Father killed boy; child kicked 'like a soccer ball'

UPDATE - 5:10 p.m. The Delhi Unified School District has set up a donation fund for Frances Lilian Casian, the El Capitan Elementary kindergarten teacher whose 2-year-old son was beaten to death by his father.

Superintendant Bill Baltazar said Casian’s co-workers are shocked and "our heart goes out to her."

Checks payable to "Delhi Unified School District" can be mailed to the school district. "Frances Casian" should be written in the memo or subject line, Baltazar said.

The address is Delhi Unified School District, 9716 Hinton Ave., Delhi CA 95315.

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TURLOCK -- The toddler who was beaten to death on a dark country road Saturday night was killed by his father, authorities said Monday.

The father, Sergio Aguiar, 27, of Turlock was killed with a single shot to the forehead fired by Modesto police officer Jerry Ramar, who was dropped on the scene in rural Stanislaus County from a helicopter as Aguiar kicked and stomped the small boy's head.

Two days after the attack that has gained national notoriety, neighbors wrestled with hard questions without answers. Was Aguiar on drugs? Mentally ill? Most only seemed to know the man was quiet and worked at FoodMaxx on Fulkerth Road.

On Saturday night, a different picture emerged.

Aguiar had parked his gold 2002 Toyota pickup in the eastbound lane, into traffic, and viciously attacked the motionless child as passers-by frantically dialed 911 and tried to stop him. Aguiar seemed calm and spoke of "demons" in the boy. He has no criminal history, authorities said.

The 2-year-old boy later was pronounced dead at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock.

Deputy Rob Latapie, 39, flying a Sheriff's Department helicopter, turned a spotlight on the scene and saw Aguiar kicking the child "like a soccer ball" and immediately made the decision to land in a cow pasture. Ramar, the flight tactical officer, jumped from the helicopter and ran about 20 yards, his duty weapon drawn, before reaching a set of barbed-wire and electric fences. He commanded Aguiar to stop. Aguiar raised his middle finger and kicked the baby again. Ramar fired a single shot, killing Aguiar instantly, police said.

"I'm proud of my flight officer," Latapie said Monday. "Making a shot like that, under those conditions, in a low-light, high-stress condition, is almost unheard of. There aren't a lot of people who can make a shot like that in daylight at the range."

Ramar said any officer would have done what he did.

"I'm just a regular cop trying to do a regular cop's job," he said.

Birth records show the boy was born May 8, 2006, at Emanuel. His name has not been released, but a manager at the Turlock apartment complex where the mother, Frances Liliana Casian, and son live said he was named after the father: Sergio.

Neighbors said investigators visited the building late Saturday. The mother and child always have been quiet and kept to themselves, they said. It is unclear whether Aguiar lived in the complex. His name is not on the lease, nor listed as an emergency contact or frequent visitor.

Two miles away, four cars clustered outside the toddler's grandparents' home off Fulkerth. Sitting on a couch in a dark living room, shades drawn, Casian was surrounded by older women in dark clothing. Eyes heavy, everyone looked as if they'd been crying. Asked if she wanted to talk Monday, the mother was short, clipped, "No. No." Pictures of family and children, including a smiling baby boy, lined the foyer by the front door.

"What an unspeakable crime," Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said. "We may never know why the suspect beat that child to death. We hope to find out, but it's going to take a lot more work."

Investigators worked Monday on positively identifying Aguiar and the toddler. Because the child was beaten beyond recognition, DNA technology will have to be used for proper identification, Christianson said. The cab of the Toyota pickup was covered with blood that needs to be tested, he said.

"This event didn't start at Bradbury Road. The blood and other evidence leads us to believe the suspect may have ended up there, but the crime really started someplace else," Christianson said. "That child probably suffered fatal injuries before the motorists arrived on the scene."

Toxicology results awaited

Toxicology tests on Aguiar's body and on the body of the child are forthcoming. Results are expected in about four weeks, but Chief Coroner Kristi Ah You said she's working with the Department of Justice to have some answers within the week.

Neighbor Meg Westlund said Casian, a kindergarten teacher in Delhi, dropped off baby Sergio at his grandparents' home every morning.

"They're a wonderful, wonderful family," said Westlund, who's lived next door to the grandparents for 18 years. "They don't deserve this. ... He was so full of life. A beautiful boy. He was loved so much by the whole family. I just can't believe this."

On West Bradbury Road near the intersection with South Blaker Road, 10 miles west of Turlock and 15 miles south of Modesto, a stuffed toy was fixed to a stop sign Monday. A rose was left on the ground.

Lisa Mota, 23, who lives a mile from the blood-stained patch of West Bradbury, said she arrived on the scene Saturday night as another passer-by tried to stop the attack.

Mota didn't want to talk about what she saw.

"I don't think the world needs to know about it. It was horrific enough to see," she said. "There's family out there. What I saw was bad enough that I don't want the family to have to relive it."

Dan Robinson, chief of the Crows Landing Volunteer Fire Department, saw the parked Toyota and something in the road. He said he thought the driver had hit an animal. When he realized what was happening, he tried to stop Aguiar, who appeared calm yet forceful, didn't scream and spoke of "demons" in the child, Robinson said.

"Give me the knife. Give me the knife," Aguiar said as he grabbed for a pen in Robinson's front pocket.

Mota's fiancé, an Escalon firefighter, arranged a post-traumatic stress debriefing for her with the department counselor Monday morning. She said she's planning on more sessions.

"Never in my life," she said. "It was horrific, horrific."

Bee librarian Karen Aiello contributed to this report.

Bee staff writer Michael R. Shea can be reached at mshea@modbee.com or 578-2391.

This story was originally published June 17, 2008 at 4:41 AM with the headline "Father killed boy; child kicked 'like a soccer ball'."