Hayward Police Find Body of Missing San Jose Woman

Stacey Aguilar, who has a 7-year-old son and worked as a waitress, was last seen leaving a party early Feb. 14.

Hayward police said Sunday that they have found the body of a San Jose woman who went missing last weekend, whose parents say she was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, with whom she left a party where she was last seen.

According to a police statement, Stacey Xanthe Aguilar's body was found around 12 p.m. Saturday. The cause of death is under investigation and the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau is performing an autopsy. A news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday.

Police did not provide any other information, including where the 22-year-old woman's body was found or if they have identified a suspect. But her mother now believes her daughter was in an abusive relationship, and she said she had begged her daughter to return to Mexico.

Speaking by phone, Marisol Aguilar did not name the boyfriend by name but told NBC sister station Telemundo in Spanish: "I didn't know. I didn't know anything. I didn't know he beat her. No one told me. No one told me anything."

Aguilar was last seen at a party in Hayward — in the vicinity of Silva Avenue and Jackson Street — around 1 a.m. Feb. 14, police said. Her family reported her missing the next day.

Hayward police spokesman Ryan Cantrell said Saturday that Aguilar was the "victim of a homicide," but would not elaborate on why the woman was believed to be dead.

The victim's stepfather told NBC Bay Area that the family was frustrated because Hayward police had instructed them not to search for Aguilar. However, someone had been using her credit cards, he said Saturday.

Aguilar, who worked as a waitress in the San Jose area, has a 7-year-old son. Her stepfather said the child has been living with his grandmother after she was deported to Mexico. 

A resident of the East Bay house where last weekend's party was held told NBC Bay Area that Aguilar attended the gathering. The woman did not want to be identified, and said she did not know the victim personally, but knew her boyfriend who brought her to the party.

The woman also said the pair left together. According to Stacey's stepfather, police interviewed the boyfriend on Friday but let him go.

"I don't know how they let him go, that's why we are mad,"  he said.

People with information about the case are asked to contact Hayward police at 510-293-7034.

NBC Bay Area's Kristofer Noceda and Bay City News contributed to this report.

0218-2016-StacyAguilar
Hayward Police Department
Stacey Aguilar was last seen in Hayward. (Feb. 18, 2016)
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