was born. Holly Parra with the San Francisco PD told the San Francisco Chronicle that it was Evelyn's decision to end things, but It caused some friction because he was paying for her apartment and wanted to be able to stay there, but she wanted to get on with her life. She thought she had no future with him. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Greenlight. I think one of the best gifts you can give your kids is the gift of financial literacy.

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12:00After learning all this information, the police theorized that maybe Evelyn left voluntarily to escape Aguilera and have the baby. So they started contacting hospitals. They reached out to friends and family both in the US and El Salvador. They reached out to medical examiners in every county in California, and two in Nevada, but no one reported seeing anyone that matched Evelyn or Alex's description. So, after looking into Aguilera, calling medical examiners, calling hospitals, detectives turn their eye to Alex's father, and they do locate him. He was living in Puerto Rico, but after speaking to him, he is not considered a suspect in the case.

12:45And as far as we know, that's really the last the public hears about him. But finally, a few days into the investigation, police get a major break in the case when someone finds Evelyn's wallet, that new wallet that she bought on May 1st. Now, this person did try to get a hold of Evelyn and return the wallet, but they obviously couldn't get a hold of her and later turned it in to the police. When police realize that the wallet was Evelyn's and speak to the person who found it, they discover that it was found in a gutter on Linden Avenue. And the reason I'm emphasizing it is because this area was not new to police.

13:23It was actually just about two blocks from where Aguilera worked at the limousine company. And inside the wallet were two$20 bills and her disability check. Now, this tells them a few things. Obviously, the location is cause for concern about Aguilera's possible involvement. And since there was still$40 in the wallet, it didn't really seem that robbery was a plausible explanation for Evelyn or Alex being met with foul play. Also, it tells them that Evelyn was never able to deposit that check, money she might need if she really did plan to leave Aguilera to have the baby. So of course, detectives go out to the spot where the wallet was found.

14:04They searched, they brought dogs, but they didn't find anything. And we do know that they also searched Evelyn's home. They found her and Alex's passports, but her cell phone was gone, and as far as I could find, it has never been recovered. And this is another case where the police aren't releasing a ton of information, so I can't even tell you if they have her cell phone records. And it really seems that at this point is when police start to change their mind about what they think might have happened to Evelyn. They tell the media, quote, We're definitely concerned there might be foul play. They have just vanished.

14:41At this point, detectives bring Aguilera back in for a voluntary interview. And his story starts to change. Initially, he had said that he and Evelyn didn't really have any problems, but he eventually admitted that there were some, quote, tensions. And that's not the only part of his story that changed. He told detectives that on the night of May 1st, he did try calling Evelyn several times, but she didn't answer. He told detectives that he did not go to her apartment to check on her, but he later changed his story and said that he did drive to her apartment, but then he thought maybe she was avoiding him, so he went home.

15:22He also said that he called the hospital where Evelyn was supposed to give birth, but she wasn't there. Once police were fairly certain that Evelyn and Alex had been met with foul play, they held their first news conference regarding their disappearances. It had been more than a month since they went missing, and this decision to wait to notify the public has been widely criticized. Holly Parra, again with San Francisco PD, later told the San Francisco Chronicle, quote, It's hard to turn back the clock and get what we could have gotten if we had major publicity from the get-go. But even with this news conference, the case got very little media attention.

16:02That is, at least until Evelyn's remains were found, and people began to speculate that her case may have been linked with another similar, but much more high-profile case. This episode is brought to you by eBay. Before all the algorithm-fed blah and the endless sea of dupes, shopping used to feel more fun. Find that feeling again on eBay. It's not mindless scrolling It's a fashion pursuit And when you score that rare Adidas collab Or the Dior saddlebag you've been manifesting It's a rush eBay has millions of preloved finds From hundreds of brands Backed by authenticity guarantee eBay, things people love

16:46Meet the computer you can talk to With Copilot on Windows Working, creating, and collaborating Is as easy as talking Got writer's block? Share your screen with Copilot Vision to help spark inspiration and use Copilot Voice to have a conversation and brainstorm ideas. Or maybe you need some tech help. With Copilot Vision, Copilot sees what you see. Let Copilot talk you through step-by-step guidance so you can master new apps, games, and skills faster. Try now at windows.com slash copilot. On July 24th, 2002, almost three months after Evelyn Hernandez and her five-year-old son Alex went missing, Part of Evelyn's torso and her legs were discovered floating in the San Francisco Bay.

17:29She was identified using DNA gathered from her toothbrush. Alex and Evelyn's unborn baby were not found. According to the autopsy report, there were no signs of amputation or any sharp or blunt force injuries. While her cause of death was ultimately deemed to be undetermined, The police believe she was murdered, and the mayor's office established a$10 ,000 reward. After finding Evelyn's partial remains, the police assumed Alex also might be deceased, but Evelyn's family remained hopeful that he might be found, and were obviously pushing for the police to keep looking. At a memorial service for Evelyn, one of her loved ones held up a sign with a photo of Alex, asking, quote, where is Alex?

18:19Wasn't this investigation important? Detectives who attended the memorial service spoke to the media and answered these questions, saying, quote, we don't know where Alex is. Is this important? Yes, it's extremely important. There's three victims here. Herman Aguilera's attorney told the media that he was deeply saddened by the news of his close friend's death, and hoped the police department would find the person responsible. The attorney also mentioned that Aguilera had cooperated with police in every possible way. Though to counter that, Holly Perra from the San Francisco PD says Aguilera refused to speak with detectives after the case was transferred from the missing persons unit to the homicide division.

