Khawam said Guillen reported her harassment to her family and fellow soldiers at the base. Vanessa Guillen 20/20: Fiance Juan Cruz speaks out in 1st national Who doesnt fight?. She said Army investigators rarely contacted the family before releasing information. "I was like, 'About time they said it,'" Cruz said. Agents once again searched the area and found scattered remains that appeared to have been placed into concrete and buried. "I was astonished that they had so much information and details. This week the 9th Circuit held that sexual assault is not incident to service, and therefore the Feres Doctrine should not apply to service members who are sexually assaulted.. Spc. Aaron David Robinson. Investigators said Aguilar backed up his alibi. Nicole Acevedo is a reporter for NBC News Digital. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. Efflandt on Thursday added that he personally invited a team to the post earlier in the week to inspect its Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program, or SHARP. Have a tip or story idea? "[I was] angry and sad at the same time, because he was in our face the whole time," Hightower said. However, officials did say the woman was a civilian and the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier. Watch the full story on "20/20" TONIGHT at 9 p.m. Location data from Robinsons phone showed that at nearly 2 a.m. on April 23, the device was in the vicinity of a bridge along the Leon River. Aguilar was charged with conspiracy to hide and destroy evidence in connection to Vanessa Guillen's death and was denied bond on July 14, 2020. Tracking CA's reservoir levels, snowpack map, drought status, How safe is your neighborhood? Aaron David Robinson of Illinois, who was assigned to a building adjacent to where Guillen worked, first ran away from Fort Hood on Tuesday night after officials said they found partial human remains near the Leon River in Bell County. Suspect Named, New Details Released in Case of Missing Soldier ", Hightower told Landy that Vanessa was missing. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq. They eventually identified the remains as missing Fort Hood soldier Gregory Morales, who'd gone missing in August 2019, almost a year prior. Law enforcement officials attempted to make contact with Robinson, 20, on Tuesday in Killeen, Texas, but he displayed a weapon and took his own life, Phelps said during the news conference. Aguilar purchased a bag of what she referred to as concrete from someone through Facebook messenger. She was caring and respectful and always used to joke about everything. Juan Cruz and Vanessa Guillen's family are still looking for answers as to why the late Army specialist was killed in 2020 and how her murderer escaped justice. She questioned the Army's conclusion that Robinson did not harass Vanessa Guillen. Aaron David Robinson Emailus. Suspect in Fort Hood soldier case kills self, 2nd suspect jailed after IE 11 is not supported. Related: Army Investigating Fort Hood Sexual Assault Program After Soldier's Disappearance, Military COVID-19 Cases Spike 41% in June, With Upticks in Hotspot States, Army Investigating Fort Hood Sexual Assault Program After Soldier's Disappearance. He was originally from Calumet City, Illinois. They arrived after midnight and Mayra says they were told by the staff sergeant to come back in the morning. So I went back outside and I walked to the parking lot, and I saw her Jeep there. Vanessa Guillen bludgeoned to death on Fort Hood base, family She said she begged her daughter to tell her what was wrong. Immediately, Vanessas dad said, Thats not something Vanessa would do, Khawam said. Investigators brought a cadaver dog, which signaled that a body might have been thrown in the water. That brought me a bit of peace to my heart. Aguilar helped authorities pinpoint his location so that he could be arrested. Authorities on Thursday said 20-year-old Spc. Robinson then placed the deceased soldier in a box and brought her to the Leon River, according to the complaint. After police issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert for Robinson in July, Robinson fled and killed himself as police approached.Police arrested his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, who told police that Robinson had killed Guilln with a hammer in an armory room on base and enlisted her help to bury her body in April. Guillen was last seen at a parking lot in Fort Hood, where she was stationed, on April 22. We are going to love each other all our lives. A Texas woman accused of helping mutilate and dispose of the body of a Fort Hood soldier who vanished this spring was charged Thursday, authorities said. 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 However, no remain were located.. Robinson went missing June 30. Aaron Robinson of bludgeoning Guillen to death with a hammer on April 22, 2020, at Fort Hood. The Austin American-Statesman and USA TODAY attempted over a two-week period to speak with investigators from the Army, the FBI and Killeen police to verify Khawam and the Guillen familys accounts of what took placebut did not receive a response or were told no comment.. Slain Fort Hood soldier was sexually harassed, but not by Guillen," Phelps said. Phelps would not comment on the allegations made by Khawam that Robinson murdered her because it is still an ongoing investigation. Gruesome details in report show The Secretary of the Army has not even called this family, and its been well over three months since Vanessa went missing,said the familys attorney Natalie Khawam. The Guillen family said Vanessa told other soldiers at Fort Hood that she was being sexually harassed. A box with wheels and handles