NC - Hania Noelia Aguilar, 13, Lumberton, MEDIA MAPS & TIMELINE *NO DISCUSSION*

[PommyMommy]

FEB 23, 2019
The inside story of how investigators found Hania Aguilar's suspected killer
[...]

The Fayetteville Observer reviewed hundreds of pages of search warrants and court orders for insight into how McLellan allegedly kidnapped Hania on Nov. 5 and evaded investigators in the hours and days that followed.

[...]

McLellan became a suspect within days of the kidnapping, the records show, and was taken into custody by the night of Nov. 12 on unrelated charges. This was kept secret by authorities during their daily news conferences as the search for Hania continued into the following weeks.

[...]

A major break in the case happened at 7:57 a.m. the next morning, Nov. 8, three days after Hania was kidnapped. Someone called 911 to report seeing an SUV hidden among some trees about 40 to 50 yards off Quincey Drive. It was the SUV from the kidnapping.

Seventeen clothing items were found in the SUV, including Hania’s shirt, pants and underwear.

[...]

Semen found on the underwear belongs to McLellan, authorities would later determine, and his DNA also was on the steering wheel.

[...]

By Nov. 13, McLellan was in jail, eight days after Hania’s kidnapping. Yet he wasn’t held on charges related to the abduction. Instead, he was served the outstanding warrant from the attempted robbery in Fairmont on Oct. 16.

Hania was still missing.

[...]

On Nov. 27, late in the afternoon, FBI agents found her unclothed body off Wire Grass Road about five miles outside of Lumberton. She lay face down in more than 4 feet of water. A broken plastic folding table was on top of her.

[...]

Publicly, authorities continued to solicit any information that could identify the killer and bring him to justice. Privately, they believed they already had found him.

At 3:28 a.m. on Dec. 8, the FBI announced that McLellan was charged with Hania’s kidnapping, rape and murder — 10 charges in all. He later would be taken to Central Prison in Raleigh to await trial.

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 27, 2019
Fired Robeson deputy speaks out on allegation his mishandled evidence linked to Hania Aguilar murder suspect :: WRAL.com
One of the Robeson County sheriff's deputies who was forced out of his job because of the Hania Aguilar investigation confirmed to WRAL News on Wednesday that he wrote a social media post in which he denied that he knew anything about DNA linked to the teenager's alleged killer.

Maj. Anthony Thompson and Sgt. Darryl McPhatter were placed on suspension in December, pending the outcome of an internal investigation by the Robeson County Sheriff's Office into possible violations of department policy and procedures.

In January, newly elected Sheriff Burnis Wilkins announced in a written statement that his office had terminated McPhatter from his job and that Thompson had resigned his position in order to take retirement.

The disciplinary action stemmed from the sexual assault of a woman two years ago.

[...]

McPhatter spoke to WRAL News by phone and confirmed that he wrote a post on his Facebook page.



Britt says if action would have been taken in 2016 on the DNA, McLellan would have been in jail and Aguilar would be alive today.

In a Facebook post the day after being fired, McPhatter wrote: "I learned about the DNA hit when District Attorney Johnson Britt went public with it, like everyone else. Anyone who knows me would tell you if I had received the DNA hit the suspect would have been processed and charged."

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 1, 2019
ROBESON CO. DEPUTY SHARES HIS SIDE: Robeson County detective fired after Hania Aguilar case shares his side on social media
A detective who was fired after the Hania Aguilar murder investigation is taking his frustrations to social media.

Former Robeson County Deputy Darryl McPhatter was fired after an internal investigation found overlooked evidence might have put Michael McLellan behind bars for a 2016 rape.

[...]

McPhatter posted on Facebook that the DNA hit from the 2016 case was found in someone else's office and never reached him.

"The administration knows the DNA hit from the 2016 case was located in someone else's office along with other DNA hits from other cases and it was never passed over to me," McPhatter posted.

He said the worst part is that Aguilar's mother and family think he could have prevented her murder.

"I wish I would've received that DNA hit in 2017, that maybe Hania Aguilar would still be with her family," McPhatter wrote.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 11, 2019 - Video
Still no trial date set for man accused of kidnapping, killing Hania Aguilar

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 19, 2019
Suspended Robeson Co. deputy says in retirement letter he served county with "integrity and dignity"
News13 has obtained a retirement letter and other documents for two Robeson County deputies who were previously suspended.

