Evelyn Hernandez and her son Alex.
America is well-versed in the Laci Peterson case. In 2002, the 27-year-old pregnant woman was murdered by her husband, Scott Peterson, who was having an affair. The case went viral and has been the subject of many documentaries over the years. But Evelyn Hernandez – another pregnant woman who was killed around the same time – didn’t receive the same attention. Decades later, authorities are still looking for answers.
Evelyn was just days away from giving birth when she mysteriously disappeared along with her 5-year-old-son. Her remains were discovered in the San Francisco bay, just like in Peterson’s case. While Laci’s husband Scott was convicted and sentenced (twice) for her murder (despite maintaing his innocence to this day), finding Hernandez’ killer has not been as straightforward.
Her case is the focus of ABC News Studio’s new docuseries, Murder Has Two Faces, now streaming on Hulu. Hosted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, the docuseries sheds light on lesser-known true-crime cases that were overshadowed in the media by more notorious murders.
Keep scrolling to learn what happened to Evelyn Hernandez, including the lead up to her disappearance, where her body was found, and the latest developments in the case.
Who Was Evelyn Hernandez?
Evelyn Hernandez was a legal immigrant from El Salvador who came to San Francisco to live with her mother.
Her high school friend, Mayra Escobar, said in the docuseries that Evelyn had a light around her. “Evelyn was such a charismatic person. She wanted to feel that she was important,” she said. They both lived in San Francisco’s mission district, which was plagued with crime at the time.
Her sister Reina Solis, who is deaf and uses ASL, said in Murder Has Two Faces through an interpreter that Evelyn learned sign language to communicate with her. Growing up, she recalled her mother being strict with her sister, causing Evelyn to leave home at 16 years old.
After she left home, Evelyn found out she was pregnant when she was about 16 or 17. “She was afraid. She was very much afraid. But she was so happy,” Escobar recalled.
Evelyn gave birth to a son named Alex. “The moment that she had Alex, her whole world changed,” Escobar added. Evelyn loved being a mom, and her son became the most important thing in her life. But as a single mother, she also faced the daily struggle of juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet.
What Happened To Evelyn Hernandez?
In Murder Has Two Faces, Escobar said that she saw Evelyn a few weeks before her friend went missing. Evelyn was in a new relationship with a man named Herman Aguilera. She was pregnant again and excited to introduce Herman, who had a stable job and was older, to her family.
Reina threw a baby shower for Evelyn, but when her sister didn’t show up, her family and friends grew concerned. They thought maybe she had given birth early. But when her sister went to the hospital, Evelyn wasn’t there. Her 5-year-old son Alex was also missing.
It was difficult for Reina to speak with the police because of her language barrier. When the authorities arrived at their home, Reina showed them pictures of Evelyn and Alex, and showed them that she was pregnant. Evelyn, who was 24 at the time, was just days away from giving birth to her second child. She was last heard from on May 1, 2002, at her residence in San Francisco.
On May 7, 2002, Evelyn and Alex were reported missing. Holly Pera, an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department who was assigned to Evelyn’s case, recalled in the docuseries that she grew concerned about the circumstances around Evelyn’s case.
Pera said that they interviewed Evelyn’s boyfriend Herman, who said he was driving for the limousine company that evening. He told authorities that he spoke to Evelyn a couple of times earlier that day. From that point on, he said he didn’t see her again.
When the police went to investigate Evelyn’s apartment, everything looked normal. “It didn’t look like there had been any kind of struggle of any kind,” Pera said. “It looked to me like she was expecting to come back.” Then, ten miles from where Evelyn lived, her wallet was found in a gutter in South San Francisco. Inside the wallet was two $20 bills and a check made out to Evelyn.
Police didn’t detect any activity in her bank account or phone. After they found the wallet, police decided to turn the case over to homicide. The police department called in cadaver dogs to search the canal, which led directly into the San Francisco bay.
Her wallet was found not far from where Aguilera worked at a limousine company and as a mechanic for United Airlines at San Francisco International Airport, according to SFGate. Evelyn’s friends recalled that although she seemed happy about being pregnant again, she began distancing herself from her loved ones. Then, she dropped a bombshell. Evelyn told one of her friends that Herman was married.
Pera interviewed Herman’s wife to find out what he told her about the day she went mising. She said that Herman was driving for the limousine company that evening, and when he got home, they watched TV and then went to bed. “She was not going to say anything negative about Herman,” Pera concluded.
Where Was Evelyn Hernandez’ Body Found?
On July 24, 2002, two months after she was reported missing, Evelyn’s partial remains were discovered floating in the Bay, according to bulletin from the San Francisco Police Department.
“Her body was in an advanced stage of decomposition,” said Bobby Chacon, a member of the FBI Dive Team, in the docuseries. “Her legs were there, but both her arms were missing and her head was missing.” Evelyn’s sons, Alex and Fernando, have never been found.
When Laci’s remains were also found in the Bay months later – with her head, hands and feet missing — the media started drawing comparisons to her case and Evelyn’s. Theories started circulating about a “satanic” serial killer on the loose targeting pregnant women, a claim that was debunked by police.
Evelyn’s case remains active in the San Francisco Police Department’s Cold Case Unit. Detectives are hoping that advances in DNA technology can help solve her case. Anyone with information is urged to call 1-415-575-4444.
Where Is Herman Aguilera Now?
Aguilera has never been declared a suspect or person of interest in Hernandez’s death. He eventually hired an attorney and stopped cooperating with the police. He was last interviewed by the SFPD in August 2002, according to Murder Has Two Faces.
It’s currently unknown where Aguilera is now and whether he’s still with his wife. Producers for the docuseries “attempted to contact Herman Aguilera for comment, but were unable to reach him,” a disclaimer reads.
Murder Has Two Faces is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Watch the official trailer below.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicamercuri/2025/05/06/was-evelyn-hernandezs-killer-ever-found-the-latest-on-the-other-laci-peterson-case/