Aden Aguilar will never see his 21st birthday, play with his little brother again or start a family of his own, because her was fatally stabbed Friday night at the Target inside Valley Plaza Mall. Now, his mother is speaking out.
Aldennisha Andrea Rowel said she is heartbroken and now must navigate life without her oldest son, whom she described as empathetic, loving and inspiring.
“He was my baby, you know?” Rowel said.
Rowel said the 20-year-old tried to break up a fight in the Valley Plaza Target parking lot Friday night. The fight later moved into the store, where he was stabbed to death. She said Aguilar was only trying to help, but instead lost his life.
“He was just overall just a good kid. He was dealing with a lot of stuff, you know, a lot of pain, but a good kid overall,” Rowel said.
Aguilar was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:26 p.m., but Rowel said she did not learn of his death until 1 a.m.
“I’m hurting, but I’m so upset because I don’t know what happened to my baby,” Rowel said. “I just feel lost because I don’t know what happened to him.”
On Saturday, police arrested 33-year-old Brett O’Leary for first-degree murder.
Rowel said Aguilar struggled with drug addiction as a teen but overcame it with the support of his family. At the time of his death, she said, he was one year sober.
“I thought as a mom that I was going to lose my baby through to fentanyl,” Rowel said. “And he was murdered, you know? It’s crazy.”
Aguilar leaves behind four younger siblings. The youngest is 3 years old, Rowel said.
“I haven’t told him yet. I just told him that his brother is sleeping in the hospital,” Rowel said “I don’t know how I’m going tell him.”
Rowel said she hopes to start a foundation to honor her son’s memory. The family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs.