Could teen’s kidnap, rape and murder have been avoided? DA admits police blunder

A man accused of raping, kidnapping and murdering a 13-year-old girl was not charged over a separate 2016 rape because of a police blunder, it has emerged.

Hania Aguilar was snatched from her driveway and forced into the back of an idling SUV in Lumberton, North Carolina on the morning of November 5.

Three weeks later, the SUV was found several miles from her mobile home park and her body was found a few miles further on. 

On Monday, Michael Ray McLellan, 34, appeared in court charged with her murder.

Police say Aguilar was snatched from outside her home in Lumberton and forced into the back of an SUV on November 5. Her body was found on November 27

Michael Ray McLellan, 34, sits in court for his first appearance on charges of kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Hania Noelia Aguilar on Monday in Lumberton, N.C

Michael Ray McLellan, 34, sits in court for his first appearance on charges of kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Hania Noelia Aguilar on Monday in Lumberton, N.C

He was arrested after detectives linked samples found in the SUV to his DNA which police had from an earlier felony conviction. 

The samples also matched DNA from a 2016 rape in which McLellan allegedly removed an air-conditioner, crawled through a window and assaulted a woman at knifepoint after she tried to defend herself with a gun that did not fire. 

McLellan has now been charged with first-degree rape and first-degree burglary in that case – but the District Attorney has admitted he should have been charged much earlier.

In 2017, the North Carolina state crime lab matched data from the 2016 rape to McLellan and gave the findings to the sheriff – but they were never followed up on, reported The News and Observer.

Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt said yesterday: ‘At some point, it obviously fell through the cracks. You hate it. You punch yourself.’  

Celsa Maribel Hernandez Velasquez , mother of Hania Aguilar, stares at Michael Ray McLellan, 34, during his first appearance Monday for the kidnapping and murder of Hania Aguilar 

Celsa Maribel Hernandez Velasquez , mother of Hania Aguilar, stares at Michael Ray McLellan, 34, during his first appearance Monday for the kidnapping and murder of Hania Aguilar 

Law enforcement officials and community members are seen during a mid-November search for Aguilar

Law enforcement officials and community members are seen during a mid-November search for Aguilar

On Monday, Mr Britt said that because he’s leaving office later this month, the decision on whether this is a capital case rests with Matt Scott, who won November’s election.

Mr Scott said he had not made a decision about the death penalty, but noted that McLellan’s case would qualify.

‘This is a horrific set of facts,’ Mr Scott said.

McLellan will be kept in custody in Raleigh between court appearances in Robeson County, Mr Britt said.

A funeral for Hania was held on Saturday in Lumberton, though her father Noé Aguilar, a Guatemalan citizen, did not attend.

Noé’s visa was denied last week because he ‘doesn’t have enough ties to the country’, according to his attorney Naimeh Salem. 

North Carolina authorities have arrested 34-year-old Michael Ray McLellan in connection with the kidnapping, rape and murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar

North Carolina authorities have arrested 34-year-old Michael Ray McLellan in connection with the kidnapping, rape and murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar

Surveillance footage released by the FBI showed the SUV just after the abduction took place

Surveillance footage released by the FBI showed the SUV just after the abduction took place

The map above shows the 10 miles between where Hania was abducted on November 5 and the stolen SUV was found three days later on November 8

The map above shows the 10 miles between where Hania was abducted on November 5 and the stolen SUV was found three days later on November 8

‘To tell you the truth, with past administrations, we never had a problem like this,’ Salem, an immigration lawyer based in Texas, told the New York Times.

‘With [President Donald Trump’s] administration, almost everything that is discretionary is getting denied.’  

A letter was read aloud on behalf of Hania’s father Noé Aguilar, who lives in Guatemala, and was denied an expedited visa to attend the funeral.

The letter said: ‘You were and you are my treasure. Rest in peace daughter, my gorgeous princess,’ he wrote.

‘You left before me, my gorgeous princess. Now I know that I have an angel in heaven.

‘It hurts my soul because I cannot be with you. But I will always keep you in my heart.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk