Vanessa Guillen Update: Gruesome Details About Missing Fort Hood Soldier's Killing Spark Protests
Hundreds of protesters marched to Houston's city hall on Fourth of July, demanding justice for Vanessa Guillen. The missing Texas soldier was allegedly killed and dismembered by a fellow soldier, according to a criminal complaint.
Guillen, 20, was last seen in a parking lot near her squadron headquarters at Fort Hood on April 22. Her keys, wallet, and ID were later found in an armory where she had been working earlier in the day. Last week Tuesday, human remains were found near the Leon River, about 20 miles east of Fort Hood, during the search for Guillen. Her family said through attorney Natalie Khawam that they believe the remains are of Guillen, but authorities are still awaiting positive identification.
"The whole thing is devastating, gruesome, barbaric," Khawam said.
Guillen's family said that she had told them about being sexually harassed by a solider before her disappearance. However, she did not tell her superiors for fear of retribution.
At a news conference Thursday, the Army identified fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson, 20, as a suspect in Guillen's disappearance. Robinson, an Army specialist, died by suicide when authorities made contact with him Wednesday.
"We are still investigating their interactions but at this time there is no credible information for reports that specialist Robinson sexually harassed specialist Guillen," Fort Hood CID Special Agent Damon Phelps, said.
The criminal complaint released later Thursday said Robinson's girlfriend, 22-year-old Cecily Aguilar, was a civilian arrested in the Guillen case. The Texas woman was charged with one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence for helping Robinson mutilate and hide her body, federal prosecutors in Western District of Texas said in a statement.
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