Vanessa Guillén was a20-year-old U.S. Army soldier who authorities believe was killed onApril 22, 2020 inside a Fort Hood, Texas, armory by another enlistedsoldier, Aaron David Robinson, age 20. Guillén had been missingsince April 22 until dismembered pieces of her remains were foundburied along the Leon River on June 30. Upon hearing about thediscovery of the remains, Robinson fled Fort Hood and fatally shothimself shortly after midnight when law enforcement attempted toapprehend him in Killeen, Texas.
A local area woman who authorities saidwas Robinson's girlfriend was taken into custody and is alleged tohave assisted Robinson in disposing of Guillén's body. On July 2,she was charged with one federal count of conspiracy to tamper withevidence. On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Secretary of the Army Ryan D.McCarthy announced that he would order a "full independentreview" of Guillén's case.
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Persons involved
Vanessa Guillén, 20, was asoldier from Houston, Texas. Born September 30, 1999, her parentswere Rogelio and Gloria Guillén and she had five siblings. Accordingto her family, Guillén graduated from César E. Chávez High Schoolin 2018 in the top 15% of her class, played soccer, loved to jog, andwas avid about sports and learning. She had joined the Army in June2018 and was trained as a 91F, small arms/artillery repairer. Guillén was posthumously advanced from Private First Class to therank of Specialist on July 1, 2020.
Aaron David Robinson, 20, was asoldier from Calumet City, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Robinson had joined the Army in October 2017 and was trained as acombat engineer. He held the rank of Specialist at the time of hisdeath.
Cecily Anne Aguilar, 22,described by authorities as the girlfriend of Aaron Robinson andestranged wife of another soldier.
Investigation
Guillén was last seen around 1:00 p.m.on April 22, 2020, in the parking lot of her unit, the RegimentalEngineer Squadron Headquarters of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment (3CR). Fort Hood is a U.S. Army post approximately 340 square miles [880km2] in size and home to III Corps and the First Cavalry Division.Guillen's car keys, identification card, bank card, and barracks keywere found inside the armory where she worked. Her family feltGuillén disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The case wasinvestigated under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army CriminalInvestigation Command (CID) and the Federal Bureau of Investigationwith Bell County Sheriff's Office, Killeen Police Department, BeltonPolice Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the United StatesMarshal Service, and the Texas Rangers in support. Multiple FortHood units, including 3CR began searching within two weeks of herdisappearance.
