As the search for the killer of a North Carolina teenager continues, with $25,000 offered for information leading to the capture of the culprit, funeral services for the girl were announced.
Hania Aguilar, 13, was grabbed from her front yard in Lumberton on Nov. 5 by a man dressed in black wearing a yellow bandana and spirited away in a stolen vehicle.
The stolen vehicle was found off Quincey Road on Nov. 8.
Aguilar’s body was found on Nov. 27 in Robeson County.
In addition to the $25,000 offered by the FBI, the State of North Carolina is offering a $5,000 reward in the case. Anyone with information in the case is urged to call the tip line at 910-272-5871.
Funeral Services Arranged
Aguilar’s funeral is slated for Dec. 8 at 12 p.m. at Lumberton High School, after a Dec. 7 Catholic mass at St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church.
She will be laid to rest in Meadowbrook Cemetery.
According to her obituary, Aguilar was in 8th grade at Lumberton Junior High School and leaves behind her mother, father, and two sisters.
A petition has been launched to allow Aguilar’s father into the United States and signed by over 27,000 people. The Guatemalan national can’t attend the funeral without permission to have his travel expedited.
“The problem is Slain and Murdered Hania Aguilar’s father is in Guatemala and he needs permission to be Expedited to the United States in order to see his daughter one last time, say his goodbyes, and attend her funeral. No parent should be denied the right to attend their child’s funeral, especially when Hania was a Citizen-born in Tennessee,” wrote Monique Cespedes, who started the petition.
North Carolina government officials are working to try to get the father permission to travel to the United States for the funeral, reported WMBF.
The office of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has been in touch with State Department officials.
The State Department said it can’t comment on specific visa cases.
Killer Likely Knew Teen
Meanwhile, a profiler said that the person who killed the teenager likely knew her.
Michael Teague, a forensic psychologist who previously worked as a criminal profiler for both the Raleigh Police Department and what is now the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, said the circumstances surrounding the abduction indicate the killer and girl knew each other.
“This just didn’t happen out of nowhere. I mean, this person didn’t just drop out of Mars,” he told WRAL. “They would be walking around the area. I mean, you almost have to be from there, working from there.”
Minutes before the abduction, security footage showed a man walking toward the trailer park where Aguilar lived. Teague said clues could be gleaned from the footage even though the man’s face is obscured.
He also said that the autopsy results will help in the investigation.
