The two suspects in the disappearance of 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guillen, who has been missing since April, were identified by authorities on Thursday.
The Army named Aaron David Robinson, 20, of Calumet City, Illinois, as a suspect during a press conference Thursday. E-4 Specialist Robinson died by suicide early Wednesday morning after fleeing Fort Hood late Tuesday night.
"While law enforcement agencies attempted to make contact with the suspect in Killeen, Texas, Specialist Robinson reportedly displayed a weapon and took his own life," said Phelps.
A criminal complaint released later Thursday named civilian Cecily Aguilar, 22, of Killeen, Texas, as the second suspect. She was arrested near Fort Hood and faces one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
Guillen was last seen April 22 in a parking lot at Fort Hood, where she was based. A family attorney said Wednesday she believes human remains found this week about 20 miles east of Fort Hood are Guillen's, though Army officials said Thursday that the remains have not yet been officially identified.
According to the complaint, Robinson had enlisted Aguilar to help him dispose of Guillen's body after he bludgeoned Guillen with a hammer at Fort Hood. Aguilar helped Robinson mutilate and hide her body, the complaint said.
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Aguilar was arrested Wednesday and was being held Thursday in the Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas, according to booking records. It was unclear whether she had an attorney to speak on her behalf.
Guillen's family said through attorney Natalie Khawam said the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division told her Robinson cleaned up the area where Guillen was killed, placed her body in a container and wheeled her out to his car. After driving to pick up Aguilar, Khawam said, the pair drove to a nearby river and tried to burn Guillen's body, but later chopped it up with a machete. Then, they put cement on the body and buried the remains.
Tim Miller, of Texas Equusearch, who was assisting in the search for Guillen, told KHOU that investigators found a lid last week that belonged to a container consistent with one a witness saw loaded into a car at 8:30 the night Guillen disappeared.
Investigators were called back to the scene this week when a man working in the area reported a foul odor. Miller said it appeared the suspect "buried her, put lime on her, mixed up concrete, put that over her, put dirt over her, rocks and stuff."
Guillen's family has pleaded for information from investigators and said at a Wednesday news conference that they believe the Army is covering up details of her disappearance. Khawan said Guillen was sexually harassed by the military suspect and called for a congressional investigation.
"They lied to us every single time," Guillen's sister, Lupe, said. "My mother’s in bed with pills. My mother doesn’t deserve this! I don’t deserve this! My family doesn’t deserve this! Vanessa Guillen did not deserve this!"
Army investigators said Thursday that they had no credible evidence that Vanessa Guillen had been sexually harassed or assaulted.
“We are still investigating their interactions but at this time there is no credible information for reports that specialist Robinson sexually harassed specialist Guillen," said Fort Hood CID Special Agent Damon Phelps.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus of the Texas House of Representatives announced on Twitter that over 50 bipartisan Texas legislators are calling for a congressional investigation into Guillen’s disappearance and increased transparency from Army officials.
The Army Criminal Investigation Command and the League of United Latin American Citizens offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Guillen’s whereabouts.
