Insets left to right: Doris Aguilar (GoFundMe; Phoenix Police Department). Background: The steakhouse where Aguilar’s body was found (Google Maps).
A missing Arizona woman was recently confirmed dead — but the mystery of her final days on earth has only deepened as investigators deal with the grim circumstances in which she was discovered.
On July 1, Doris Maricela Aguilar, 25, was reported missing by family.
On July 7, her body was found by police inside a car parked outside of the LongHorn Steakhouse near the Desert Sky Mall in west Phoenix. Alongside the deceased was the corpse of another: the man believed to have been her stalker and killer. Both had been shot to death.
But investigators believe Aguilar died days before that.
At the time of the discovery, the bodies in the vehicle were not immediately identified — the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner was unable to confirm the woman’s death until July 18.
Authorities said Aguilar and the man had likely been dead inside of the vehicle for multiple days before they were found, according to independent Phoenix-based TV station KTVK and local CBS affiliate KPHO, which collectively broadcast together as “Arizona’s Family.”
On July 19, the man was identified as Juan Jose Velis Cuellar, 51.
Police determined that Cuellar’s injuries were self-inflicted, according to a press release issued late last week.
“Witnesses told officers the vehicle and the occupants appeared to be in the same position for several days,” the Phoenix Police Department explained. “Detectives were called to process the scene, collect evidence and search for possible surveillance video.”
The bodies had decomposed while inside the vehicle, police said, and the exact date of the deaths is as yet unknown.
Steve Fischer, a private investigator hired by the victim’s family, believes Cuellar had long been stalking Aguilar before the murder.
The private investigator said he was still looking for Cuellar before he was confirmed to be the second dead individual inside the vehicle.
“He rents a car,” Fischer said. “We know that that’s what they’re found in, is a rental car, and most likely that was part of a luring scheme.”
On July 9, Aguilar’s own car was found with all of her belongings inside, according to a GoFundMe started by her family — most of whom are still living in their native Honduras. The woman’s car was found near the Christown Spectrum mall located in central Phoenix, police said. Fischer since retained custody of the car on the family’s behalf.
“They found her purse, her wallet, her passport, credit cards, cash, so it was clear the motive was not robbery,” Fischer told Arizona’s Family. “The car was unlocked.”
Inside of Aguilar’s car, the private investigator said he found search warrants left by law enforcement. He noted the warrants revealed the search was considered part of a homicide investigation well before the coroner had formally determined the woman had died.
While gun violence, presumably at the hands of Cuellar, is what killed Aguilar, there are still several unanswered questions.
“What I’ve been told, there is no bio evidence in the vehicle that she was shot in the car, so it looks like she was moved,” Fischer told the local news outlet.
And while the presumed killer is also dead, there appears to have been an abortive effort at some kind of a cover-up.
“There was a note left. He left a note,” the private investigator said. “He tried to stage it to make it look like she killed herself.”
Law enforcement are optimistic about the ongoing investigation.
“Surveillance footage is there,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Rob Scherer told Arizona’s Family. “Surveillance video is available where they ended up. Obviously, we have the technology to hopefully put the pieces together of where travel happened and maybe when they came together.”
Aguilar, eerily, presaged part of her own death.
“She did tell her family and important people in her life about this person, and that if anything happened to her, he was responsible and he scared her,” Fischer told Arizona’s Family.
The two had reportedly interacted several times in the past — though the victim clearly wanted nothing to do with the man.
For awhile, Aguilar and Cuellar worked in the same building. Then, after a series of Aguilar’s complaints, Cuellar was fired sometime in 2023. Still, Fischer said, the man continued to contact the woman — reportedly sending her threatening and obsessive messages.
When she ignored his messages, the stalker began confronting her in the parking lot of her gym, EōS, according to the private investigator. Aguilar recently switched gyms — seemingly to get away from Cuellar. But the presumed killer appears to have followed her there, as well.
“She moved to Lifetime Fitness,” Fischer said. “And I think the last Facebook post that he made is a post saying, ‘Getting my Lifetime membership back. See you soon,’ and that was on June 27. Three days later we never saw her again and we never saw him either.”
Aguilar’s family describe her as “vibrant” and “beloved” and say she “touched the lives of everyone she met.”
They are raising funds for the funeral service, accommodations for family members to attend the funeral, financial and emotional support, and a way to send the woman’s ashes back to her mother in Honduras.
“Standing at 5’4″ and weighing 140 lbs, she had beautiful brown eyes and brown curly hair,” the online fundraiser reads. “Doris was known for her dedication and passion for fitness, never missing a day at the gym. She was a bright light in our lives, and her absence is deeply felt.”
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