Found Deceased NC - Hania Noelia Aguilar, 13, abducted and murdered, Lumberton, 5 Nov 2018 #4 *Arrest*

[sloothseeker]

Public's help sought in tracking activity of man accused in slaying of Hania Aguilar :: WRAL.com

hope this is not an indication that the police is having trouble building a case

 

[PommyMommy]

Investigators Hopeful Social Media Will Help with Kidnapping Case
Investigators wonder where the 34-year-old man was November 4, the day before Aguilar was kidnapped, until the 13th, when McLellan was arrested. Police are asking the public to come forward if they've seen McLellan.

McLellan was:

• with a weapon
• wearing a yellow bandana
• having two small TVs that fit in the headrest of a car
• with Hania's distinct Adidas

Police are also asking the public to come forward if anyone has seen pictures of McLellan from September to November of 2018.

"I feel like it would be a really effective way with finding out more about the individual that committed the crime and find out his background and things where he was and what he was doing at that time," Mike Hall, Lumberton resident said.

Police can be reached at 910-671-3845.

 

[razzledazzle]

Suspended deputies no longer working for Robeson Co. Sheriff's Office after investigation

 

[PommyMommy]

Investigators Hopeful Social Media Will Help with Kidnapping Case
Investigators wonder where the 34-year-old man was November 4, the day before Aguilar was kidnapped, until the 13th, when McLellan was arrested. Police are asking the public to come forward if they've seen McLellan.

McLellan was:

• with a weapon
• wearing a yellow bandana
• having two small TVs that fit in the headrest of a car
• with Hania's distinct Adidas

Police are also asking the public to come forward if anyone has seen pictures of McLellan from September to November of 2018.

"I feel like it would be a really effective way with finding out more about the individual that committed the crime and find out his background and things where he was and what he was doing at that time," Mike Hall, Lumberton resident said.

Police can be reached at 910-671-3845.

Thanks for the news, PommyMom! Lots of info.
Now we'll see if or what these requests for help might produce. Hoping anyone who has/knows anything won't be too afraid/timid to hand it over or to speak with investigators. Did McLellan have friends or family that might intimidate people from responding? Does he have family in the area? How long has he been in Robeson County?
Hoping some clues will surface to help this along.

Bringing your post from the media thread here, borndem. I too, hope that LE's request is productive. #JusticeforHania
MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

2 Robeson County sheriff’s deputies are out amid mishandled evidence tied to teen’s murder
One Robeson County sheriff’s deputy has been fired and a second resigned following an investigation into overlooked evidence in the murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar, authorities said Thursday.

Sheriff Burnis Wilkins announced that Investigator Darryl McPhatter was terminated after an internal probe into DNA evidence linked to the girl’s abduction. Maj. Anthony Thompson, who was suspended in December along with McPhatter, resigned last week.

“It angers me, and I’ve got to deal with it,” Wilkins told ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner. “To know what happened, to know the reports didn’t follow the proper channels, that further investigation wasn’t done, interviews weren’t done properly — I have a major issue with that.”

 

[The Night Watchman]

So this is my post from Nov 29th, after Hania's body was found. There were many theories out there, and I was trying to put the pieces together to make sense. Got some things right and some things very wrong. Just want to get better at this. Previous post in italics. New comments in bold.

******

I do not think this was an attempt to steal a car. Stolen cars only have value if you sell them to a chop shop or take them a distance away where they can be painted and no one is looking for it. He dumped the car quickly. The target was Hania.

Correct.

Serial or repeat killers can become good at what they do, they learn from experience. I don't think this is the case here. Seems like a crime of opportunity, with inexperience and without a lot of planning. The location of the body is in a place which will be discovered. The SUV was visible from the air. There is his DNA is the car, it wasn't torched.

Correct.

Why Hania? I believe it was her routine of starting the car. While he may not live there, I think he was in the trailer park multiple times and noticed the pattern. From seeing may have come obsession. It is possible that he was the man in the video and didn't say at the trailer park that night; he would know that not staying at the trailer park obviously makes the crime much less traceable to him. This is not a complicated or a well thought out approach, it is just logical if you were planning on taking Hania. A completely random abduction by a "passerby" seems like a very low probability. The chances of this person being in a trailer park off the main road at 7AM(?) is small. And for someone to be walking along and within a couple of minutes at most, spontaneously decide to kidnap and murder a young girl is hard to imagine (I know it happens though).

Wrong. I discounted a random abduction and couldn't have been more wrong.

Why Wire Grass Road? I think he was comfortable at the body site because he has been there before. It is not an ideal spot to remain confidently out sight, so I think this is the case.

Correct. I believe he lives/lived in Fairmont (from LE), which is 12 miles SE of Lumberton down Rt. 41. Wire Grass Road is a less direct road to Fairmont.

Why drive back towards Lumberton and end up at Quincey drive? This really makes zero sense if you have an accomplice. You would bury the car in the woods, even farther from town where it is more wooded and remote. I think he needed to get back to Quincey drive, to get close to home, or much less likely- to drop in on an acquaintance, in the hopes of eventually getting a ride. This exposure risks being turned in by the “friend”. I think he acted alone. Going to Quincey Drive seems like a rash decision made in panic, rather than part of an elaborate plan. In my mind, the most likely scenario is that it took 90 minutes from leaving the trailer park, going to Wire Grass Road, and then dumping the SUV. Note the FBI was looking specifically for video until noon on the day of the abduction.

Correct. He was staying at a home on Alamac Drive, which intersects Quincey drive where the SUV was found. He just walked to the house.

Why has the public not ID'd the man in the video? He came from somewhere, and if he wasn't involved, he was going somewhere. Somebody knows this man and is not coming forward. But think of life in this low income trailer park, and most surrounding areas. The residents live in close proximity and there are likely the usual conflicts between neighbors, and I'm sure some residents are mistrusting of their neighbors. Many of them probably keep to themselves, and may not know who is coming and going from the neighbor's residence. They may fear retribution if they say anything. Then there is a likely mistrust of the police as well. I doubt relevant tips from the trailer park come as freely as we think they would.

Unclear. But he was local, so it's surprising he was not given in a tip.

My feeling is the perp appears to be smarter than he is. I actually think that he is younger rather than over 30, impulsive, and hasn’t done this before. He has gotten lucky so far, but I think the DNA and other evidence in the car will be decisive.

Wrong. McLellan was 34, with a long list of crimes behind him.

Keep in mind, I am using “I think” and “it seems” a lot here, which can be loosely translated to “I have no clue”. But this is what I can put together to make the most sense.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Suspended deputies no longer working for Robeson Co. Sheriff's Office after investigation

Well, that's a start. IMO

 

[girlhasnoname]

So this is my post from Nov 29th, after Hania's body was found. There were many theories out there, and I was trying to put the pieces together to make sense. Got some things right and some things very wrong. Just want to get better at this. Previous post in italics. New comments in bold.

******

I do not think this was an attempt to steal a car. Stolen cars only have value if you sell them to a chop shop or take them a distance away where they can be painted and no one is looking for it. He dumped the car quickly. The target was Hania.

Correct.

Serial or repeat killers can become good at what they do, they learn from experience. I don't think this is the case here. Seems like a crime of opportunity, with inexperience and without a lot of planning. The location of the body is in a place which will be discovered. The SUV was visible from the air. There is his DNA is the car, it wasn't torched.

Correct.

Why Hania? I believe it was her routine of starting the car. While he may not live there, I think he was in the trailer park multiple times and noticed the pattern. From seeing may have come obsession. It is possible that he was the man in the video and didn't say at the trailer park that night; he would know that not staying at the trailer park obviously makes the crime much less traceable to him. This is not a complicated or a well thought out approach, it is just logical if you were planning on taking Hania. A completely random abduction by a "passerby" seems like a very low probability. The chances of this person being in a trailer park off the main road at 7AM(?) is small. And for someone to be walking along and within a couple of minutes at most, spontaneously decide to kidnap and murder a young girl is hard to imagine (I know it happens though).

Wrong. I discounted a random abduction and couldn't have been more wrong.

Why Wire Grass Road? I think he was comfortable at the body site because he has been there before. It is not an ideal spot to remain confidently out sight, so I think this is the case.

Correct. I believe he lives/lived in Fairmont (from LE), which is 12 miles SE of Lumberton down Rt. 41. Wire Grass Road is a less direct road to Fairmont.

Why drive back towards Lumberton and end up at Quincey drive? This really makes zero sense if you have an accomplice. You would bury the car in the woods, even farther from town where it is more wooded and remote. I think he needed to get back to Quincey drive, to get close to home, or much less likely- to drop in on an acquaintance, in the hopes of eventually getting a ride. This exposure risks being turned in by the “friend”. I think he acted alone. Going to Quincey Drive seems like a rash decision made in panic, rather than part of an elaborate plan. In my mind, the most likely scenario is that it took 90 minutes from leaving the trailer park, going to Wire Grass Road, and then dumping the SUV. Note the FBI was looking specifically for video until noon on the day of the abduction.