On January 9, Sheriff Wilkins received a retirement letter from Major Anthony Thompson. In the letter, Thompson said he served with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office for 34.5 years and that he served with "integrity and dignity."

“I have prayerfully decided to retire effective immediately from my position as Major, Jail Administrator,” Thompson said in the letter. “I have served this county with integrity and dignity during my career at the Sheriff’s Office.”

[...]

In a letter dated January 17, 2019, Sheriff Wilkins told Detective Darryl McPhatter an internal investigation was complete and that McPhatter would no longer work for the department.

"Based on the findings of the investigation, I have determined that you failed to comply with the high standard of conduct that I have set forth and would expect from any member of the Robeson County Sheriff's Office. Your continued employment within the Sheriff's Office would not be consistent with office policy or the expected standard of conduct," Sheriff Wilkins said in the letter. "Therefore, effective immediately, your services with the Robeson County Sheriff's Office are no longer needed."

[...]

Wilkins previously said he could not comment on the reason(s) for the suspensions at the time. He also would not say if the suspensions were related to the handling of a 2016 rape case that News13 previously reported was part of an internal review at the Robeson County Sheriff's Office.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 21, 2019
Family, friends remember Hania Aguilar on 14th birthday
The community has planned a balloon release in her honor.

It is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at Luther Britt Park, which is located at 671 Branch St.

For Hania's family, the nightmare isn't over yet. They're still waiting for justice.

Family, friends to remember murdered teen Hania Aguilar on her birthday Thursday
Murdered Lumberton teen Hania Aguilar would have turned 14 years old Thursday and an event is being held to remember her and celebrate her life.

[...]

Family and friends will gather at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to honor Aguilar's memory and celebrate what would have been her 14th birthday.

The public is invited to attend and is encouraged to wear purple — Aguilar's favorite color — and bring balloons.

The park is located at 671 Branch St. in Lumberton.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 20, 2019
Event to mark Hania’s birthday | Robesonian

[...]

“I want to keep her name alive. I want her name to be shining among the stars,” said Joyce Simmons, a friend of Hania’s family.

She came up with the idea of a birthday celebration and approached Hania’s mother, Celsa Maribel Hernandez Velasquez, about the idea, Simmons said. Velasquez had thought about having some sort of ceremony, but didn’t know how to make it happen.

Simmons stepped forward to make the ceremony happen.

She has contacted the Dollar Tree stores on Fayetteville Road and Fifth Street about ensuring there are enough balloons for people to buy and use in the ceremony. She has been passing out fliers about the ceremony at local stores so they can be displayed. She has made cards and given them to Lumberton Junior High School so Hania’s classmates can sign them and to the Lumberton Police Department so officers and employees can sign if if they wish. Three cards will be at Thursday’s event so others can sign them.

A major retail store has agreed to make the birthday cake that will be at the ceremony at Luther Britt Park, Simmons said.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 21, 2019
'All of us miss her': Lumberton remembers Hania Aguilar on her 14th birthday

Lumberton community gathers to honor Hania Aguilar on what would've been her 14th birthday

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 22, 2019 - Video
Remembering Hania Aguilar, balloon release in N.C.
[...]

Hania's mother says she will continue fighting for her daughter.

One person says the plan is for another celebration for Hania next year.

That one will honor her Hispanic heritage.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 1, Updated APR 2, 2019
Rape, murder case involving Robeson County teen expected to be heard in court Tuesday
The case of a slain Robeson County teenager that garnered national attention is expected to be heard in court on Tuesday.

[...]

It’s not clear if McLellan will be in court on Tuesday. He hasn’t appeared for the last few court dates scheduled for other charges unrelated to the Aguilar case.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 2, 2019
Hearing held for suspect in Hania Aguilar's murder
The case against Michael McLellan, 34, is expected to be heard Tuesday morning during an administrative hearing at the Robeson County Sheriff's Office, according to North Carolina criminal calendars for Robeson County.

[...]

Robeson County court officials said McLellan won’t be in court and he’ll more than likely be assigned another hearing date.

Officials said administrative court hearings are held for the purposes of managing case dockets, appointing attorneys, turning over evidence to criminal defense lawyers, setting trial dates, and hearing motions.

[...]

