Vanessa Guillen, the private first class who went missing this April while stationed at the Fort Hood military base, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer, Guillen’s family’s attorney Natalie Khawam revealed on Thursday (July 2).
After a meeting with Army investigators, Khawam informed CNN that Guillen was killed in the armory room where she worked and was then transported by her killer off the base. The main suspect in her disappearance and death was identified as Spc. Aaron David Robinson on Thursday (July 2), whom Guillen had accused of sexual harassment.
The 20-year-old soldier was reportedly planning to file a sexual harassment complaint against Robinson the day after she was killed. Guillen’s family believes that Robinson became enraged when he learned this and killed her.
CNN reports that Fort Hood officials were not aware of the sexual harassment claims against Robinson. During a press conference on Thursday (July 2), Senior Special Agent Damon Phelps said authorities were looking into Robinson’s interactions with Guillen and have conducted over 300 interviews in a separate investigation into the sexual harassment claims, which were revealed by Guillen’s family. He said there is “no credible information” that suggests Guillen had been sexually harassed or assaulted.
Investigators also revealed that Robinson had called a woman he was involved with to help him dispose of Guillen’s body. According to the US Army Criminal Investigation Command, Texas Rangers arrested a civilian suspect in connection with Guillen’s disappearance named Cecily Anne Aguilar, who is currently in custody at Bell County Jail awaiting charges.
On Wednesday (July 1), Robinson killed himself after a confrontation with police. He fled Fort Hood on Tuesday night (June 30).
“While law enforcement agencies attempted to make contact with the suspect in Killeen, Texas, Specialist Robinson displayed a weapon and took his own life,” Phelps said.
Earlier this week, Guillen’s family called on Congress to launch an investigation into her disappearance after human remains were found in a shallow grave. According to Phelps, they have not yet been identified.