Facing life sentence, Hania Aguilar’s killer twice attempts escape in NC
Six years after Lumberton teen Hania Aguilar was kidnapped from her family’s driveway while waiting for a ride to school, the Fairmont man accused of her rape and murder was sentenced — but not without twice trying to escape.
Michael McLellan, 40, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including first-degree murder, in Aguilar’s case and two other unrelated cases, Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill said in a press release. A Robeson County judge accepted McLellan’s plea Friday and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the release said.
McLellan attempted to escape deputies both before and after Friday’s hearing, according to Robeson County Sheriff Burnis L. Wilkins Jr.
McLellan first tried to escape as he was being driven from Central Prison in Raleigh to the Robeson County Courthouse. Using a homemade handcuff key, McLellan was able to unlock the shackles on his ankles, Wilkins said in an email to The News & Observer. But he was still in handcuffs attached to a waist chain and was quickly subdued.
The second attempt took place as McLellan was being returned to Central Prison after the sentencing. Using a second homemade key, McLellan got out of his handcuffs, reached through a vent in the plexiglass separating him from the deputies and pulled a deputy’s gun from its holster.
A second deputy sprayed pepper spray in McLellan’s face and he was again subdued.
Wilkins said his office did not plan to seek additional charges, as McLellan had been sentenced to life without parole. He said prison officials told his office it appeared that McLellan had made the keys in an art class.
McLellan is again being held at Central Prison in Raleigh.
Aguilar was 13 when McLellan forced her into a stolen SUV just before 7 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2018, as she waited for a ride to class at Lumberton Junior High School, The N&O previously reported. After 22 days of searching that garnered national attention, including a $30,000 reward offering from Gov. Roy Cooper and the FBI, Aguilar’s naked body was discovered in a pit of muddy water about 10 miles from where she was last seen alive.
McLellan was charged with her rape and murder the following month, The N&O reported. But the case dragged on for years, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and plagued by revelations that Robeson County deputies neglected to arrest McLellan when DNA evidence tied him to a rape case more than a year before Aguilar’s death.
In May 2023, Celsa Hernandez, Aguilar’s mother, begged for justice in a Robeson County courtroom, The N&O reported.
“I have been living a nightmare, and I’m feeling like it’s time for justice to be served,” Hernandez said at the time. “...If the defendant didn’t give my daughter enough time to live, why should he be given a chance to continue?”
In prepared statements, officials tied to the case said Friday they hoped the sentencing would bring closure to the family of the little girl who equally loved science and her dog, Pedro.
“We hope Hania’s family and McLellan’s other victims are in some way comforted knowing he will spend the rest of his life in prison for his vicious crimes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina Robert M. DeWitt.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 2:19 PM.
