FREMONT (KRON) — Police have made an arrest in the murder case of 22-year-old Stacey Aguilar.
The missing San Jose woman’s body was found in a rural area of Fremont over the weekend.
On Wednesday night, the Hayward Police Department said Aguilar’s 23-year-old boyfriend, Esmid Valentine Pedraza, has been arrested for homicide.
KRON spoke with a close friend of Aguilar, who is troubled by Wednesday’s developments.
“She was a really nice person, and she didn’t deserve this,” said Yadira Aguilar, who is speaking on the behalf of Stacey’s family.
Yadira said it comes as a terrifying shock.
“It’s somebody [Pedraza] that she trusted,” Yadira said. “I’m pretty sure she felt safe with him, and so, that’s the part that’s really sad is (it’s) scary because you think you know someone, but sometimes you don’t.”
Yadira said Stacey, from San Jose, and Pedraza, of Hayward, had been together for less than a year.
“Everyone was her friend, and she had like this choleric personality that I think everyone wanted to be around her,” Yadira said.
Stacey went missing last week. She was last seen at a party in Hayward.
On Saturday afternoon, her body was found in a rural area in Fremont, although Hayward police believe she was actually killed in their city.
“Her mom particularly wanted everyone to know that she was a great woman and she’s gonna be missed,” Yadira said. “That’s a daughter, a sister and a mother.”
The sister of Stacey, Ruth, spoke with KRON on the phone.
“It’s hard for us,” Ruth said. “We want justice for my sister’s death, whoever did that to her. She was a really good sister, a good mother, good daughter. She has a lot of friends that care for her and love her. She was a very, very special person to everyone.”
The family will hold a car wash in San Jose on Sunday to help raise money for her funeral and her two children.
Her funeral is scheduled for Monday.
The suspect is expected to make a court appearance on Friday.