was already there when she arrived. Guillen's loved ones say she had always been a fitness fanatic. More:Civilian searcher says Army overlooked evidence after Vanessa Guillen's death Investigators suspect a fellow soldier, Spc. A guard gave chase but Robinson was able to get into a car and leave the base. The family of a slain U.S. Army soldier is suing the Department of the Army, saying authorities failed to protect her from her killer. Robinson and Aguilar uncovered the remains, removed them and burned them again along with their gloves and hairnets. I was still asleep but I remember she gave me a kiss and she left.". Im troubled by his lack of compassion to the family and sincerity about meeting with the family, she said. "Nothing really can bring her back at all but as long as we know how to honor her name and how to make this change, I feel like that would be some closure for us," Mayra Guillen said. And that's exactly what the criminal investigation is about," LaBoeuf said. She taught me many things because she was always tender, she was loving to me and we always loved each other. Vanessa Guillen, who has been missing from the Texas post since April. Also, at 4 p.m. that day, she "was mistakenly marked present," he said. [Image via Army Criminal Investigative Command], Have a tip we should know? The criminal case against Aguilar is ongoing. believe that the remains found in Bell County are Guillen's. We believe Robinson could have made up that story to Aguilar because he needed help burying her body, Khawam said. Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. She was murdered, inside one of the Army's largest military installations. Aguilars phone was also tracked and revealed she was near the Leon River with Robinson on April 23 and 26. On April 22, a witness saw Guillen leave the armory where she was working to visit a separate armory controlled by Robinson, the complaint stated. At first they tried to set her on fire, but she wouldnt burn. Just why?" A lot of silence. The remains have been sent to a forensic anthropologist for analysis, though no official confirmation on the identity of the remains has been completed. They reported her missing to her superiors that night, Guillen said, though investigatorssaid the Army told the family. Robinson was a suspect in Guillen's disappearance, but he "was not involved" in the separate investigation looking into the sexual harassment allegations, said Phelps. WebAaron David Robinson, 20, is a victim of a massive sex trafficking scandal in Killeen, Texas, beyond the borders. But, prior to that, there's no evidence whatsoever that Spc. And I just dropped my phone and it was just like everything came to an end," she said. Aaron David Robinson, 20, died by suicide Wednesday morning as investigators were closing in. The slain soldiers family has criticized higher ups for the months-long pace of the investigation. "That entrance leads to [the] 3rd Calvary Regiment," Lupe Guillen said. Phelps said investigators are aware Guillen's family members made statements early on to the media concerning sexual harassment allegations. The family of #VanessaGuillen filed a lawsuit yesterday, seeking $35M from the U.S. government. Committee votes on major defense policy bill expected in May, Military families share workout with first lady Jill Biden, US conducts first evacuation of its citizens from Sudan war, Ukrainian drones strike Crimea oil depot, Russian official says, Army identifies 3 soldiers killed in Alaska helicopter crash, Understanding the role of artificial intelligence, Mark Kitz keynote speech at the C4ISRNET conference, The latest on software, data and artificial intelligence, Army grounds helicopter fleet for force-wide safety stand down, Army fielding new tactical feedback tool with fitness program features, Former NFLer, Ranger draws comparisons between NFL, military training, Three dead after two Apache helicopters collide in Alaska. The "I Am Vanessa Guillen" bill, would explicitly list sexual harassment as a crime in military law, require the secretary of defense to establish a process for servicemembers to lodge a complaint confidentially and move the decision of whether to prosecute a sexual offense to an special prosecutor outside the chain of command. And they were just trying to see my reaction.". Dismembered human remains believed to be Guillen's were found in a shallow grave about 30 miles east of the Fort Hood base this week. I need to know every single step of this issue! The Guillen family wants more answers, too. Robinson called Aguilar several times throughout the night and the calls after midnight were for lengths greater than one minute., Aguilar later said in a second interview that she did leave her home and took a drive to a park in Belton, Texas to look at the stars.. Two months after Vanessa Guillen's disappearance, leadership at Fort Hood held a press conference where they announced that investigators believed that foul play was involved in her disappearance. On April 30, 2021, the Army announced that it had found Guillen had been sexually harassed by a superior, but that superior was not Robinson. "So he can murder her but he wouldn't sexually harass her. Fort Hood officials suspected foul play in the disappearances of both Morales and Guillen, but said they did not believe they were linked. She had told me since she was 10 years old that she was going to the Army, since she was 10 years old.. Cecily Aguilar, 22, of Killeen, faces one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence in the April 22 disappearance of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, federal prosecutors in Texas' western district said in a statement. / CBS Chicago. She has pleaded not guilty to charges including tampering and being an accessory after the fact. Army investigators believe Guillen, a Texas soldier missing since April, was killed by another soldier on the Texas base where they served, the attorney for the missing soldier's family said Thursday. "[The] first error was with respect to eye witness reports," LeBoeuf said. This statement, however, is inconsistent with the lengths of the calls, the complaint reads. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I see her murals and I say to myself, 'Damn, this is reality. It's a nightmare," Cruz said. Sitting in her Houston home last week beside her youngest daughter, Lupe, who translated for the interview, Gloria Guillen said in Spanish that Vanessa gleamed with excitement as she planned for a wedding in November 2021. Have I ever liked her? Because they are alive, and my girl is not. "It was so many rumors, we didn't know what to believe," Hightower said. Aaron David Robinson, who was assigned to A. Sexual assault in the U.S. military has increased over the past two years, according to a report from the Defense Department. Some of the soldiers who were around gave investigators bad information, he said. "We told them who to investigate from the beginning, and that's not what happened. SEE RELATED STORY: Army officials reveal new details in Vanessa Vanessa Guillen was killed April 22, the day of her disappearance, by Spc. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. They said Robinson killed himself as officers moved in to arrest him late Tuesday night. They then placed the remains back in the three holes with the concrete, the complaint alleged. Looking at his phone records, investigators also found that Robinson had called Aguilar multiple times during the night after Vanessa Guillen went missing. KILLEEN, TEXASU.S. Guillen's family says she had dreamed of serving her country in the military since she was a child. Vanessa Guillen, 20, also say that authorities failed to properly address her claims of facing sexual abuse. Burned remains of a plastic tote or tough box were found in an area where Robinsons phone pinged. The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Aaron David Robinson of Illinois who joined the Army in October 2017 as a combat engineer, KHOU reported. "After subsequent investigation, another allegation of verbal harassment involving the same individual was discovered. Robinson, 20, also allegedly enlisted Aguilar who recognized Guillen to help him get rid of her body at a remote site in Bell County, near Fort Hood. We drove the route she [would] usually run up the road on base which was 2 miles away from the barracks. Those claims even sparked a viral hashtag called #IamVanessaGuillen on social media, which many soldiers have used to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault on military installations. rights reserved. The findings of the committee identified major flaws with the sexual harassment and assault response prevention (SHARP) program at the base, fundamental issues with Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Command field office activities, and a command climate at Fort Hood that was permissive of sexual harassment and sexual assault. army officials at Fort Hood on Thursday identified the soldier who killed himself this week after he was questioned about his possible involvement in the disappearance of Spc. Morales, a 24-year-old who also used the last name Wedel before his marriage, was last heard from on Aug. 20, 2019. He was scheduled to be discharged from the Army within a couple of days of his disappearance, Fort Hood officials have said. 'I Am Vanessa Guillen': Who Was Aaron Robinson and What Robinson walked Aguilar over to the woods and opened up the box to show her a dead woman inside. Phelps said the Army has no credible information or reports that Guillen was sexually assaulted. Aguilar was charged in federal court with conspiracy to tamper with evidence. ", Betavious "Tay" Hightower was another one of Guillen's "closest friends," he said. Soldiers can and have gone missing, and it can take a while to find them, even when foul play is not suspected. ET on ABC. Guillen, 20, were found near the Leon River in Bell County in late June,nearly three months after she was last heard from while working inside an armory room at Fort Hood. She was reported missing in April but her remains were not found until July. However, he declined to release the womans name. We tried to tell them that it was this person, and he was just walking around like nothing happened. They filled out affidavits that said they had seen Vanessa at a different time from when she had actually departed the other arms room [controlled by Robinson], Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy has reportedlysaid. At Efflandt's request, Army Forces Command ordered a seven-member inspector general team to Fort Hood to review the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program, (SHARP). 