/Modesto

By Zirana staff writer

Late Father’s Day Eve, a Stanislaus County man took his 2-year-old son to a darkened road near Turlock and beat him to death before a Modesto police officer, arriving on the scene by helicopter, shot him to death. The Modesto Bee identified the father as Sergio Aguilar, 27.

An elderly couple who happened on the scene of the horrific beating placed the first 911 call. A short time later the chief of the Crows Landing Volunteer Fire Department was passing by and he tried to stop the attack. As he wrestled with the father, the chief said he railed about “demons” in the child. The chief described “a total hollowness in his eyes” to the Bee.

A Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, with a Modesto police officer on board, was on duty nearby. Responding to the call for help, the helicopter landed and the Modesto police officer jumped out.  With his gun drawn, he shouted at Aguilar to stop from about 10 feet away from behind a set of electric and barbed wire fences. He fired when the man continued to kick and stomp at the child. The toddler was rushed to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said on Sunday that DNA testing may be required to identify the toddler because his body was no longer recognizable. The child’s mother was contacted Sunday but she did not make a public comment.  

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