Arrest made in kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar

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Saturday, December 8, 2018
Man charged with murdering 13-year-old Hania Aguilar
Man charged with murdering 13-year-old Hania Aguilar

The FBI and Lumberton police have made an arrest in the kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Hania Noelia Aguilar.

Michael Ray McLellan, 34, is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree forcible rape, statutory rape of a person under 15 years of age or younger, first-degree sexual offense, statutory sex offense with a person 15 years or younger, first-degree kidnapping, felony larceny, felony restraint, abduction of child and concealment of a death.

McLellan had already been in custody since Nov. 13, when he was arrested on charges stemming from a separate case.

According to the arrest warrant, McLellan was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, second-degree kidnapping and attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon stemming from an incident on Oct. 15 in which he allegedly pointed a gun at a woman and attempted to steal her car and money.

The arrest warrants states that McLellan had already been convicted of a felony in 2007 after he committed a burglary while armed with a gun.

Since mid-November, McLellan had been housed at the Robeson County Detention Center. However, according to Fairmont Police Chief Jon Edwards, he was recently moved to the Central Prison in Raleigh due to misconduct.

Michael Ray McLellan

Aguilar was kidnapped from her home at the Rosewood Mobile Home Park in Lumberton on Nov. 5.

A body was discovered on Nov. 27 in Robeson County in a place not visible from the road.

The next day, the FBI announced it believed the body was that of 13-year-old Aguilar.

Results of tests from the FBI's lab at Quantico on the stolen SUV recovered and preliminary results from the North Carolina State Crime Lab on Hania's body resulted in the charges, the FBI Charlotte said in a news release.

At this time, autopsy and toxicology reports are not complete.

McLellan is being held on no bond.

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