[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., ALA., OHIO., MO.

[Rick Halperin]

July 5



NORTH CAROLINA:

Scott to pursue death of McLellan



The man charged in the death of Hania Aguilar will face the possibility of 
being put to death for the crime if convicted.

District Attorney Matt Scott had already said he would make the trial of 
Michael Ray McLellan, 34, of Fairmont, a capital case, but made that official 
in court on Thursday.

McLellan is charged with 1st-degree murder, 1st-degree rape, 1st-degree forced 
sex offense, statutory rape of a child, statutory sex offense with a child, 
1st-degree kidnapping, felonious restraint, abduction of a child, concealing 
the death of a child and larceny of a motor vehicle.

“We do intend to seek the death penalty in this case,” Scott told Judge Robert 
“Frank” Floyd Jr.

Scott described the death of Aguilar, who was 13 at the time, as “especially 
heinous, atrocious and cruel” and said the nature of her death weighed heavily 
on the state’s decision to move forward with capital punishment.

McLellan, dressed in a gray jumpsuit and wearing white sneakers, did not speak. 
Blood was apparent from his right eye.

Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said when McLellan arrived at the jail for holding, he 
was wearing a watch, which is against the local policy, and he fought officers 
as they removed it. Wilkins said he also banged his head against the wall 
repeatedly while in the holding cell, and refused medical treatment.

Floyd scheduled McLellan’s next hearing for Sept. 9.

The last person executed in North Carolina was Samuel Flippen, who was put to 
death Aug. 18, 2006, for the murder of his 2-year-old stepdaughter. There has 
essentially been an unofficial moratorium on executions in North Carolina 
because of legal challenges calling the process brutal, and many district 
attorneys electing not to pursue the death penalty.

In the case of capital punishment, the law allows the defendant two lawyers, 
said Harold Butch Pope, McLellan’s defense attorney. He will review the 
evidence and collaborate with the other defense attorney as soon as one is 
appointed.

Pope told the court that communication with the defendant was challenging and 
that there had not been enough time to review the information or properly 
communicate with McLellan. Pope had to speak with his client via a telephone 
while separated from McLellan by a glass barrier.

“It was difficult for him to hear me and difficult for me to hear him,” Pope 
said.

Pope also said that during visits with McLellan at Central Prison in Raleigh, 
he was given limited information and access.

“Today is the first day I have been in the same room without a glass or barrier 
and am able to see or hear him,” Pope said.

Hania’s mother, Celsa Maribel Hernandez Velasquez, was in attendance Thursday, 
but did not wish to comment. She was escorted to her car by courthouse 
personnel after the hearing.

Scott and Pope also declined to comment after the hearing.

Aguilar was kidnapped about 6:50 a.m. on Nov. 5 as she went to start her aunt’s 
Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, which was parked outside of their home in 
Rosewood Mobile Home Park on Elizabethtown Road in Lumberton. Her cousin 
witnessed the kidnapping and told law enforcement that a black man, wearing 
dark clothing and a yellow bandana on his face, approached the girl, forced her 
into the SUV and drove away.

Aguilar’s body was found Nov. 27 near Wiregrass Road in Orrum. An autopsy 
revealed she had been raped and likely died from strangulation.

McLellan was arrested for Aguilar’s kidnapping and death on Dec. 7. On May 6, 
he was indicted on the 10 charges by a grand jury seated in the Robeson County 
courthouse.

In 2007, McLellan was convicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with 
intent to kill inflicting serious injury and first-degree burglary. He was 
sentenced to between 10 years and 12 years and nine months in prison. He was 
released on parole in February 2016.

McLellan was convicted in February 2017 on charges of felony breaking and 
entering, and larceny of a motor vehicle, according to state records. He was 
sentenced to between nine months and 20 months, and was released on parole in 
June 2018.

McLellan was indicted on Dec. 5 by a grand jury in relation to a rape on Oct. 
20, 2016, of a Lumberton woman that occurred during a burglary. A state crime 
lab connected McLellan to the rape, but that information was never acted on by 
the Sheriff’s Office, leading to an internal investigation. Two officers were 
suspended during the probe, and one ended up being dismissed with the other 
retiring.

Hania’s case prompted an outpouring of support from the local community as 
people joined in prayer for Hania’s safe return. Her family was given a 
furnished manufactured home so the could move away from the park where she was 
abducted, and more than $20,000 was raised through GoFundMe in a short time.

