On October 20, 2023, at about 5:05 p.m. deputies in Ramona, California, were called to the 400 block of 16th Street after a man found his brother, 26-year-old Eduardo Aguilar Alba, unresponsive inside the home. Deputies located Aguilar Alba with an apparent gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene. The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office determined cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and ruled the manner of death homicide.

Sheriff’s Homicide investigators initially reported unclear motivation and circumstances and began gathering information. Detectives later identified 24-year-old Ramona resident Sean Joseph Hawksworth as a suspect. On November 3, 2023, deputies executed a search warrant at Hawksworth’s residence and took him into custody; he was arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into San Diego Central Jail. The investigation remains ongoing.

If anyone has information about what happened to Eduardo Aguilar Alba or the events leading up to October 20, please contact the Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.