Correct. He was staying at a home on Alamac Drive, which intersects Quincey drive where the SUV was found. He just walked to the house.

Why has the public not ID'd the man in the video? He came from somewhere, and if he wasn't involved, he was going somewhere. Somebody knows this man and is not coming forward. But think of life in this low income trailer park, and most surrounding areas. The residents live in close proximity and there are likely the usual conflicts between neighbors, and I'm sure some residents are mistrusting of their neighbors. Many of them probably keep to themselves, and may not know who is coming and going from the neighbor's residence. They may fear retribution if they say anything. Then there is a likely mistrust of the police as well. I doubt relevant tips from the trailer park come as freely as we think they would.

Unclear. But he was local, so it's surprising he was not given in a tip.

My feeling is the perp appears to be smarter than he is. I actually think that he is younger rather than over 30, impulsive, and hasn’t done this before. He has gotten lucky so far, but I think the DNA and other evidence in the car will be decisive.

Wrong. McLellan was 34, with a long list of crimes behind him.

Keep in mind, I am using “I think” and “it seems” a lot here, which can be loosely translated to “I have no clue”. But this is what I can put together to make the most sense.

You had very good thoughts TNW, it's impressive to see how you've gone back in an effort to learn from each case.

These cases are hard on a lot of us who get so emotionally invested. I watched Hania's case from afar as I was fully invested in the Jayme Closs case at the same time. Both cases are tragic and the dichotomy of the two is not lost on me:

1) Hania random murder by career criminal - so very sad.
2) Jayme kidnapped, parents murdered by random perp with no criminal history. She escaped to freedom, thank goodness.

One thing is always in common - too many innocent victims are killed and brutalized by these types of perps daily.

 

[The Night Watchman]

You had very good thoughts TNW, it's impressive to see how you've gone back in an effort to learn from each case.

These cases are hard on a lot of us who get so emotionally invested. I watched Hania's case from afar as I was fully invested in the Jayme Closs case at the same time. Both cases are tragic and the dichotomy of the two is not lost on me:

1) Hania random murder by career criminal - so very sad.
2) Jayme kidnapped, parents murdered by random perp with no criminal history. She escaped to freedom, thank goodness.

One thing is always in common - too many innocent victims are killed and brutalized by these types of perps daily.

Thanks girlhasnoname! Yeah, I try to go back and see what I said in the past to review and learn, but also to avoid saying dumb sh%t in the future. I hope to think more and post less.

I got back into WS with the Vanessa Marcotte case which was very close to me. Didn't have time to post though. Then Mollie. The Hania case really roped me back in. Very painful. But on to the trial!

 

[Seattle1]

Police investigator is fired and another resigns for overlooking evidence that could have stopped teenage girl, 13, from being raped and murdered

• Hania Noelia Aguilar, 13, was raped and murdered in North Carolina in November
• Michael Ray McLellan has been arrested for her killing and is awaiting his next court date
• In 2016, DNA was found at a different rape scene which linked him to the crime
• Prosecutors told police about it but they never investigated or arrested him
• The District Attorney has since said if they had, Hania would still be alive
• Investigator Darryl McPhatter has been fired as a result of the investigation
• Major Anthony Thompson, a 34-year veteran, resigned on January 9

Police investigator is fired for missing evidence which could have saved girl, 13 | Daily Mail Online

 

[Seattle1]

2 Robeson County sheriff’s deputies are out amid mishandled evidence tied to teen’s murder
One Robeson County sheriff’s deputy has been fired and a second resigned following an investigation into overlooked evidence in the murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar, authorities said Thursday.

Sheriff Burnis Wilkins announced that Investigator Darryl McPhatter was terminated after an internal probe into DNA evidence linked to the girl’s abduction. Maj. Anthony Thompson, who was suspended in December along with McPhatter, resigned last week.

“It angers me, and I’ve got to deal with it,” Wilkins told ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner. “To know what happened, to know the reports didn’t follow the proper channels, that further investigation wasn’t done, interviews weren’t done properly — I have a major issue with that.”

This is so disturbing and painful. If I recall correctly, the defendant was either incarcerated or on parole during this time, and could have easily been located and served, and kept away from ever harming another young girl ever again. He was a known, repeat offender.

 

[Seattle1]

2 Robeson deputies suspended over 2016 rape case now linked to Hania Aguilar’s murder

Robeson County District Attorney Luther Johnson Britt told reporters earlier this month that authorities had evidence linking suspect Michael Ray McLellan to a rape case for at least a year, but they took no action.

