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
VanessaGuillén, 20, was a soldier from Houston, Texas. BornSeptember 30, 1999, her parents were Rogelio and Gloria Guillén andshe had five siblings. According to her family, Guillén graduatedfrom César E. Chávez High School in 2018 in the top 15% of herclass, played soccer, loved to jog, and was avid about sports andlearning. She had joined the Army in June 2018 and was trained as a91F, small arms/artillery repairer. Guillén was posthumouslyadvanced from Private First Class to the rank of Specialist on July1, 2020.
AaronDavid Robinson, 20, was a soldier from Calumet City, asouthern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Robinson had joined the Armyin October 2017 and was trained as a combat engineer. He held therank of Specialist at the time of his death.
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.
