Juan Hernandez: 2020 killers of California student employee convicted after messages showed intent to disable him for life

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Two men were convicted of first-degree murder on Monday, February 26 for killing a student employee in Los Angeles in 2020.

The victim, 21-year-old Juan Carlos Hernandez, was reported missing in September 2020 after finishing his shift at work.

He was later found dead in a shallow grave along the 15 Freeway north of Barstow on November 15, 2020.

Detectives informed the victim's mother, Yajaira Hernandez, on November 19, 2020 that her son was found dead in a shallow grave near Barstow.

During the recent trial, the jury took less than three hours to convict the two accused, Ethan Kedar Astaphan, 30, of San Gabriel, and Weijia James Peng, 34, of Alhambra, of their murder plan.

Prosecutors also presented incriminating messages showing the intent to permanently disable the student employee Hernandez.

What did the prosecutors report?

According to Daily Breeze, before the conviction, Astaphan's lawyer, Arson Hahm, argued that the murder wasn't planned and should be considered second-degree murder. They were supposed to be sentenced on April 25.

Peng's lawyer, Ronald Hedding, didn't share his argument with the jurors. Closing arguments happened on Friday.

On the other side, the prosecutors claimed that Astaphan and Peng killed Hernandez because they thought he was stealing money and weed from the dispensary.

They showed WhatsApp messages between Astaphan and Peng where they talked about firing all employees and then focused on Hernandez.

Astaphan said he saw Hernandez selling drugs to customers during work. It's not clear if Hernandez really stole anything.

The defendants discussed hurting Hernandez to set an example, with Peng saying that he wanted Hernandez to be “crippled for life,” according to messages shown during the trial's opening statements.

What happened to Juan Hernandez?

According to prosecutors, Astaphan and Peng attacked Hernandez on September 22, 2020, after he finished his shift at the dispensary.

Video stills show Astaphan pushing Hernandez to the ground and putting him in a chokehold while Peng stood nearby.

At some point, Peng injected a deadly dose of ketamine into Hernandez.

They then put Hernandez's body into the back seat of Astaphan's SUV and, with Peng's then-girlfriend Sonita Heng driving, they took his body to the desert and buried him between Barstow and Baker.

Astaphan, Peng, and Heng returned to the shop around 6 am the next morning and were seen on surveillance cameras cleaning the area where Hernandez was attacked.

Cell phone records showed the route they took, leading to their arrest in November 2020.

Peng was brought back to Los Angeles in 2022 to face a murder charge. Heng accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying during the trial.

She would be sentenced to 112 days in county jail if she testified truthfully as an accessory after the fact.

Juan Hernandez’s mother Yajaira Hernandez remembers son

According to the victim's mother Yajaira Hernandez, her son Juan was a student at El Camino College. He had plans to transfer to USC, following his brother's path.

She said outside the courtroom, "I'm sad my son is not coming back." 

After the verdicts, she added, "I'm glad they got caught and they'll be paying for what they did. Now we're just figuring out what's next and how to heal."

Yajaira Hernandez also mentioned that her son Juan was involved in many activities. He ran marathons, played soccer and volleyball, and was part of the robotics club in high school.

Juan got a job at the dispensary to pay for his college classes after losing his previous job due to the Covid pandemic, his mother testified during the trial.

"He was very caring and compassionate," Yajaira Hernandez said. "He was a normal kid, but he was very loved."