Arrest Made In Murder Of Woman, 22; Her Bullet-Riddled Body Was Found In Fremont

A Hayward-area man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of killing 22-year-old Stacey Aguilar, of San Jose, according to police.

Esmid Valentine Pedraza, a 23-year-old resident of unincorporated Hayward, was taken into custody by detectives on a homicide warrant, according to police. Aguilar’s body was found with numerous gunshot wounds in a rural area near Morrison Canyon Road in Fremont Saturday afternoon.

She was last seen three days earlier leaving a party in the vicinity of Silva Avenue and Jackson Street in Hayward, police said.

Hayward Police Chief Diane Urban has said that investigators believe Aguilar was killed in Hayward before her remains were disposed of in Fremont.

Aguilar’s disappearance was initially investigated as a missing person case, but it was reclassified as a homicide before investigators found the body due to unspecified evidence indicating “that this was more than a missing person,” Urban said.

The victim’s boyfriend was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of a domestic violence charge related to her, but police, at the time, declined to say if he was a suspect in her death. However, according to a news report, her sister did confirm a relationship between Aguilar and Pedraza in an interview.

Hayward police said the investigation is ongoing, and further details will not be released until the case is formally reviewed by the district attorney.

Previous:

• UPDATE: Homicide Victim’s Boyfriend Arrested For Domestic Violence
• ‘Person Of Interest’ In Custody In Death Of Woman Missing From East Bay Party
• Body Of Missing San Jose Woman Found
• Police Investigating Disappearance Of Woman, 22, As Homicide
• MISSING: Woman, 22, Last Reported Seen At Saturday Night Party In Hayward

--Bay City News