There was a public memorial service at Lumberton Senior High School that was 
attended by hundreds. Students in the Public Schools of Robeson County also 
wore purple to honor the Lumberton Junior High student as that was her favorite 
color.

(source: The Robesonian)








ALABAMA:

Prosecution of 2015 New Market killings that claimed 5 lives may face further 
delay



It has been nearly four years since a New Market murder case that left 5 dead, 
including a woman who was 9 months pregnant.

Now, the case may face a new delay.

Christopher Henderson is 1 of 2 people charged with capital murder in the case 
that claimed the life of his estranged wife Kristen Henderson – who was due to 
deliver a baby – 2 children and his mother-in-law.

The killings took place at Kristen Henderson's parents home on St. Clair Lane 
in New Market on Aug. 4, 2015.

Henderson’s co-defendant, Rhonda Carlson, was also his wife. He was married to 
two women at the time of the killings.

Henderson and Carlson are expected to be tried separately.

Henderson is due in court on July 26 for a scheduling conference – aimed at 
setting a trial date.

Carlson has a court date in late August, but the timing of her trial is less 
clear. Jake Watson, who is co-counsel in her case, informed the court Monday 
that he needs to withdraw because he’s taking a job as a federal public 
defender. It’s likely another attorney will have to be appointed to the case.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Investigators say the pair set the 
New Market house on fire after the killings.

The victims were either shot or stabbed. Those killed include Kristen 
Henderson, her 8-year-old son Clayton Chambers, her mother Jean Smallwood, and 
her 1-year-old nephew Eli Sokolowski. Investigators say the younger child may 
have died from smoke inhalation.

(source: WHNT news)








OHIO:

Truck driver hysterically reports shooting deaths of wife & 3 in-laws. Months 
later, he’s charged with their murders: Report



An Ohio man was arrested Tuesday for the deaths of his wife and 3 of her 
relatives who were reportedly found shot to death in the family’s apartment in 
April.

Gurpreet Singh, 37, was charged with the aggravated murders of his wife, 
Shalinder Kaur, 39, her parents, Hakiakat Singh Panag, 59, and Parmjit Kaur, 
62, and her aunt, Amarjit Kaur, 58. Singh claimed to have found the bodies at 
the New Haven apartment in a 911 call placed on April 28, according to the 
Cincinnati Enquirer.

“My wife and my family are on the ground bleeding,” he told a dispatcher while 
pounding on doors, per the Dayton Daily News.

Singh’s wife was found on the dining room floor shot 3 times, his father-in-law 
was shot in the head 8 times, his mother-in-law was shot 4 times, and his 
aunt-in-law was shot twice in the head, WXKU reported.

The news station reported that prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty

The Daily News reported that 2 additional 911 calls were placed, 1 by a 
neighbor who claimed they overheard a man banging on doors and screaming for 
help.

Food was reportedly burning on the stove when the family-of-4’s bodies were 
discovered. A responding officer noted “a good amount of blood” in the living 
room.

An autopsy later revealed that rigor mortis had set in, suggesting the victims 
were dead for some time before law enforcement was called to the apartment, 
according to WLWT.

A motive in April’s quadruple homicide remains unclear. Singh and his wife 
reportedly had 3 children. Reports indicated that the aunt was visiting from 
India at the time of her murder.

Branford police said they apprehended Singh without incident in a Walmart 
parking lot. The news station reported that prosecutors plan to seek the death 
penalty.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said, “There will be a day of reckoning in 
respect to this case.”

(source: crimeonline.com)








MISSOURI:

State Will Seek Death Penalty Against Second Miller County Murder Suspect



A Miller County murder suspect is scheduled to be back in the courtroom on 
Monday for 2 felony cases filed against him. Joseph McKenna, from Chicago, is 
scheduled to appear for one case for a preliminary hearing on charges of 
first-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with a witness in a 
felony prosecution…and for an arraignment on a second case in which he faces an 
attempted escape charge. It’s alleged that McKenna shot and killed Tyler 
Worthington, from North San Juan California, during an apparent drug deal gone 
bad in a case in which the state is seeking the death penalty. McKenna is also 
scheduled to be arraigned on the attempted escape charge. A probable cause 
statement filed in that case alleges that McKenna was trying to break out of 
the Miller County Jail so he could meet up with an unidentified individual in 
Jefferson City and then “take care of a witness.” McKenna is being held without 
bond.

(source: KRMS Radio news)