ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Robeson County District Attorney said during a hearing Thursday that the state will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing Hania Aguilar, according to ABC affiliate WPDE.
Michael Ray McLellan, 34, faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping (among others). He has been in custody since Nov. 13, but court officials confirm his case was recently seen by a grand jury.
[Ads /]
That grand jury indicted McLellan in the case. It was a procedural step in moving the case forward in the court system.
Aguilar was abducted from outside her home as she waited to go to school in November 2018. Her body was discovered weeks later about 10 miles from where she was abducted.
Ten days later, investigators announced that McLellan was responsible for Aguilar's death.
[Ads /]
RELATED:
Family, friends remember Hania Aguilar on 14th birthday
Robeson County deputy fire after Hania Aguilar investigation tells his side on social media
Autopsy finds Ahnia Aguilar most likely died of suffocation