Ernie Hernandez Jr. died of multiple stab wounds; Police say they see no motive in ‘a very brutal, a very violent’ attack

From KTXL-TV, Sacramento, the Modesto [CA] Bee, KTXL-TV, Sacramento, KCRA-TV, Sacramento:

Police in Modesto, California, are investigating the death of  37-year-old Ernie Hernandez Jr., who was stabbed multiple times in the head and neck Saturday as he walked between a local shopping mall and  his group home. Family members say Hernandez, who had an intellectual disability, had been fearful and often talked about being teased, ridiculed, and called “retard” at the mall.

A police spokesman said Hernandez didn’t have any gang affiliation or criminal history, and said they had not identified a motive Hernandez’ slaying.  “What we can determine from the scene and from the victim; it was a very brutal, a very violent attack,” said Sgt. Rick Armendariz.

Hernandez had worked on cleaning, maintenance and landscaping tasks with the City of Ceres and California Department of Transportation for about 10 years, with the help of services provided by the Howard Training Center in Ceres. Betty Arwood, the center’s vocational director, said the program’s clients are regularly subjected to taunts and teasing from teenagers and young adults while out in public.

“We’ve had our people teased and taunted,” Arwood said. “Our population carries a stigma.”

Co-workers remembered Hernandez as a good worker who was friendly and went out of his way to help others.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 12:34 pm and is filed under criminal justice, intellectual/developmental disabilities, NOT2BEMISSED, stigma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.