Victim Of One Of LA's Worst Child Abuse Cases Laid To Rest
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Three months after one of the worst child abuse cases in Los Angeles County history. The victim has finally been laid to rest.
Eleven-year-old Yonatan Aguillar weighed just 34 pounds when police found him in a family closet in Echo Park.
Some of the people who came to pay their last respects were members of Yonatan's family and others.who never met him.
Next to a small white casket were many photographs of a bright-eyed boy enjoying much happier moments.
Yonatan's step father Jose Pizon held back tears as he recalled better days with his boy.
"We used to play together and we used to go out for pizza and share together," Pizon said. "I really loved him and I miss him."
Back in August, authorities located the boy in the fetal position wrapped in a blanket in the closet so small he couldn't extend his feet. It appeared he had been dead for several hours, detectives said.
Detectives said the boy was emaciated, had little hair and open sores on his body, all signs of years of abuse. The condition of the boy was so disturbing that counseling was offered to those who were at the crime scene.
FULL COVERAGE: Echo Park Child Abuse Death
Four years before, when reports of possible child abuse were reported, Yonatan's mother Veronica Aguilar, who was a volunteer at the school and attended parenting classes, was able to convince his teachers, counselors, coaches, medical staff and social workers that her son was safe in her home. Then, when Yonatan stopped showing up for school, his mother told people he had gone to live in an institution in Mexico.
The Department Of Children And Family Services has been investigating how the case slipped through the cracks.
Yonatan's mother Veronica Aguillar is in the county jail charged with her son's murder. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin next month.
