Alleged stalker's notebook discovered in Phoenix woman's murder case

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – New details have been discovered about the murder of 25-year-old Doris Aguilar, who was found dead in a car next to Juan Cuellar, the man her family says was stalking her.

After receiving the Aguilar, Arizona’s Family Medical Examiner’s report learned exactly what was in the most crucial piece of evidence: Cuellar’s notebook. But police say the truth is mixed with many lies.

On July 7, two bodies were found in a car outside a Longhorn Steakhouse in west Phoenix. They eventually identified them as Aguilar, who was shot in the head, and Juan Cuellar, who was lying next to her in the driver’s seat. Phoenix police said he committed suicide after killing Aguilar.

In that car with them, a notebook.

“It took some time to go through the notebook, which offers a very different dynamic of what happened than what some of the evidence shows,” Phoenix police Sergeant Rob Scherer said.

Aguilar, an avid gym-goer, went missing in Phoenix on July 1. Her family, together with a private detective, started a search for her. During the investigation, they feared that Cuellar was the reason for her disappearance.

His involvement and responsibility for her death turned out to be true, according to police.

In the notebook found in their car, Cuellar wrote this:

“She picked it up. She didn’t know the security was off. I went to grab the gun and it went off. I panicked and left. I knew it would be my fault.”

But Scherer said the story of how she was shot cannot be true.

“The gun itself doesn’t necessarily have a safety,” Scherer said. “So clearly this is an element that is not truthful as far as it is written down.”

Cuellar wrote in his notebook that he drove around in shock and changed her clothes so she wasn’t dirty. Many entries professed love and deep feelings for her and anger that she was seeing other men.

He wrote: “I couldn’t bear to be without her in my life.”

But Phoenix police confirmed something about the nature of their connection, or lack thereof.

“I can tell you there was no romantic relationship at the time of the murder,” Scherer said.

Cuellar also wrote about how he and the victim shared a daughter.

“We don’t have any information about a child in common between the two,” Scherer said.

Ultimately, Cuellar took his own life, and the two bodies were found days later. They were difficult to identify due to the condition of their remains.

One of the last notebooks was this:

‘I hope she can forgive me. Please tell my family it was an accident.”

Scherer said one important piece of the puzzle they are still missing is where she was killed.

While Aguilar was missing, her phone briefly pinged in Peoria, which was believed to be a possible crime scene.

“Those were never finalized and no scene was ever located,” Scherer said.

While Aguilar’s family and private investigator believe Cuellar’s obsession with Aguilar and his desire for her when he couldn’t have her were the motives, Phoenix PD said they are still working on that.

“They have their faith as the why. Our researchers are still trying to find out,” Scherer said.

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