Jesus Aguilera
Serial killer
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- New York City, New York, USA
- Date of birth
- 1953
- Age at first offence
- 28
- Characteristics
- robbery, rape
- Victim profile
- Guillermo Graniela, 30 / Tolita Brown, 36 / Josefina Cepeda, 24
- Method of murder
- Ligature strangulation
- Date(s) of murder
- August 29/September 2/17, 1981
- Years active
- 1981
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Life imprisonment
Sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in 1982. Sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison on February 22, 2015.
Background
Jesus Aguilera was a convict serving time for two murders that occurred in New York in 1981. He was also convicted on robbery and sexual abuse charges.
The offence
In 1981, Tolila Brown, aged 36, was found murdered in the autumn of that year in a shack on an abandoned lot near Crotona Park in the Bronx. She was partly clothed and had been strangled with a scarf that was wrapped around her neck and tightened with a chisel. Her death remained unsolved for nearly 30 years. In August 1981, Jesus Aguilera killed a man in the Bronx and a woman in Manhattan, just days apart.
Investigation
DNA from Brown’s fingernails, apparently belonging to her killer, was kept on file. Advances in technology allowed for the development of a DNA profile from material found on her fingernails.
Arrest
On a Wednesday, Jesus Aguilera was charged in the third killing, nearly three decades after Brown’s murder. The case moved forward because the DNA profile matched Aguilera’s DNA, which was in the state’s DNA databank.
Trial
It was unclear whether Aguilera had been a suspect in the Brown murder case prior to the recent developments.
Sentencing
Aguilera was already serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders committed in 1981 and for convictions on robbery and sexual abuse charges.
Appeals
A parole hearing was scheduled for September 2026, with parole eligibility set for January 2027.
Outcome
Aguilera faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the new murder charge.
Aftermath
The authorities used advanced DNA technology to link Aguilera to the 1981 murder of Tolila Brown. No comment was available from Aguilera’s lawyer or the Bronx district attorney’s office.
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