“This hurts,” Britt previously said. “This is like taking a punch to the gut and not being prepared to get it.”

The county’s sheriff and district attorney offices were notified in October 2017 that DNA recovered from a 2016 rape kit possibly matched McLellan.

The kit had been compared to more than 17 million profiles taken from convicted offenders, detainees and arrestees in the national law enforcement database system known as CODIS.

But nobody followed up on it and authorities only discovered the issue last week, Britt said.

UPDATE / ETA:
Sheriff’s Office deputies Maj. Anthony Thompson has since been fired, and Darryl McPhatter resigned. Thompson ran the jail and McPhatter was a detective with the Criminal Investigations unit, according to the paper.

 

[Seattle1]

This is so disturbing and painful. If I recall correctly, the defendant was either incarcerated or on parole during this time, and could have easily been located and served, and kept away from ever harming another young girl ever again. He was a known, repeat offender.

Confirming my earlier post that MRM was incarcerated during 2016-2017 when DNA linked him to 2016 crime, but nobdy acted to charge him while he was already in custody. MRM should have never been out of prison, and Hania should still be with us.

Accused killer has violent past | Robesonian

In 2007, he was convicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and first-degree burglary. He was sentenced to between 10 years and 12 years and nine months in prison and released on parole in February 2016.

McLellan was convicted in February 2017 on charges of felony breaking and entering, and larceny of a motor vehicle, according to state records. He was sentenced to between nine months and 20 months, and was released on parole in June 2018.

He was in the jail recently on charges of second-degree kidnapping and armed robbery in connection to an incident in October 2018 in Fairmont. [MRM was in custoday on the unrelated Fairmont matter when charged with Hania's arrest].

 

[PommyMommy]

Backlog of untested rape kits is 'a public safety issue,' may let offenders slip away
The discovery of the body of Hania Noelia Aguilar, a 13-year-old girl who was raped and murdered after being kidnapped outside her home, broke hearts in the small community of Lumberton, North Carolina, last fall.

"It is absolutely tragic and makes me sad and a little bit crazy that this girl was killed, and if the case had been investigated properly, chances are she would be alive today," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein told ABC News.

"If he had been linked in 2016, we'd be having a very different conversation," Monika Johnson Hostler, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told ABC News.

The fact that the 2016 rape kit had been tested at all is remarkable, critics say. Between 14,000 to 15,000 other rape kits in North Carolina are waiting their turn in a massive backlog that's been piling up for years, leaving potential repeat offenders like Aguilar's alleged killer free to find their next target.

North Carolina has the highest known number of untested kits of any state, according to data collected by End the Backlog, a Joyful Heart Foundation initiative. Knecht estimates it will take "years and years" to test them all. The next highest state is California with 13,615 untested kits -- and four times as many people.

 

[Seattle1]

Hania, You've not been forgotten. RIP. #justiceforhania

 

[Seattle1]

Man Accused Of Killing Hania Aguilar Should Have Been In Jail: DA | HuffPost

A North Carolina prosecutor said 34-year-old Michael McLellan should have been jailed in 2017 when DNA identified him as a suspect in an unsolved rape but instead — through an oversight — was free when 13-year-old Hania Aguilar was abducted and killed last month.

“In all likelihood had this gone forward and we established a case against him at that time, Hania would not have died,” Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt told reporters on Wednesday.

Less than a week ago, multiple charges were filed against McLellan in connection with Aguilar’s slaying — including first-degree murder, first-degree forcible rape, statutory rape, abduction of a child and first-degree kidnapping, according to the FBI.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office was notified last year that CODIS — a federal DNA database — identified McLellan as the suspect in a 2016 rape, Britt said, and his office was copied on that notification.

“When they received the CODIS hit, that would’ve given them probable cause to get a search warrant to obtain a known DNA sample from McLellan,” Britt said. A conviction in the rape, he added, could have resulted in a life prison sentence.

But none of that happened, and apparently, no one knows why.

“I don’t know if [the paperwork] got lost in the sheriff’s department, if it got buried on someone’s desk, if it got placed in records,” Britt said. “It just vanished.”
[...]
It’s unclear if McLellan was on the radar of detectives in Aguilar’s case before CODIS identified him as a suspect. Although the possibility that he might be a danger should have been as plain as the teardrop tattoos on his face. [bbm]

McLellan’s rap sheet, according to WBTW News, goes back nearly 20 years. It contains convictions for multiple crimes, including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, breaking and entering, burglary, larceny and two separate convictions of assault on a child under the age of 12.

