Murder suspect, Aaron David Robinson, shot himself – but authorities at Fort Hood Army Base say missing soldier, presumed dead, Vanessa Guillén, was not sexually harassed and assaulted prior to her disappearance
Military authorities at Fort Hood Army Base push back on allegations that a missing soldier presumed dead was sexually harassed and assaulted prior to her disappearance
Private soldier Vanessa Guillén was last seen at the military base in Killeen, Texas on April 22
Remains found Tuesday and Wednesday in a shallow grave about 26 miles from the base are believed to belong to the 20-year-old missing soldier
Remains was found during the search was hidden with concrete, lime and rocks yet to be e confirmed as Guillén
Murder suspect, Army Spc. Aaron David Robinson shot and killed himself Wednesday morning
20-year-old Army Specialist Robinson, after fleeing his post Tuesday was approached by police along a road 6 miles from the base when he flashed a gun and shot himself
“There is no credible information that Specialist Robinson sexually harassed Specialist Guillen,” special agent Damon Phelps of Army’Criminal Investigation Command, said Thursday
A second suspect, Cecily Aguilar, the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier has also been arrested in the case
Aguilar,22, allegedly helped Robinson to dismember and dispose of the victim – she is in jail awaiting formal charges
Pfc Vanessa Guillén, [photo] has been missing since April 26 from her base at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. She is presumed dead. Her family is calling for answers regarding investigations into her disappearance from base authorities
Military authorities at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas pushed back Thursday on allegations that a missing soldier presumed dead was sexually harassed and assaulted prior to her disappearance on April 22.
Aaron David Robinson, a 20-year-old Army Specialist, was identified as the person of interest in the case of Vanessa Guillén, also a 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier who disappeared in April.
Robinson who fled his post Tuesday, fatally shot himself early Wednesday when police in Killeen saw him walking on the road and attempted to make contact with him.
“There is no credible information that Specialist Robinson sexually harassed Specialist Guillén,” according to special agent Damon Phelps with the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command.
Investigators however, would only refer to Robinson as a “coworker” of Guillén’s and would not elaborate on why they deem him as a suspect, repeatedly stating that this is an active, ongoing criminal investigation.
Murder suspect, Army Spc. Aaron David Robinson [right], fled Fort Hood on Tuesday night before he could be arrested by Army criminal investigators authorities said. Cecily Aguilar, [left] ,the estranged wife of a Fort Hood soldier, has been arrested on suspicion she helped Robinson dismember and dispose of Guillén’s body
Aaron David Robinson, the key suspect in the death of private Vanessa Guillen committed suicide hours after her body was discovered.
Authorities say serviceman Robinson fled Fort Hood on Tuesday night before he could be arrested by Army criminal investigators.
Cecily Aguilar, 22, the estranged wife of a Fort Hood soldier, has been arrested on suspicion she helped Robinson dismember and dispose of Guillén’s body.
Sr. Special Agent Damon Phelps said at Thursday’s press conference that investigators were looking into Robinson’s connection with Guillen. While both were at Fort Hood, they were not in the same command and did not work in the same building.
Guillén’s family attorney Natalie Kahwam [center], said at the start of the press conference,’We have a dead person because of sexual harassment’. She then demanded a congressional investigation into Guillen’s case
Those revelations are contrary to what Guillen’s family members have claimed at a briefing Wednesday in Washington DC.
Guillen family attorney Natalie Khawam said she discovered at least two alleged incidents of sexual harassment — a superior walking in on Guillen showering and another verbally assaulting her with vulgar remarks in Spanish. Khawam said she’s worried about how this case might turn out. She said Guillen told loved ones she didn’t want to report the sexual harassment out of fear of retaliation.
The remains found Tuesday and Wednesday in the search for missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén were hidden under concrete, investigators revealed.
The gruesome discovery was first made Tuesday by Texas Equusearch, a voluntary search and rescue organization.