19:08Now despite all these revelations, the media still didn't really pick up this story. That is, until Lacey Peterson went missing near the end of 2002. Of course, you might be familiar with the Lacey Peterson case, but if not, here's a quick recap. 27-year-old Lacey Peterson was 8 months pregnant when she went missing on Christmas Eve 2002 from Modesto, California, and the media jumped on her story. It seemed like everyone was talking about Lacey's disappearance, and the possibility of her husband Scott being involved. Now, although there were some similarities between Lacey and Evelyn's cases, the way the media responded to these cases was very, very different.

19:54While pretty much every news outlet was reporting on Lacey's case, there were very few newspaper articles about Evelyn and Alex until Lacey went missing. Even then, Evelyn is often mentioned as kind of an afterthought. And the San Francisco Chronicle even acknowledged this. They said that before Scott Peterson's arrest, they'd published 32 stories about Lacey since she was reported missing, with four of them being on the front page. In contrast, they only published four articles about Evelyn and Alex, and none of them made it to the front page. Evelyn's sister Olivia told People, quote, The police and journalists ignored my sister because she was poor and from El Salvador.

20:41Evelyn's friend further told the San Francisco Chronicle, Who cares about Evelyn? The first time I heard Lacey's case, I got flashbacks from Evelyn, because it is the same case. That's very hard to see. Why one gets more attention than the other. And in Evelyn and Alex's case, the police spoke directly about this issue. According to the police, they found it embarrassing that there wasn't more media coverage. They stated, quote, We've pushed and asked for and received as much as we possibly could, but we don't make the decision about what gets covered and what doesn't. So basically, the police say that they tried, but the media just wouldn't cover it.

21:26Then, in April 2003, Lacey Peterson's body was discovered in the San Francisco Bay. Lacey's husband Scott was quickly arrested and charged with first-degree murder for Lacey, and second-degree murder for their unborn son. And the reason I mention this is because after Scott's arrest, the cases became even more intertwined. It was reported by the Modesto Bee that during the legal proceedings, Scott's defense attorneys argued that they should have access to the police files on Evelyn and Alex's case. They said it might point to the actual perpetrators of Lacey Peterson's murder. They argued that both women might have been killed by a satanic cult.

22:09But the police absolutely opposed this. They said that sharing that file would not help solve Lacey's case. They further argued that the files containing information only known to Evelyn's killer and disclosing it might prevent the killer from ever being held accountable. They maintained that there was just no information in the files connecting Evelyn and Lacey And eventually, these requests were denied by the Superior Court They said that it was highly speculative to believe Evelyn's file would have any information about Lacey On May 2nd, 2003, just over a year after Evelyn and Alex went missing Their family held a news conference seeking the public's help in solving the case A friend of Evelyn stated, quote We're not going to stop until we know what happened.

22:57We want to pressure police to keep investigating. And here we get a little more information about Herman Aguilera. Evelyn's sister Reina described Aguilera as very unlikable. She also said that he had a second girlfriend. Reina also described that the couple had frequent arguments right before Evelyn went missing. Now, Reina did not accuse him of killing Evelyn, but she did request that the police continue their investigation into him. Now, at this point, the police say that there are no suspects and there are no leads, but they do believe that Alex probably faced the same fate as his mom. They emphasized, quote, At this point, it's going to take people to come forward and remember something.

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25:02No more squeezing in trips to the store. The only squeezing here is the big guy into a suit after dinner. For terms, visit bjs.com slash holiday and get the same great prices online as in-club. In addition to this press conference, Evelyn's family and friends gathered near where Evelyn's body was found. They burned incense, sang songs, and tossed bouquets of flowers into the bay. Then, a few months later, in July 2003, police gave an update to People magazine, stating, quote, We're watching the boyfriend. We don't have enough credible evidence to charge him with anything. and unfortunately as these things sometimes go the updates get further and further apart in may 2004 evelyn's family held another press conference and forgive me for getting emotional i always say that if i stop getting emotional i should quit true crime so this press conference was held outside of Alex's school, Buena Vista Elementary, and they did this on purpose to bring attention to the fact that Evelyn's murder and Alex's disappearance were still unsolved.

26:17A close friend of Evelyn expressed, quote, We don't know what happened to Alex. He could be in another country, or maybe he died the same as Evelyn. I think it took a long time for everybody to follow the case, so it's more difficult. The police also told the media that they wanted to speak to Aguilera as a person of interest, but as far as my team could find, that hasn't happened. Or if it has, that information has not been released to the public. Despite the lack of media attention, it does seem like people in this area care. About two years later, in September 2006, the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice offered a$100 ,000 reward in Evelyn and Alex's case.

27:06But unfortunately, that is pretty much where the case is today. As of this recording, Evelyn's murder remains unsolved, and her 5-year-old son Alex and her unborn child Fernando are still missing. Which brings me right to our call to action. Authorities are holding out hope that someone will come forward in this case, That maybe someone saw something they just can't remember, and seeing Evelyn or Alex's photo might spark that memory. That maybe while going through old photos or old videos, someone can spot the pair. I know that might sound very optimistic, but stranger things have happened in true crime.