McLellan's next court appearance is set for April 8.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 2, 2019
Hania Aguilar case continued until July 23 in Robeson County
The Hania Aguilar murder case, with defendant Michael Ray McLellan accused of killing the 13-year-old girl, has been continued until July 23, his lawyer said Tuesday morning.

McLellan had a pre-trial hearing set for Tuesday in Robeson County District Court. The pending case has not reached county superior court, according to "Butch" Pope, McLellan's attorney.

McLellan, who is accused of abducting, raping and murdering Hania in November, did not attend the preliminary hearing. He remains confined in the N.C. Department of Corrections' Central Prison in Raleigh, Pope said.

The Whiteville-based lawyer said there was nothing to discuss with the media at this early juncture, when asked if he had time for a few questions.

An attempt earlier today was unsuccessful to speak with Robeson County District Attorney Matt Scott about the case. He was said to be tied up in superior court.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 8, 2019
Suspect in Hania Aguilar’s kidnapping, murder due back in court
The case against a man accused of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a Lumberton girl is back in court.

[...]

On Monday, the court will hear the case against the man police say carried out the heinous crime.

Michael McLellan is scheduled for a court hearing Monday morning. However, it’s not clear yet if he’ll appear, as he’s been a no show during his last hearings.

 

[Gardener1850]

Apr 25, 2019
...
At around 7 a.m., Hania’s cousin Kimberly looked out the window of her trailer and saw a man in dark clothing and a yellow bandanna grab 13-year-old Hania from the yard, stuff her into her family’s idling Ford Expedition and drive away as she screamed.

Twenty-two days later, investigators found the eighth-grader’s body in a Robeson County swamp 11 miles away. She had been raped and most likely asphyxiated.

The crimes launched a massive manhunt led by the FBI, sending hundreds of investigators after a killer dressed in black. On Dec. 8, they charged Michael McLellan, a 34-year-old ex-convict from nearby Fairmont.

But as she mourns her daughter’s killing, Hania’s mother Celsa Hernandez is forced to consider a harsher truth: It might have been prevented.

“If this man did crimes before, I don’t see the reason why he’s free,” Celsa Hernandez told a News & Observer reporter in Spanish. “I don’t understand.”

Three separate law enforcement agencies had the power to arrest and detain McLellan for a crimes committed weeks before Hania’s abduction. Had they followed up, he could have been behind bars on Nov. 5 rather than walking to Hania’s yard in the Rosewood Mobile Home Park.

In September 2017, more than a year before Hania’s abduction, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office received evidence from the state crime lab connecting McLellan’s DNA to a 2016 rape case. No one acted on that evidence until December 2018, after Hania had been found dead.

On Oct. 16, three weeks before Hania’s kidnapping, police in the neighboring town of Fairmont put out a warrant for McLellan’s arrest, accusing him of attempted robbery and second-degree kidnapping in a carjacking gone wrong. That warrant went unserved until Nov. 13, eight days after Hania disappeared.

And on Oct. 17, the state’s Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission issued a second warrant for McLellan’s arrest, noting he had violated the terms of his recent release from prison. Nothing happened until Nov. 13, while pleas from Hania’s mother grew increasingly desperate.

The failure to arrest McLellan prior to the slaying of a 13-year-old represents a breakdown in the criminal justice system that few working within it are willing to explain or discuss.

Read more here: A wanted man remained free. A girl was murdered. How the system failed Hania Aguilar.

 

[PommyMommy]

Calendars / District and Superior Court Query

Case Number: 18CR055491
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
5224 Felony-POSSESSION OF FIREARM BY FELON 14-415.1
1028 Felony-SECOND DEGREE KIDNAPPING 14-39
1202 Felony-ATT ROBBERY-DANGEROUS WEAPON 14-87

Case Number: 18CR056270
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
0935 Felony-FIRST DEGREE MURDER 14-17

Case Number: 18CR056271
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1131 Felony-FIRST DEGREE FORCE SEX OFFENSE 14-27.26

Case Number: 18CR056272
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1112 Felony-STAT SEX OFF WITH CHILD <= 15 14-27.30(A)

Case Number: 18CR056273
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
2391 Felony-LARCENY OF MOTOR VEHICLE (F) 14-72(A)

Case Number: 18CR056274
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1030 Felony-FELONIOUS RESTRAINT 14-43.3

