Beloved musician, middle school custodian’s death unsolved 1 year later

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A year after beloved musician and Bellevue Middle School employee Ernie Aguilar was killed, family and friends are still seeking answers in his murder.

Shortly after the crime, police said security footage showed Aguilar unloading his car at his apartment complex around 1:30 a.m. on May 27, 2023. One year later, police told News 2 they believe Aguilar may have stumbled upon criminals in the middle of an unrelated crime. They did not believe he knew the person or people responsible for his homicide.

Aguilar had a love for multiple instruments and had previously toured with Sammy Kershaw. He also had an influence on Season 21 American Idol contestant Oliver Steele.

“He once showed me a speaker that he built. He would play a song through it and I would hear things on the record that I had never heard on the original recording because that’s how good the quality was of the speaker that he built,” Steele recalled. “He just had a love of music and of sound in general.”

Aguilar also had a knack for building and fixing things. 

“I even have this bass that he left behind that he somehow managed to take these pick ups and make it so that you can slide them around in the cavity of the bass and change the sound based on moving the pickups, which is a crazy design but he built that himself,” Steele said.

Twelve months into working on Aguilar’s case, Metro Police told News 2 that detectives have developed solid leads and continue to actively investigate the case.  

Kathie Lea Bradfield recalled meeting Aguilar on a cruise ship he was performing on. She told News 2 that Aguilar performed a version of Vince Gill’s “Look at Us” dedicated to her and her husband. 

“He was one of kind, good to the core, humble, respectful, generous, and loving. When I was ill and in a wheelchair, he worked up [the] song to dedicate to my husband and me which he performed during one of the sets the band was playing,” Bradfield said. “He was so nervous, but it was something he wanted to do for us; he didn’t even realize what an amazing voice he had. That’s how humble he was.” 

A $40,000 reward is now being offered for information in the case.

“If anybody has information or knows anything, I would encourage you to, first of all, seek out the Lord because I think the Lord would advise you on what the right thing is to do,” Steele said. “I believe that he deserves…not only justice, but his family just deserves closure.” 

Aguilar was close friends of Steele’s father, Toby, who put out a plea for information in the case shortly after Aguilar was killed. Steele said his father passed away suddenly last month. He hoped that Aguilar and his father are now reunited. 

“I definitely believe that they are, I believe that they’re putting on a big show up there,” Steele said. 

Anyone with information in Aguilar’s case can stay anonymous by contacting Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.