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. On May 18, nearly a month after Vanessa Guillen's disappearance, investigators spoke to two witnesses who said they saw Robinson exiting the arms room on April 22 with Robinsons cell phone then tracked along the Leon River in a northward direction, and remained in the area for roughly two hours. I Am Vanessa Guillen: Everything You Need to Know - Netflix In an interview with KXXV, a local television station in Killeen, Cruz said, "She was just gone, so she just disappeared. Khawam said the family revealed those allegations to investigators late last month. KILLEEN, Texas (CBS) -- A Calumet City soldier was the main suspect in the murder of fellow soldier Vanessa Guillen, CBS 2 has learned. Robinson that we didn't know about? He said 11 have been removed from their positions permanently, and all 21 have "black marks" on their records "that will stay with them." Robinson, who fled his post at Fort Hood Tuesday, shot and killed himself as officers moved in to arrest him late Tuesday night in Killeen, Texas, according to officials. According to a criminal complaint that details what investigators believe happened to Guillen, Aguilar said she drove with Robinson to the Leon River where they tried to dispose of the body. He joined the army in The Law Did Not Treat Them Kindly. Phelps said that because she is a civilian and is in the custody of local authorities the Army will not release any further information regarding her status. Guillens family, joined by friends and strangers in the Killeen community, worked tirelessly to demand justice and a thorough search for the missing soldier. Like, her laugh was very, very contagious. Guillen, 20, were found near the Leon River in Bell County in late June, Civilian searcher says Army overlooked evidence after Vanessa Guillen's death. Hightower said that at around 10 p.m., he found out that the last person she'd worked with in the arms room was Spc. Contractors discovered the remains near the Leon River on June 30, 2020, authorities said. Cowboys Miss On Kicker; Sign Gould? Jerry Reveals Plan Aaron David Robinson, a 20-year-old Army Specialist, was identified as the person of interest in Guillen's case. ", WATCH: Vanessa Guillen: Remember Her Name. soldier, was murdered and body And that's what the criminal investigation is seeking answers to as well.". In 2007, a 25-year-old soldier was found dead of dehydration and hyperthermia four days after he disappeared during a solo training exercise testing on map-reading and navigation skills. Officials said that her car keys, barracks room key, identification card and wallet were found in the armory room where she was working on the day she disappeared. "There was a lot of silence after that one. The motive for the alleged murder was not described in the complaint. Robinson, who had been in the Army since 2017, worked in the same Regimental Engineer Squadron as Guillen. President Trump even found time to meet and speak with this family and yet McCarthy is still doing press conferences without a single call to this poor family whose daughter they sent to serve in his Army, Khawam added. The suspect was identified as Specialist Aaron David Robinson, 20, of Illinois who joined the Army in October 2017 as a combat engineer, officials said at a press conference. "The criminal investigation has not found any connection between sexual harassment and Vanessa's disappearance," Maj. Scott Efflandt, deputy commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood, said. It's her last known communication. Aaron David Robinson. Cecily Aguilar, 22, helped Spc. Aguilar's lawyers have filed a motion to throw out the entire case and another motion to suppress the statements officers say she made. ", Chris Swecker, a former leader in the FBI who helped lead the independent review panel at Fort Hood, said that even though the command investigation found "no evidence that Spc. Aguilar, at the request of law enforcement, placed a controlled telephone call to Robinson wherein he never denied anything they did to Guillen and her body, the complaint reads. Vanessa Guillen. Investigators later learned Robinson's phone pinged in Belton, Texas, by a bridge near the Leon River, about a 30 minutes away from base in the early morning hours after Vanessa vanished. Robinson was approached by law enforcement; however, he brandished a pistol and fired into his head, killing himself. Robinsons fatal shooting took place in the 4700 block of East Rancier Avenue in At a news conference Thursday, the Army identified the soldier suspected in Guillens disappearance as Aaron David Robinson. "The plan was to go hiking whenever she got off work," he said. Civilian charged in plot to dismember and hide remains of Fort Hood Robinson added that he returned to Fort Hood at 6:30 p.m. on the day of Guillens disappearance to use a government computer to enroll in training. "Our agents are working very closely with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner to expedite identification of the remains," Phelps said. Authorities on Thursday said 20-year-old Spc. When Gloria Guillen spoke publicly to the media about her daughter's sexual harassment, the case exploded onto the national news scene. We went to the motor pool [to] see if maybe she got locked in.". Robinson sexually harassed Spc. Vanessa Guillen also spoke about it with her friends. "They just told me, 'We did find the partial human remains.' Robinson fatally shot himself July 1 when authorities confronted him off post,Killeen policesaid. Investigators said she told them she and Robinson dismembered the body and dug three separate graves, then came back two days later to cover them with concrete. Secretary of the Army where is it? she said. In the calls, Robinson didn't deny anything. Its impossible.. Vanessa Guillen, said she has not heard from Governor Abbott or the Secretary of the Army following the death of her sister. The announcement comes a day after Natalie Khawam, attorney for the Guillen family, said they believe that the remains found in Bell County are Guillen's. Vanessa Guillen, who has been missing from the Texas post since April. "She didn't deserve any of that.
Marathon Gas Station Food Menu,
Studio Apartments Sunnyvale Under $1,000,
1044 Dogwood Trail Franklin Lakes,
There Is Beauty In Suffering Quote,
How To Buy Pallets From Victoria Secret,
Articles A
