Police arrest South El Monte teenager on suspicion of killing his 17-year-old boyfriend

Christina Amigon couldn’t hold back tears Thursday evening, wondering what would motivate another person to kill her 17-year-old godson Jeremy Sanchez.

“There’s a lot of why questions,” said Amigon, 46. “Why did he kill him? Why did he do this to him?”

A 16-year-old South El Monte boy was arrested Thursday on suspicion of fatally stabbing Sanchez, whose body was discovered a day earlier near a riverbed, authorities said.

Police said Sanchez, a South El Monte High School student and athlete, was the suspect’s boyfriend.

Sanchez’s father reported him missing Wednesday after staff members at South El Monte High School told him his son didn’t show up that morning, said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.

Corina said the suspect and another friend offered to search for the missing El Monte teen. The suspect later claimed he had found Sanchez.

“He called the dad and said he found him,” Corina said, adding that Sanchez’s father went to the riverbed at Thienes Avenue and Parkway Drive in South El Monte, saw his son and called detectives.

He said the body was lying between the river and the bike trail, but was not visible from the trail.

Investigators were suspicious of the suspect’s story, prompting detectives to talk to the teen as well as family and friends of Sanchez, Corina said.

“Things did not add up,” he said. He declined to elaborate.

On Thursday morning, detectives arrested the suspect at his home, where detectives also served a search warrant. They did not find the weapon.

Corina said the victim was the suspect’s boyfriend. But Sanchez reportedly was seeing someone else and wanted to break up, the lieutenant said.

“The suspect got upset with that,” Corina said. He said he believes Sanchez was killed early Wednesday morning.

Corina did not release the suspect’s name because he is a minor. The boy was booked on suspicion of murder and taken to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.

Played with his heart

On Thursday evening, more than 100 people — including students, relatives, and neighbors — gathered at the riverbed to mourn Sanchez, who they described as a fun person who was into sports. Sanchez was a junior who played baseball, football, and also wrestled.

“He was always laughing,” said David Dueñas, who played football with Sanchez and referred to him as “Little Jeremy.”

“It was just shocking to know that another teen took someone’s life,” he said. “How can someone do that to Jeremy?”

Luis Polino, a 17-year-old junior, wore a sweatshirt with the word ‘Wrestler’ across. He said he wore it in honor of Sanchez.

His death is “something very hard for me to believe,” said Polino, who was on the football and wrestling teams with Sanchez. “When I found out he was missing, I was worried.”

Now, he’s devastated.

Polino remembered him as a positive person who was always energetic, and who “played with his heart.”

He also wanted to be accepted, Polino said.

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Sometime last year, he said Sanchez opened up on social media about being bisexual.

“Some people were giving him a hard time,” Polino said.

Polino said Sanchez eventually left the football team because “he felt he was being judged by some of his teammates.”

Some would make insults, ignore him or keep their distance, Polino said.  He said the coaches would tell the other players to back off.

Polino said he was bothered by those insults and tried to help Sanchez, but “he thought it was best to leave.”

Sanchez eventually came back.

“He was more accepted,” said Polino, adding that he was still part of the team and their football family.

A terrible tragedy

Students after school on Thursday said the day was somber, but they planned to celebrate Sanchez’s life on Friday by wearing clothing of teams he liked, such as the Dodgers and 49ers.

“People are very said and feeling a lot of depression,” said Anahi Carrillo, a 17-year-old junior.

Edward Zuniga, superintendent at El Monte Union High School District, said in a statement that the community was in shock over the death. He described Sanchez as a popular student-athlete at South El Monte High School.

“We are supporting our school community in any way possible and providing grief counselors to help students cope with this tragedy,” Zuniga said.

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There were no reported incidents of Sanchez being bullied, according to school Principal Amy Avina.

“To our knowledge, Jeremy was a much-beloved and confident young man who had great relationships with his peers. He was very well-liked throughout the campus,” Avina said in a statement.

Frank Gallardo, the head football coach at South El Monte High, said Sanchez was a junior varsity quarterback who was called up to the varsity team briefly during the fall, but quit the team shortly after.

He said Sanchez participated in Saturday’s seven-on-seven passing tournament at Arroyo High School over the weekend.

“He worked his way back to the team, did everything we asked and was probably going to be a starting safety, receiver and backup quarterback his senior year. He was a little guy, but he was very athletic and smart,” Gallardo said. “This is just a terrible tragedy, and we all feel for him and his family.”

Gallardo said he was still coping with the sudden loss.

“We’re all pretty shocked; it’s such a terrible loss,” Gallardo said. “He had a big personality and was a fun-loving kid. It makes no sense.”

Paul Veliz said he coached Sanchez in baseball for his freshman and sophomore years and in football all three years, also called the death a tragic loss.

“That kid was one the most competitive kids around, had a great heart and was the kind of athlete we always hear about that plays bigger than his size,” Veliz said.