Tim Miller the head of Equusearch said that attempts had been made to keep the body well-concealed and it was discovered only after a man working in the area noticed a foul smell.
‘It appears [the killer], buried her, put lime on her, mixed up concrete, put that over her, put dirt over her, rocks and stuff,’ Miller told KHOU.
The investigation found its first piece of evidence last week which led them to believe that Guillén may be close by.
On Wednesday, a picture of the site was revealed for the first time as Miller announced they found the lid to a Pelican storage case which prompted them to continue the search in the area.
A witness had previously said they saw a case being loaded into a car at around 8.30pm close to the time that Guillén first disappeared in April.
The remains have not yet been confirmed as the missing soldier.
Fort Hood is set to hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon to reveal more information.
The discovery was made as the Army announced they were promoting Guillén despite her missing status.
She was promoted to Specialist on Monday.
The soldier’s family held an emotional press conference Wednesday in which Guillén’s sister Mayra revealed she met the suspect in her disappearance, who killed himself when approached by police early Wednesday morning.
‘When I first went up to that base, that subject, I met him not knowing that he had something to do with it. I felt something was telling me that he did something. He still had the nerve that same day to laugh in my face and apparently now he kills himself,’ she said.
‘Why? I don’t know, but whoever is responsible has to pay.’
The family added that they believe the suspect to be the person who sexually harassed Guillén before she vanished.
The suspect in question died Wednesday from a self-inflicted gunshot after police attempted to bring him in.
He is being described as a ‘junior soldier who fled his post’ but he has not yet been identified.
Police found him walking six miles from Fort Hood but when they approached he pulled out a gun and shot himself.
Later at a press conference in Washington DC, Guillén’s two sisters and their father held demanded justice for their daughter and sister who they believe is dead.
The family said they believe that remains found on Tuesday are those of Guillén.
During an emotional plea, the sisters called for a congressional investigation into Guillén’s case.
They also revealed that the suspect who shot himself early Wednesday morning is believed to be the same man who sexually harassed Guillén before she vanished in April.
Authorities also announced the arrest of a female suspect in the case, Cecily Aguilar.
Aguilar, a 22-year-old civilian is the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier. She is in jail awaiting formal charges for helping to dismember and dispose of the victim.
It is not known if there is a connection between the two suspects and the Army has said.
The Army just announced that Private Vanessa Guillén, [L-R], has been promoted post-humorously to Specialist
Meanwhile the Army has defended its decision not to release information saying that ‘doing so can seriously jeopardize the charging and successful prosecution of individuals’.
‘We have made significant progress in this tragic situation and are doing everything possible to get to the truth,’ they added in a statement to ABC Houston.
Remains were found for the second day in a row Wednesday as the search for Guillén continued along the Leon River about 20 miles from the Fort Hood base.
Guillén’s family has said they believe their loved one is dead and that the serviceman who killed her is the same individual who turned a gun on himself when police tried to make contact with him early Wednesday morning.
‘We have a dead person because of sexual harassment,’ the family’s attorney Natalie Kahwam said at the start of the press conference.
Guillén was last seen at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas, on April 22 wearing a black t-shirt, light purple leggings and black Nike sneakers.
Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day.
‘As officers attempted to make contact with the suspect, the suspect displayed a weapon and discharged it towards himself,’ police said in the statement.
Authorities said the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.
The second civilian suspect was arrested by Texas Rangers. She is currently being held at the Bell County Jail awaiting charges by civilian authorities.
Guillén’s family says that she had accused an unnamed sergeant of sexually harassing her and claimed she felt unsafe before she disappeared.
Khawam said Guillén once claimed that a superior walked in on her showering and another verbally assaulted her with vulgar remarks in Spanish.
Last week the Fort Hood Army base launched an investigation into Guillén’s allegations that a sergeant sexually harassed her, but the search for Vanessa Guillén has been called off.
Leave a Reply