In October — just weeks before Aguilar’s abduction — he was accused of kidnapping and attempting to rob a woman at gunpoint in Fairmount, WBTW News reported. He turned himself in to police on Nov. 13.

 

[yrmfp]

Theres an update regarding the 2016 rape case

LUMBERTON, NC (WBTW) - A grand jury recently returned an indictment against Michael McLellan in connection with a 2016 rape case.

According to the indictment, a grand jury returned a true bill of indictment against McLellan on January 7 in reference to a 2016 rape case. The hearing was held at 10 a.m. on January 7.

The offenses listed in the indictment include first degree rape, first degree burglary, and robbery with a dangerous weapon. The indictment says McLellan broke into the victim’s home and did “ravish and carnally know” the victim by force and against her will.

McLellan is also accused of kidnapping and murdering 13-year-old Hania Aguilar. Aguilar was forced into a car in the Rosewood Mobile Home Park in Lumberton on November 5, 2018. The teen's body was located Novmeber 27, off of Wire Grass Road.

McLellan was arrested in December by the Lumberton Police Department and the FBI. He was charged with first degree murder, first degree forcible rape, statutory rape of a person under 15 years old, first degree sexual offense, statutory sex offense with a person 15 or younger, first degree kidnapping, felony larceny, felony restraint, abduction of a child and concealment of death, according to the FBI.

Grand jury returns indictment against Michael McLellan in connection with 2016 rape case

 

[girlhasnoname]

Man Accused Of Killing Hania Aguilar Should Have Been In Jail: DA | HuffPost

A North Carolina prosecutor said 34-year-old Michael McLellan should have been jailed in 2017 when DNA identified him as a suspect in an unsolved rape but instead — through an oversight — was free when 13-year-old Hania Aguilar was abducted and killed last month.

“In all likelihood had this gone forward and we established a case against him at that time, Hania would not have died,” Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt told reporters on Wednesday.

Less than a week ago, multiple charges were filed against McLellan in connection with Aguilar’s slaying — including first-degree murder, first-degree forcible rape, statutory rape, abduction of a child and first-degree kidnapping, according to the FBI.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office was notified last year that CODIS — a federal DNA database — identified McLellan as the suspect in a 2016 rape, Britt said, and his office was copied on that notification.

“When they received the CODIS hit, that would’ve given them probable cause to get a search warrant to obtain a known DNA sample from McLellan,” Britt said. A conviction in the rape, he added, could have resulted in a life prison sentence.

But none of that happened, and apparently, no one knows why.

“I don’t know if [the paperwork] got lost in the sheriff’s department, if it got buried on someone’s desk, if it got placed in records,” Britt said. “It just vanished.”
[...]
It’s unclear if McLellan was on the radar of detectives in Aguilar’s case before CODIS identified him as a suspect. Although the possibility that he might be a danger should have been as plain as the teardrop tattoos on his face. [bbm]

McLellan’s rap sheet, according to WBTW News, goes back nearly 20 years. It contains convictions for multiple crimes, including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, breaking and entering, burglary, larceny and two separate convictions of assault on a child under the age of 12.

In October — just weeks before Aguilar’s abduction — he was accused of kidnapping and attempting to rob a woman at gunpoint in Fairmount, WBTW News reported. He turned himself in to police on Nov. 13.

So very sad and senseless, I just can't process it.

 

[borndem]

Just saw this -- Perhaps Hania's legacy will be the starting and completion of this effort in hopes of preventing more tragedies:

NC has more than 10,000 untested rape kits. A new plan aims to erase the backlog.

Raleigh

N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein announced a $10 million plan Tuesday to eliminate the backlog of more than 10,000 untested rape kits statewide, hoping to close decades of unsolved sexual assault cases.
[...]
In December, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office announced it had failed to act on a CODIS hit linking Michael Ray McLellan to a 2016 rape, a crime committed one year before McLellan was charged with the rape and murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar in Lumberton.


Johnson Britt, then district attorney in Robeson, said in December, “Had it been followed up on, (Hania) might be alive.”

Read more here: NC has more than 10,000 untested rape kits. A new plan aims to erase the backlog.

:cow:

All posts, unless attributed, are "just my humble opinion," and they are to remain here in Websleuths and are not to be used elsewhere. Thank you.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Thinking of you today Hania. I'm sorry your young life ended so violently at the hands of this predator, but justice is coming!

In your death you may very well have given life to other potential victims by the changes in the handling of DNA Rape Test Kits. The cost should not have been yours little one.