BRONX DA: SERIAL KILLER SENTENCED 33 YEARS AFTER THE FACT

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SERIAL KILLER ADMITS TO 3rd VICTIM

33 YEARS AFTER THE FACT

Jesus Aguilera Sentenced for 1981 Killing of Mom Tolila Brown

 

(Bronx, NY – February 23, 2015) – JESUS AGUILERA was a spree killer – having murdered two people back in 1981 within days of one another, one in the Bronx, the other in Manhattan.

 

But when he murdered TOLILA BROWN (a/k/a TOLILA MOORE) that same year, it put him into a whole new category – that of serial murderer.  And it was DNA found under his victim’s fingernails that did it, although it would take nearly 30 years to put two and two – or here, two and one – together.

 

Today, announces Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson, JESUS AGUILERA was sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Troy Webber to 15-years-to-life for TOLILA BROWN’s killing, following a plea of guilty earlier this month to Murder in the 2nd Degree, a Class A-1 Felony.  He waived his right to appeal.

 

The 61-year-old AGUILERA is already serving two consecutive life sentences for the earlier killings.

 

TOLILA BROWN, a 36-year-old mother of four, was found on November 2, 1981.  She had been strangled to death with a scarf that was tightened with a chisel, hands and feet bound together, her partially-clothed body left in a shack at 1445 Minford Place, not far from Crotona Park.  There was DNA recovered from under her fingernails.  But it was not until some 30 years later that advances in DNA technology made it possible for samples taken from AGUILERA during his incarceration for the two earlier murders to match with that found under his third victim’s fingernails.

 

JESUS AGUILERA arrived in the United States on a Cuban boatlift in May of 1981, and almost immediately went on a murder and rape spree, his penchant for strangling his victims using a device to tighten the ligature beyond hope, as well as binding their hands and feet, a terrifying way of accomplishing his crimes.

 

In August, inside an apartment at 1186 East 180th Street, after having consensual sex with a woman, he bound her hands and legs together, and placed a belt around her neck, attempted to have sex with her again.  When he left the apartment with stolen property, he tied that belt to the bedpost in a manner that if she struggled, it would further tighten.  After AGUILERA left, his victim was able to loosen her hand restraints and get out of her predicament.  For that crime, AGUILERA was convicted of Robbery in the 1st Degree.

 

Ten days later, GUILLERMO GRANIELA was found dead in the basement of 417 Bronx Park Avenue.  His hands were bound together with rope, as were his feet.  A rope tied around his neck had a screwdriver inserted in the knot, twisted to strangle his victim.  AGUILERA was convicted of Murder in the 2nd Degree for this crime.

 

Three weeks after that, on September 17th, the body of JOSEFINA CEPEDA was found near the 207th Street Bridge in Manhattan.  She was strangled to death by a wire wrapped around her neck.  Once again, JESUS AGUILERA was convicted of Murder in the 2nd Degree.

 

A month after TOLILA BROWN’s strangulation death, AGUILERA choked a 15-year-old girl with a pocketbook strap, tried to hang her with it, and raped her, this incident taking place  on December 19th at the abandoned site of the former Bronx Lebanon Hospital,  in the vicinity of Ward Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard.  AGUILERA was convicted of Sex Abuse in the 1st Degree.

 

At sentencing, TOLILA BROWN’s daughter, Robin Bynoe, spoke of her mother’s struggles and the strides she was making at the time of her death.

 

“For much of her life she suffered with a debilitating drug addiction, susceptible to the many indignities, brutality and shame suffered by those forever drowning in the black hole of hell.”

           

Noting that, not long before her death, her mother had been making strides, living a normal life, reconnecting with her children and pursuing a college degree at Fordham University, Ms. Bynoe told of her mother’s efforts to “ferociously snatch her life back.”

           

“As an 18 year old teenager, I recall the deep and overwhelming pain and grief for the loss of a mother that I was just beginning to know.”

           

In concluding, Ms. Bynoe addressed JESUS AGUILERA: “My family and I urge, implore and pray that the legal system will extend mercy and justice to all your victims and their families by keeping you caged for all the remaining days of your life.” 

 

The prosecution of this case began in 2010, during which AGUILERA pled not guilty, changing his plea to guilty on February 3rd, 2015, just as trial was about to begin.

 

AGUILERA will be eligible for parole in 2027.

 

The District Attorney wishes to thank Det. Malcolm Reiman of the NYPD Bronx Homicide Task Force and former Bronx ADA Rachel Singer for their work on the case.  The case against JESUS AGUILERA was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Adam Oustatcher, the Director of DNA Prosecutions and Assistant D.A. Michelle Villaronga of Trial Bureau 20/50.

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