Mass held in light of student’s death

By Jeniffer Torres|November 25, 2020

A mass was held in honor of Juan Carlos Hernández, an El Camino College student who went missing on Tuesday, Sept. 22 after his night shift at a marijuana dispensary, on Wednesday. Nov 25 at the Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Los Angeles. His remains were found on Sunday, Nov 15 in a shallow grave in the Mojave desert, according to an LAPD press release. The ceremony in his honor was held outside due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jaime Solis/ The Union)

Strangers and loved ones gathered on the lawn of St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church to attend a mass for Juan Carlos Hernández, whose body was recently discovered buried in a shallow grave out in the Mojave Desert.

A small table and a few lawn chairs were set out, but most attendees chose to stand quietly in small groups while a priest led mass from under the shade of a tree gently dropping leaves. Juan Carlos Hernández’s mother, Yajaira Hernández, stood holding a single white rose.

Father David G. Nations, who led the bilingual mass, read the story of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus who fell ill and died but was subsequently resurrected by him. He asked the attendees to see the circumstances of Juan Carlos Hernández’s death through a new light.

“Justice should be served, and there’s no doubt about that, but things like this that happen give us an opportunity to live and change our lives,” Nations repeated in both English and Spanish. “If we end up just looking for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, we’re losing something of ourselves.”

He later blessed ornaments brought by the Hernández family for attendees to take with them. Yajaira Hernández asked people to include her son in their holidays as she would be doing.

Erick Melendez, one of Juan Carlos Hernández's cousins in attendance to the mass being held in his honor, picks up one of the ornaments being given out to attendees on Wednesday, Nov. 25 after the mass's conclusion. These ornaments were made in honor of Juan Carlos's memory as a thanks to the hope and support given to the Hernández family from the community. (Jaime Solis/ The Union) — Erick Melendez, one of Juan Carlos Hernández’s cousins in attendance to the mass being held in his honor, picks up one of the ornaments being given out to attendees on Wednesday, Nov. 25 after the mass’s conclusion. These ornaments were made in honor of Juan Carlos’s memory as a thanks to the hope and support given to the Hernández family from the community. Those in attendance also sang Happy Birthday to Erick in honor of his own birthday on the day of the mass. (Jaime Solis/ The Union)

Juan Carlos Hernández initially went missing the night of Sept. 22 after ending his shift at a dispensary. Almost immediately, his family began making missing person flyers and filling out a missing person’s report.

Now, over two months after his initial disappearance, two suspects have been arrested and charged in connection to his death. Ethan Kedar Astaphan, 27, and Sonita Heng, 20, both appeared at a court office on Monday, Nov. 23.

Both plead not guilty and currently sit at a bail amount of $10 million each.

“It warms my heart that they caught these people and that these are the people that murdered my son,” Yajaira Hernández said. “I’m not looking for divine justice, I’m looking for judicial justice.”

Yajaira Hernández attended the suspects’ initial court hearing and said she waited there “all day”, as their case was the last to be heard. She said she plans to attend every one of their court hearings.

“I know there [are] some things that I may not be ready to hear, but this is what I need to do,” she said. “I need to fight for my son and just ensure that justice is brought upon those who hurt him.”

This is the dispensary that Juan Carlos Hernández, the El Camino College student missing since late Tuesday, Sept. 22, worked at before his disappearance after his work shift. The storefronts for the series of dispensaries were recently repainted. According to Yahaira Hernández, Juan Carlos's mother, assemblyman Mike Gipson told her over the phone on Monday night that the dispensary was shut down. However, signs for the dispensary's specials can still be seen outside the store front as of Wednesday, Nov. 25. (Jaime Solis/ The Union) — This is the dispensary that Juan Carlos Hernández, the El Camino College student missing since late Tuesday, Sept. 22, worked at before his disappearance after his work shift. The storefronts for the series of dispensaries were recently repainted. According to Yahaira Hernández, Juan Carlos’s mother, assemblyman Mike Gipson told her over the phone on Monday night that the dispensary was shut down. However, signs for the dispensary’s specials can still be seen outside the store front as of Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Jaime Solis/ The Union)

The mass was open to the public and livestreamed over Instagram and Facebook for anyone who wished to participate virtually. Stephanie Mendoza, Juan Carlos Hernández’s aunt, helped in live streaming the event.

“[Juan] had a lot of potential, a bright future, and I know that his life was robbed from him,” Mendoza said. “He would’ve become a great person because of who he was.”

Juan Carlos Hernández had been an active community member. He was involved with his church group and a running community that often partook in community service.

He was also attending El Camino College with hopes of transferring to the University of Southern California (USC) to study engineering, as he had been part of the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) program since grade school.

Yahaira Hernández, accompanied by her oldest son, Joseph Hernández, speaks to those in attendance of the mass in honor of Juan Carlos Hernández on Wednesday, Nov. 25, thanking them for their constant support and asks for their prayers for her family moving forward. (Jaime Solis/ The Union)

Towards the end of the mass, Yajaira Hernández asked attendees to help sing happy birthday to her young nephew as the event was being held on his birthday. The song ended in cheers.

Both Mendoza and Yajaira Hernández said the amount of public support they’ve received means a lot to them. But Mendoza said her sister was the one who needed support the most.

“We’re going to need it [support] because, at the end of the day, we are Yajaira’s strength,” Mendoza said. “We are the ones that are pulling her on her feet so that she can continue this fight for justice.”

Yahaira Hernández got this tattoo shortly after her son, Juan Carlos Hernández&squot;s, disappearance late Tuesday Sept. 22. It is a dandelion being blown into the wind as a flock of birds and reads "I will carry you with me til I see you again." Image taken Wednesday, Nov. 25. (Jaime Solis/ The Union) — Yahaira Hernández got this tattoo shortly after her son, Juan Carlos Hernández’s, disappearance late Tuesday Sept. 22. It is a dandelion being blown into the wind as a flock of birds and reads “I will carry you with me til I see you again.” Image taken Wednesday, Nov. 25. (Jaime Solis/ The Union)

Shortly after her son went missing, Yajaira Hernández got a tattoo of a dandelion blowing away and turning into a flock of birds. She said that at the time of getting it, she didn’t realize her son was dead.

“It symbolizes strength, it symbolizes hope, it symbolizes faith in love,” Yajaira Hernández said. “[It symbolizes] that we’ll be reunited and [just] prepare me to be ready for the upcoming fight because it’s not going to be an easy one.”

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Managing Editor Juan Miranda contributed to this story.