EXCLUSIVE — The MS-13 gang member facing charges in connection to the rape and murder of an autistic young woman in a small Maryland town last summer will be tried as an adult despite being a juvenile, the Washington Examiner has learned.
The unnamed suspect arrested in mid-January in connection to the death of Kayla Hamilton, 20, will be tried as an adult when court proceedings begin at an unspecified time in the future, the Aberdeen, Maryland, police department’s lead public information officer, Lt. Will Reiber, said in a phone call Friday evening.
Police identified a 17-year-old Hispanic male from El Salvador who belongs to MS-13 as the primary suspect in the July 2022 incident. Aberdeen police worked with state police and federal agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to learn more about the suspect’s criminal and immigration histories.
Reiber said the murder “really impacted people when they found out the tragic nature of the death,” as well as that a member of one of the vilest gangs in the world may have been behind it.
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MS-13, short for Mara Salvatrucha, is known for extreme violence and lives by the motto “kill, rape, destroy.”
In 2012, the Treasury Department declared it a transnational criminal organization for smuggling people, drugs, and guns between Central America and the United States.
Reiber said the police department brought in bilingual personnel to speak with the suspect and others who came in for questioning.
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Despite the suspect’s being tried as an adult, his name and date of birth remain protected until he is 18 years old.
