Human remains found in Texas were positively identified as Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen on Sunday, Guillen family attorney Natalie Khawam told CNN. The 20-year-old was last seen in the parking lot of her barracks at Fort Hood on April 22, and her remains were found June 30, according to the US Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID).
Guillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in the armory room where she worked before her body was transported from the military base by her killer, Khawam told CNN, detailing what the family had been told Thursday during a meeting with Army investigators. Guillen was unable to be identified by her medical records because her face had been beaten so badly, and her remains had to be transported to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be identified. Khawam told the news outlet, “It’s just been a sad morning and weekend for us.”
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The main suspect in Guillen’s death has been identified publicly by officials as Spc. Aaron David Robinson, who shot himself Wednesday after being questioned by investigators, according to the Killeen Police Department. Khawam said she had learned from Guillen’s family that the soldier had planned to file a harassment complaint against Robinson on the day after she was killed, and they believe Robinson learned of her plans before killing her. Robinson reportedly told investigators Guillen wanted to report his relationship with a married woman, which is something Guillen’s family denies. Fort Hood officials have publicly stated they were unaware of sexual harassment reports involving Robinson.
Khawam told CNN Sunday that investigators had told the family that Robinson called a woman he was in a relationship with, Cecily Anne Aguilar, to help him hide Guillen’s body after transporting it off the base. Aguilar is the estranged wife of a former soldier from Fort Hood and was arrested by Texas Rangers on a charge of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. She is scheduled to appear in court for the first time Monday, and if convicted, faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
According to investigators, Aguilar said Robinson told her he killed a female soldier by striking her in the head with a hammer multiple times on the same day Guillen went missing. She later told investigators she “recognized the deceased whom she helped Robinson mutilate and dispose of” as Guillen, according to the criminal complaint.