Case Number: 18CR056275
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1023 Felony-ABDUCTION OF CHILDREN 14-41

Case Number: 18CR056276
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
0962 Felony-CONCL/FAIL REPORT DEATH CHILD 14-401.22(A1)

Case Number: 18CR056277
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1104 Felony-FIRST DEGREE FORCIBLE RAPE 14-27.21

Case Number: 18CR056278
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1107 Felony-STATUTORY RAPE OF CHILD <= 15 14-27.25(A)

Case Number: 18CR056279
Defendant Name: MCLELLAN,MICHAEL
County: ROBESON
Court Date: 07/23/2019
Session: AM
Court Room: 003A
Arraigned Offenses
Offense Code Description Statute
1026 Felony-FIRST DEGREE KIDNAPPING 14-39

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 17, 2019
Michael McLellan indicted in murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar
The man accused of strangling 13-year-old Hania Aguilar has been indicted in the case.

Michael Ray McLellan, 34, faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping (among others). He has been in custody since Nov. 13, but court officials confirm his case was recently seen by a grand jury.

That grand jury indicted McLellan in the case. That is a procedural step in moving the case forward in the court system.

[...]

Note: Video attached to this story is from a previous court date for McLellan.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 17, 2019
Man charged with Hania Aguilar's murder indicted :: WRAL.com
[...]

Lumberton police charged Michael Ray McLellan with 10 felonies:

• first-degree murder,
• first-degree forcible rape and statutory rape of a person 15 or younger,
• first-degree sex offense and statutory sex offense with a person 15 or younger,
• first-degree kidnapping,
• larceny,
• restraint,
• abduction of a child and
• concealment of a death.

[...]

His next court date is June 3. That hearing is expected to be administrative, an aide to Robeson County District Attorney Matt Scott said.

Another hearing to determine whether McLellan will face the death penalty is expected in the near future, but not at the June 3 hearing, the aide said.

[...]

MAY 20, 2019
Indictment: Race, color a factor in 13-year-old Hania Aguilar’s kidnapping, death
[...]


Those documents, filed May 14, state that was one of the aggravating factors listed in the indictment against Michael McLellan, the man charged in connection with Aguilar’s death.

McLellan was recently indicted on a first-degree murder charge. Another aggravating factor is that, “the offense was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.”

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 22, 2019
Hania may have been taken because of her race, indictments say
[...]

ABC 15 obtained the 10 indictments from Robeson County officials on Wednesday.

[...]

Investigators say the SUV Hania Aguilar was kidnapped in was stolen, resulting in an additional indictment for larceny.

[...]

Along with each indictment are several forms, one of which is a list of factors prosecutors can check off, demonstrating their intention to prove it at trial.

On all 10, a box was checked that read, "The offense was committed against the victim because of the victim's race, color, religion, country of origin or nationality."

There is no word from prosecutors on how they plan to prove that claim in court, but it's more bad news for defendant Michael McLellan.

McLellan's case now moves to Superior Court, where prosecutors have requested pretrial preparations to start within 45 days of the indictment.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 6, 2019
Judge rules man could face death penalty if found guilty of Hania Aguilar's murder :: WRAL.com
A judge ruled Thursday that Michael McLellan, the man charged with the kidnapping, rape and murder of Hania Aguilar last fall, could face the death penalty if found guilty.

[...]

He is due back in court on September 9.

Prosecutor to seek death penalty against Michael McLellan in murder of Hania Aguilar
The Robeson County District Attorney said during a hearing Thursday that the state will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing Hania Aguilar, according to ABC affiliate WPDE.

Michael Ray McLellan, 34, faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping (among others). He has been in custody since Nov. 13, but court officials confirm his case was recently seen by a grand jury.

That grand jury indicted McLellan in the case. It was a procedural step in moving the case forward in the court system.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 6, 2019
Man accused of killing Hania Aguilar could face death penalty
The man accused of kidnapping, raping and killing 13-year-old Hania Aguilar in November could face the death penalty if convicted, a Robeson County judge ruled Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Robert Floyd made the ruling during a Rule 24 hearing, which was held to determine whether the state will seek the death penalty against Michael Ray McLellan.

In order for the state to have the option to pursue the death penalty, there must be a penalty phase in the trial, the Robeson County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. As of now, the office said, the case is expected to go to trial.

[...]