I hate writing things like this. It's
just such a sad story in so many ways, but it does need to be spread.
Recently, a beautiful little girl named Hania Aguilar was kidnapped
and murdered. The man who kidnapped her was also responsible for a
rape and burglary back in 2016. The morning of Hania's funeral, this
monster was thankfully arrested.
Here are a few facts from Hania's case:
- Hania was kidnapped on November 5th, while warming up her aunt's SUV in preparation of going to school. During this time she was forced into the SUV and taken away.
- On the 8th of November, the stolen SUV was found and processed for evidence. During this time a suspect was identified, however, investigators decided not to bother this suspect until they had a body, and referred to Hania as the, “hole,” in the case. Remember, this was just three days after she was taken.
- On November 27th , her body was found and taken by coroners for an autopsy.
- Hania's funeral took place on the 8th of December. That same morning detectives arrested a man who had been in custody already since November 10th.
Firstly, I just want to point out my
confusion as to why the investigators waited until they were sure an
innocent, 13 year old girl was dead before they decided to make an
arrest or release the suspect name. If the SUV was found just three
days later, and even if they weren't sure he kidnapped Hania,
shouldn't he have at least been arrested for stealing the SUV? The
Robeson County District Attorney Luther Johnson Britt said, "When
the car was found and the car was processed, Mr. McLellan became a
suspect." However, he also said in defense of the
investigators, "We believed that the best course of action to
follow was to say nothing about him until we had enough evidence not
only to arrest him, but hopefully to convict him." According to
the American Chemical Society, it takes around “24-72
hours,” to process crime scene DNA evidence. Although the autopsy
isn't complete yet, I still wonder if Hania was alive during the time
the investigators were waiting for a body. Why did they give up just
one week into the investigation? I know they say after 48 hours,
you're looking for a body, but Elizabeth Smart is the perfect example
as to why that is not always true.
The second part of this, which is
equally disturbing, is that the man, if we can call him that,
responsible for Hania's death, is also responsible for a rape and
burglary that occurred in 2016. Investigators only found this out
after the DNA they found during Hania's kidnapping was matched to
this crime. Speaking of which, have any of you ever seen those
EndBacklog.Org commercials? In the commercial, a forklift carries a
woman through a warehouse full of women and men sitting on shelves as
she describes her rapist and asked if they have enough evidence,
which includes DNA, to catch him. With no answer, she is taken to her
spot in this warehouse, next to another sympathetic woman who is also
a victim. Chances are high that this woman who was raped by Hania's
killer, is also a victim of backlog. Some women, men and children
wait years before their rape kits are processed. The most horrible
thing about this is that often times, their rapist is discovered
after they rape or even kill someone else. In this case, Hania was
that someone else. If the 2016's rape victim's kit had been processed
and we actually had laws that keep rapist in prison where they
belong, Hania would still be alive. So many other victims would also
still be here too.
You would think that with movements
such as #MeToo, horrible incidents like these wouldn't happen as
often. Unfortunately, they still do, and it seems as time goes on,
rape isn't taken as seriously as other crimes. It's like it isn't
that bad, so why dedicate time solving these kinds of crimes? Don't
get me wrong, I know that being an investigator is tough work. Not
only do you have to go through real crimes, but there are also the
fake crimes that they have to shift through too. People make up lies
for attention, money, and even revenge, which takes time, attention
and resources away from actual victims. Not to mention, there's only
a few detectives for cities of hundreds of thousands of people.
Still, I wonder what we can do to stop deaths like Hania's from
happening again.
I, for one, am sick of signing
petitions and sending letters to presidents and state leaders. I'm
just not seeing the governments do anything with those thousands of
signatures. Something needs to be done, not promised. There are too
many children, women and men who are victims, when they don't have to
be. My hope is that one day communities will be able to form their
own peaceful investigative units, outside of police departments, that
will put an end to, not only backlogs, but also the countless rapes
and murders that occur because of it. In the mean time, we can use
technology and our neighbors to our advantage. Videos of Hania's
killer were nearly impossible to see clearly. To avoid delays in
catching or even just identifying potential suspects, camera
companies can donate cameras and equipment to neighborhood watch
groups. Cameras might save lives, especially in high crime areas. You
can even use old cell phones with high definition cameras which can
be positioned in a way that protects privacy, but still catches the
images of those committing crimes. You and your neighbors can
communicate through text, and alert each other or the cops when you
notice strange activity. I know this is probably info that is already
known, but it's rare if people actually do this stuff. Still, I feel
like it's important. If it protects you and your loved ones, it's
definitely worth a try.
*I want to send my love and condolences to Hania'a family and friends. Please know that you are in my prayers and that I hope you can one day find peace and comfort. God bless.* -April Thompson
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